User manual HP OPENVIEW STORAGE VOLUME GROWTH SOFTWARE

[. . . ] Document conventions and symbols HP technical support . . 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 1 Using HP Storage Volume Growth . Understanding basic and dynamic disks Basic disks . Expanding physical storage capacity Growing basic disks . [. . . ] Following is the typical configuration of a basic disk. Typical basic disk configuration Disk 0 Basic 4 GB Online DIAGS 39 MB FAT Healthy (EISA configuration) Windows 2000 (C:) 4 GB NTFS Healthy (System) A benefit of using basic disks for storage volume growth is simplicity. Even after you complete multiple HP Storage Volume Growth operations, the end result is a single partition that has expanded over time. Following is the configuration for a basic disk after multiple HP Storage Volume Growth operations. Basic disk configuration after multiple growth operations Disk 0 Basic 192 GB Online DIAGS 39 MB FAT Healthy (EISA configuration) Windows 2000 (C:) 192 GB NTFS Healthy (System) HP OpenView Storage Volume Growth user guide 7 Because partitions are recognized by several operating systems, including MS-DOS, Windows 3. 1, Windows 95/98, and Windows NT, and have been used extensively in the past, use basic disks if you require backwards compatibility. For example, if you dual-boot a system between Windows 95/98 and Windows 2000, you must use basic disks so both operating systems can support the volumes you create. Basic disks do not support volume configurations that span heterogeneous disk controllers. Previously, this functionality was provided by software fault-tolerant mechanisms such as volume sets (RAID0), strip sets (RAID0), mirror sets (RAID1), and stripe sets with parity (RAID5). These configurations are not compatible with HP Storage Volume Growth. For more information about basic disks and volumes, see your Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 documentation. Dynamic disks Dynamic disks are supported by Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 and offer software fault-tolerance features like those provided by Windows NT. Instead of using a partition table, dynamic disks rely on a proprietary configuration database located at the end of the physical hard disk. Because of this configuration technique, dynamic disks are not compatible with earlier versions of Windows NT. Dynamic disks do not require HP Storage Volume Growth to increase size. However, certain HP Storage Volume Growth features are not available with dynamic disks, such as performing a logical drive extension with an HP RAID controller. To extend a volume on a dynamic disk, you must create a logical drive on an existing controller or a new controller. Although you can convert a basic disk to a dynamic disk, and still retain volumes on the disk, you cannot revert a dynamic disk to a basic disk without deleting the volumes on the disk first. NOTE: Do not convert eligible disks from basic to dynamic. For more information about dynamic disks and volumes, see your Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 documentation. Planning for storage volume growth Growing storage volumes is a straightforward procedure. However, before you grow storage volumes, complete the following tasks: · Make a reliable backup copy. If the disk you plan to grow contains data you want to retain, back up the data. Adding capacity may increase the time required to create backups. When you replace hard drives or use HP StorageWorks Command View EVA to complete an array expansion or a logical drive extension, ensure that the change to the array controller has completed before you use HP Storage Volume Growth. Using HP Command View EVA to expand an array or extend a logical drive takes time. [. . . ] The Backups volume is accessed through a mount point. To grow the Backups volume: 1. From the system desktop, select Start > Programs > hp OpenView Storage Volume Growth > Storage Volume Growth Wizard. The welcome window of the wizard opens. 2. Follow the instructions in the wizard to grow the volume. After completing the wizard, the Logical Disk Manager detects the change automatically and displays the increased size of the volume. [. . . ]