Can you modify RAID5 configuration on a Proliant 5000 without nuking the drive?

I've successfully managed to get Gentoo 2.6.2.12-r13 onto this system
after going through the usual hoops. Now before I started, I used SCU to
set up the SMART-2DH for RAID 5, and I have 4 disks in the bay (0-3).
They're all being used as a single logical disk (/dev/ida/c0d0). Now my
question is: if I add the final disk into the bay so that there are 5,
and I tick the options box in SCU so that it uses the "off-line spare"
option, does it:

a) Know to use the new disk at the top of the box (position 4) as the
off-line spare;
b) Leave the other 4 disks alone and stays working as before?

The reason I ask is that it's all up and running with 4 drives, and I've
come across a spare drive on ebay and would like to add it to fill the
hole in the front panel and make it an off-line spare, but I don't want
to trash the existing system - it's been too much hard work! I'm hoping
I can add the final drive and just tick the box.

"." wrote in message
m.au...
I've successfully managed to get Gentoo 2.6.2.12-r13 onto this system
after going through the usual hoops. Now before I started, I used SCU to
set up the SMART-2DH for RAID 5, and I have 4 disks in the bay (0-3).
They're all being used as a single logical disk (/dev/ida/c0d0). Now my
question is: if I add the final disk into the bay so that there are 5,
and I tick the options box in SCU so that it uses the "off-line spare"
option, does it:

a) Know to use the new disk at the top of the box (position 4) as the
off-line spare;
b) Leave the other 4 disks alone and stays working as before?

The reason I ask is that it's all up and running with 4 drives, and I've
come across a spare drive on ebay and would like to add it to fill the
hole in the front panel and make it an off-line spare, but I don't want
to trash the existing system - it's been too much hard work! I'm hoping
I can add the final drive and just tick the box.

Yes, it will do that. Identify the new drive as a spare, and it will leave
the array intact. Nothing will change.

You might want to get an SA3200 so you can modify the stripe size (and more
cache) for better performance.

- LC

Thanks for that. Seeing as how this machine is only being used for
firewall/webserver/ftp/mail stuff, I don't think it'd benefit from the
different controller if I were to get one, but I suppose if I were
building up a file server then it would be the thing to do.