Add second HDD and raid it without losing data

[Graceman]

Is it possible to add a second HDD and set it to raid with existing HDD without losing data?

If so How

[shadowsports]

What RAID level are you considering?

[Graceman]

I want to run mirrored drive for redundancy raid 1 I think possibly 10

[shadowsports]

I want to run mirrored drive for redundancy raid 1 I think possibly 10

You only need 1 additional disk to run RAID1.  You'll need 3 more to run RAID10 (4 total).  A RAID5 array only requires 3 disks.  This RAID level will give you similar performance to RAID0 with the redundancy of RAID1, and with less overhead than RAID10 which is essentially 0+1.  The 3rd disk is a parity drive and is what provides redundancy. 

If you can get identical drives great, but this is not a necessity.  Disks that share similar characteristics will suffice.  Similar characteristics are, (plattered drives) rotational speed, cache size, similar read write performance and interface (SATA I, II, III).  For SSD, same generation, same memory specification (speed). 

Newer controllers are robust and forgiving for the most part.  In both cases, size doesn't matter as long as all the drives are the same or larger than one another.  We don't have any information from you.  Motherboard, controller, OS or hardware?

With that out of the way, your answer.  You will need to back up your data and re-install.  There are several reasons for this.  While many boards come with utilities that claim EZRAID conversion and set up, you will be better served setting up from scratch.

Creating RAID is basically the same, whether you do it in a legacy option ROM or directly in the BIOS.  Choose level, choose member disks, they are marked and metadata is written to them.  They are then "conjoined" (for lack of a better word).  RAID (all levels) is not failsafe and doesn't mean you shouldn't take precautions to back up and protect your data.  I or others here would be happy to provide more help/answers based on the direction you decide to go in.

[Graceman]

Ok I understand but what about hot swappable array?

I am looking to build a server not sure yet what MB but an array with 3 or more drive with hot swappable discs is preferred.
I once has a system with 7 drives thee usable mirrored drive and the 7 the disc was spare to be swapped if one failed.
All these drive where in a separate tower but in these days the disc size required 7 drive today with the larger drive it should be possible with three and should all fit into the same case as the MB.

Can you recommend MB & set up I could cost?
And would win 10 be ok as we really do not need server os.

[shadowsports]

With RAID 1, 5 or 10, your disks will be hot-swappable with any "newer" board.  Most will also support hot spare.  Same is true of a good quality NAS.  If your goal is storage and file sharing, a good quality NAS could be something you consider. 

Its difficult to make recommendations without knowing what your use case or needs are.  Also budget.  If you have something in mind you want to compare or seek advice about, post your questions and we'll try to help.

[Graceman]

I think now I have narrowed it down a bit more and a NAS drive would do it running a workgroup the current server is really only a storage device apart from dhcp which the router can handle or use static IP's.

But the current server has a 2.4 Ghz cpu dual core and 2 MB ram. So any NAS drive that can supply a quad core or better running at 2.4 or higher and 32MB ram then this will be just as good if not better.
Ideally a multi bay device running mirrored pairs. so 4 x 2 TB drives and maybe SSD would be the way to go.

Redundancy plus resilience is what is required.


Office data storage & Accounting software is all that its required to do plus storage for artwork files.

[shadowsports]

Have a look at the TVS-671..  This comes in a i3 or i5 variant, 4GB-16GB of RAM.

Or if you must have a i7, the 871 offers this with up to 16GB of RAM.  Both have the network capabilities to support the needs of a SMB.