Netware 5 SBS...adding another Hard Drive 1

[goodfela26]

Hi,

A little background info first. Let me start off by saying that I know very little about Novell, but I'm trying to learn. We have a Netware 5 SBS server at our company with a single 5 GB SCSI HD. Obviously we aren't mirroring, although I plan on doing this at a later time. My priority right now is adding more space.

We have 3 volumes...Other, Maintenance, and SYS...on this hard drive. The server was purchased a few years ago, obviously, and was planned for light use for one of our departments. With only 5GB of total space, it was bound to run out sooner or later. Well, I'm down to about 1.5GB left on it, but that's only after moving some files to a local hard drive to give some relief. Within 2 months, I'll be down to less than a GB again, so it's time to add more space.

We purchased a 36GB SCSI HD and my plan is this, which was suggested to me by a Novell guru at one of our vendors:

1) take the server down and install the 36GB disk.
2) bring the server back up and rename Other to Other_old and
Maintenance to Maintenance_old.
3) create new Other and Maintenance volumes on the 36GB disk, using your
newly desired sizes.
4) copy the data from Other_old and Maintenance_old to Other and
Maintenance, using NCOPY and TCOPY to copy the files and trustees,
respectively (or restore from tape, if you prefer).
5) Once you're confident that all the data and trustees are there on the
new Other and Maintenance volumes, delete the Other_old and
Maintenance_old volumes and add the additional free space to the Sys
volume.


This is the plan that I am going with. Are there any potential problems that I need to be aware of or is this as simple a task as it sounds? Are there any recommendations to make this as problem-free as possible? I work primarily in a Windows environment, so I've seen my fair share of "simple" tasks turn into major projects when Windows didn't like something that was done.

Any help or suggestions is appreciated.

Thanks,

Bob


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Bob Beck
IS Administrator

 

[marvhuffaker]

I wouldn't rename the volumes till you're ready to put them into production, unless nobody is using them right now. Also would recommend that you download a utility called BEYOND COMPARE and use it to assist with your process. It is a cool utility that will help you make sure you have an identical copy on the new drives. Can download it from download.com.

Marvin Huffaker MCNE, CNE
Marvin Huffaker Consulting

http://www.redjuju.com

 

[goodfela26]

Thanks for the suggestions. By the time I bring the server up after I install the HD, all users will be gone for the day. However, I will heed your advice and when I set up the new volumes, I will name them as Other_New and Maintenance_New and then will rename them to their production names when I'm finished.

I downloaded Beyond Compare and it looks like it will be a good help for me tomorrow.

Thanks again

---------------------------------------
Bob Beck
IS Administrator

 

[marvhuffaker]

The nice thing about Beyond Compare is that you can do an initial file copy while people are working, then use Beyond Compare when you're ready to finalize. You can see exactly what files have changed, and you never have to question whether you got all the files and changes or not.

Marvin Huffaker MCNE, CNE
Marvin Huffaker Consulting

http://www.redjuju.com

 

[goodfela26]

Very nice indeed. I didn't have a chance to really check it out, but that will be a very nice option to have and may save me alot of time.

Thanks!

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Bob Beck
IS Administrator

 

[goodfela26]

Forgot to follow up. Everything went well. Beyond Compare is a very nice utility. Thanks for recommending it to me.

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Bob Beck
IS Administrator