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Assume that I built a 2TB RAID 5 array, and it's running and some data is stored on it.
Now I need to increase its size to 5TB.
Can I increase capacity, particularly by adding extra drives? How?
If yes, is it possible to do this while the RAID array is running?

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Additional info on the controller(make/Model) and possibly OS may assist in getting best answer. – Dave M Oct 5 '11 at 20:31
@Dave M. I don't mind any special controller I just want to know is it possible or not. but OS may be LINUX. – 4r1y4n Oct 5 '11 at 21:04

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Yes, you can increase it adding more disks

Yes, you can do that with it turned on. But it depends a lot on the hardware that's running it. In general you add another drive, send some command so that the controller redistribute all the data using it, and you're done.

And just adding HDs of the same size can make you need much more drives, you could consider replacing them.

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Note that the array will not utilize a larger capacity drive to the fullest--it will match what the rest of the array uses. So if the drives in your array are 320GB and you add a 1TB drive, you will only be able to use 320GB. – Force Flow Oct 5 '11 at 22:19

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