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I have a home server running Centos 7 that I'm using to host various different servers - a webserver, two Minecraft servers, and a PLEX server. Currently I have a 4TB HDD which serves as the primary storage, housing the OS and all files, and a 240GB SATA SSD which I'm using as a cache drive with Lvmcache. I've begun to run out of space on the 4TB disk, so I'm looking for a way to migrate this single disk to RAID 5 without needing to reinstall and reconfigure the OS and all software. I've chosen RAID 5 as it appears to be the best balance of price, performance, and redundancy for me.

If I were to purchase 3 additional drives and build a RAID 5 array with them, is there any possible way to clone the data and OS from the existing drive onto the array, verify that this worked correctly, then erase the single drive and join it into the array? Alternatively, should I purchase an additional, smaller drive to house the OS and clone it there, then simply use the RAID array for mass storage?

I have never previously had the occasion to use a RAID array, so I have no prior experience with them. I did find a piece of software called "Raider" that looks like it might possibly be up to the task, but, again, I have no experience with it; better safe than sorry!

Edit: output of "lvs -a -o +devices && df": Output of "lvs -a -o +devices && df"

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  • It might, but I'm uncertain if this ensures that the operating system will remain intact - additionally, will my existing logical volumes remain intact, or will I need to create logical volumes on the RAID array and then copy the contents of the logical volumes? Dec 16, 2019 at 16:32
  • I'm less familiar with LVM. Am I correct in thinking that to use lvmcache you have installed your OS on top of LVM? I thought the point of doing that was that you could just add partitions and remove them at will? Dec 16, 2019 at 17:10
  • I installed the OS on the HDD, then used LVM to extend the /home directory to fill the drive and attach an SSD as a cache for the /home directory. I'll edit the post with a screenshot of the output of "lvs -a -o +devices && df" to give you a better idea of how I'm set up. Dec 16, 2019 at 17:55
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    How about this one? At least it directly addresses LVMs as well ... unix.stackexchange.com/questions/72099/…
    – tink
    Dec 16, 2019 at 18:45
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    That one looks like it answers my question, thank you! Dec 16, 2019 at 20:18

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Answered by a combination of the posts linked by Tink and Roaima in this comment

How about this one? At least it directly addresses LVMs as well ... Migrate an entire volume group LVM2 to RAID5

 

Does this answer your question? How to create a 3x3TB RAID 5 array without losing data from 2 of the drives?

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