I just purchased two 5 TB Toshiba drives for my server.  One will be used as a data drive and the other as the parity drive since the current parity drive is only 4 TB.  Here is what I have done so far:

 

1.  Ran preclear twice on both 5 TB drives.

2.  Performed a parity check on the existing array. 

 

My next step is to stop the array and take a backup of the config directory of my USB stick.

 

Because I'm OCD, I like to have my parity drive as the first drive in my Norco 24 disc case.  Is it okay to shut down the server, remove my old parity drive from its slot and place the 5 TB drive in the #1 spot?  I would then be placing the "old" parity drive in the next available data drive slot in my case.

 

From the directions I read, I should not format the unformatted old parity disk or write to the array while the new parity disk is being created.  Am I better off removing the old parity disk from the array altogether during the new parity disk build....then run a preclear on it and add it as a data disk afterward? 

 

On a side note....if I reboot the server, I won't "lose" the preclear information on the two 5 TB disks will I?  This info is saved to the disk so that they can be quickly added to the array regardless if the server has been shutdown or not, correct?

 

I am on version 6.1.6

...  Am I better off removing the old parity disk from the array altogether during the new parity disk build....then run a preclear on it and add it as a data disk afterward? 

That is a good approach.

On a side note....if I reboot the server, I won't "lose" the preclear information on the two 5 TB disks will I?  This info is saved to the disk so that they can be quickly added to the array regardless if the server has been shutdown or not, correct?

Correct

 

1. Are all your existing array drives healthy? Good smart reports, etc? If so, then ...

2. Since you are building parity from scratch, it doesn't matter if you rearrange drives to fit your case layout and drive numbering. The parity build could be done with both new drives and the old parity drive all at once. No need to wait to add the other drives back later, and no need to worry about whether or not they are clear. Preclear only matters once you are trying to add a slot to an existing parity protected array.

3. Precleared drives stay precleared unless written to. No worries about shutting down, many people preclear drives in a different machine, and set them aside for a period of time.

4. You posted in the V5 and older support area, but are using 6.1.6. ?

5. You will need to set a new configuration if you want to do everything at once, so take a screenshot of your current drive assignments in the main gui page so you have a cheat sheet to assign everything correctly from a blank new config. I typically print the screenshot and write notes on it to remind me which drive goes in which physical slot, and what drive serial number is replacing it.

Opps....I didn't realize that I was in the wrong area!  Thanks for the advice!