Empty slots HDD Upgrade on Lenovo Servers | Nutanix Community
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Hello Nutanix Community,

We are running Nutanix HCI on Lenovo servers having three-node cluster & currently the cluster has less capacity. We have 2 empty HDD slots on each Lenovo serves and we are planning to insert same capacity HDD drives on all 3 servers. So totally 6 HDD with a capacity of 2.4TB each.

I would like to know how to configure and expand the storage? 

Please note that I’m new to Nutanix so kindly help me from scratch:-)

Thanks in advance to everyone.

 

Hello Shaik,

Reference: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Hardware-Admin-Guide:har-drive-add-t.html

  • The process of adding a drive is the same for all platforms (both Nutanix and third-party platforms), assuming the platform is running Nutanix AOS.

  • What types of drives you can add depends on your platform configuration. For supported drive configurations, see the system specifications for your platform.

    • Hybrid: a mixture of SSDs and HDDs. Hybrid configurations fill all available drive slots, so the only case where you would add a drive is if there is a drive missing.
    • All-flash: All-flash nodes have both fully populated and partially populated configurations. You can add new drives to the empty slots.
      • All-flash nodes can accept only SSDs.
      • All-flash nodes can contain only even numbers of drives.
    • SSD with NVMe: a mixture of SSDs and NVMe drives. Only certain drive slots can contain NVMe drives. Consult the system specifications for your platform for drive configurations.

  • Rules for mixing drive capacities:

    • For versions of AOS earlier than 6.0, all drives of the same type in a node must have the same capacity. So, within a node, all SSDs must have the same capacity and all HDDs must have the same capacity.

    • For AOS 6.0 and later, Nutanix allows mixing of drives with different capacities in the same node. However, the node treats higher-capacity drives as if they had the same capacity as the lower-capacity drives.

      Nutanix provides the ability to mix drive capacities for cases where you need to replace a drive, but only higher-capacity drives are available. To increase the overall storage capacity of the node, replace all drives with higher-capacity drives.

  • When adding more than one drive to a node, allow at least one minute between adding each drive.

Procedure

  1. Insert the drive in an empty slot.
  2. Log on to the web console, go to Hardware > Diagram , and select the added drive to view the details

  3. If the drive is red and shows a label of Unmounted Disk, select the drive and click Repartition and Add under the diagram.

  4. This message and the button appear only if the replacement drive contains data. Their purpose is to protect you from unintentionally using a drive with data on it.

    Caution: This action removes all data on the drive. Do not repartition the drive until you have confirmed that the drive contains no essential data.

  5. From the web console Summary > Disk Details field, verify that the disk has been added to the original storage pool.

  1. If the cluster has only one storage pool, the disk is automatically added to the storage pool.

  2. If the drive is not automatically added to the storage pool (because the cluster has more than one), add it to the desired storage pool.
    1. In the web console, select Storage from the pull-down main menu (upper left of screen) and then select the Table and Storage Pool tabs.
  1. Select the target storage pool and then click Update.

    The Update Storage Pool window appears.

  2. In the Capacity field, check the Use unallocated capacity box to add the available unallocated capacity to this storage pool then click Save.
  3. Go back to Hardware > Diagram, select the drive, and confirm that it is in the correct storage pool.

Just plug them in. The storage pool will automatically expand. 

 

Edit: Lol, Moustafa just posted a complete walkhrough ;) 

Just plug them in. The storage pool will automatically expand. 

Really!!! Is that so simple Jeroen:-) I will try it. So how long do i have to wait to see the results?

Hello Shaik,

Reference: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Hardware-Admin-Guide:har-drive-add-t.html

  • The process of adding a drive is the same for all platforms (both Nutanix and third-party platforms), assuming the platform is running Nutanix AOS.

  • What types of drives you can add depends on your platform configuration. For supported drive configurations, see the system specifications for your platform.

    • Hybrid: a mixture of SSDs and HDDs. Hybrid configurations fill all available drive slots, so the only case where you would add a drive is if there is a drive missing.
    • All-flash: All-flash nodes have both fully populated and partially populated configurations. You can add new drives to the empty slots.
      • All-flash nodes can accept only SSDs.
      • All-flash nodes can contain only even numbers of drives.
    • SSD with NVMe: a mixture of SSDs and NVMe drives. Only certain drive slots can contain NVMe drives. Consult the system specifications for your platform for drive configurations.

  • Rules for mixing drive capacities:

    • For versions of AOS earlier than 6.0, all drives of the same type in a node must have the same capacity. So, within a node, all SSDs must have the same capacity and all HDDs must have the same capacity.

    • For AOS 6.0 and later, Nutanix allows mixing of drives with different capacities in the same node. However, the node treats higher-capacity drives as if they had the same capacity as the lower-capacity drives.

      Nutanix provides the ability to mix drive capacities for cases where you need to replace a drive, but only higher-capacity drives are available. To increase the overall storage capacity of the node, replace all drives with higher-capacity drives.

  • When adding more than one drive to a node, allow at least one minute between adding each drive.

Procedure

  1. Insert the drive in an empty slot.
  2. Log on to the web console, go to Hardware > Diagram , and select the added drive to view the details

  3. If the drive is red and shows a label of Unmounted Disk, select the drive and click Repartition and Add under the diagram.

  4. This message and the button appear only if the replacement drive contains data. Their purpose is to protect you from unintentionally using a drive with data on it.

    Caution: This action removes all data on the drive. Do not repartition the drive until you have confirmed that the drive contains no essential data.

  5. From the web console Summary > Disk Details field, verify that the disk has been added to the original storage pool.

  1. If the cluster has only one storage pool, the disk is automatically added to the storage pool.

  2. If the drive is not automatically added to the storage pool (because the cluster has more than one), add it to the desired storage pool.
    1. In the web console, select Storage from the pull-down main menu (upper left of screen) and then select the Table and Storage Pool tabs.
  1. Select the target storage pool and then click Update.

    The Update Storage Pool window appears.

  2. In the Capacity field, check the Use unallocated capacity box to add the available unallocated capacity to this storage pool then click Save.
  3. Go back to Hardware > Diagram, select the drive, and confirm that it is in the correct storage pool.

Thanks for the information Moustafa,

So i just need to plug in the same capacity HDD in the empty slots on Lenovo servers and follow the procedure as you mentioned right? 

Just plug them in. The storage pool will automatically expand. 

Really!!! Is that so simple Jeroen:-) I will try it. So how long do i have to wait to see the results?

I've done this a couple of times. And yes, it was that simple. Although keep the post from Moustafa in mind ;) 

Just plug them in. The storage pool will automatically expand. 

Really!!! Is that so simple Jeroen:-) I will try it. So how long do i have to wait to see the results?

I've done this a couple of times. And yes, it was that simple. Although keep the post from Moustafa in mind ;) 

Excellent Jeroen & thanks for your help. I will update the results once completed. We have 3 Lenovo serves & I will insert HDD on empty slots and see how it works. 

Thanks for the information Moustafa,

So i just need to plug in the same capacity HDD in the empty slots on Lenovo servers and follow the procedure as you mentioned right? 

  • Rules for mixing drive capacities:

    • For versions of AOS earlier than 6.0, all drives of the same type in a node must have the same capacity. So, within a node, all SSDs must have the same capacity and all HDDs must have the same capacity.

    • For AOS 6.0 and later, Nutanix allows mixing of drives with different capacities in the same node. However, the node treats higher-capacity drives as if they had the same capacity as the lower-capacity drives.

      Nutanix provides the ability to mix drive capacities for cases where you need to replace a drive, but only higher-capacity drives are available. To increase the overall storage capacity of the node, replace all drives with higher-capacity drives.

Thanks for the information Moustafa,

So i just need to plug in the same capacity HDD in the empty slots on Lenovo servers and follow the procedure as you mentioned right? 

  • Rules for mixing drive capacities:

    • For versions of AOS earlier than 6.0, all drives of the same type in a node must have the same capacity. So, within a node, all SSDs must have the same capacity and all HDDs must have the same capacity.

    • For AOS 6.0 and later, Nutanix allows mixing of drives with different capacities in the same node. However, the node treats higher-capacity drives as if they had the same capacity as the lower-capacity drives.

      Nutanix provides the ability to mix drive capacities for cases where you need to replace a drive, but only higher-capacity drives are available. To increase the overall storage capacity of the node, replace all drives with higher-capacity drives.

Yes, we have AOS earlier 6.0 and we have procured same capacity HDD. I will just pulg them & see how it works as JeroenTielen said:-) & follow your procedure if it doesn't automatically expand. 

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