How-to increase datastore after expanding RAID array (ESXi4)

[clsaguiar]

I was advised to create a new post and fully explain my problem including hardware and software versions etc (see:http://communities.vmware.com/message/1457965).

A HP DL380G5 was set up with RAID 5 (3 disks of 146G) with a total capacity of 410GBytes

ESXi 4.0 was installed on the blank partition using total capacity for the datastore. After installing 4 virtual machines, it was clear that the space was insufficient. 3 more disks where added and the RAID 5 was extended to total capacity of 820GBytes.

When I tryed to increase the datastore, I followed the instruction on the "ESXi Configuration Guide - ESXi 4.0", namelly the section "Increase VMFS Datastore, where it says the following:

"When you need to create new virtual machines on a datastore, or when the virtual machines running on this

datastore require more space, you can dynamically increase the capacity of a VMFS datastore.

Use one of the following methods:

- Add a new extent.

- Grow an extent in an existing VMFS datastore. "

As it turns out I was unable to do either, although ESXi seems to recognise the new capacity of the array (see attached images).

[J1mbo]

My understanding is that a new LUN should have been created and presented, and then added as an extent. This could be done either by creating a new array on the new disks, or by expanding the existing RAID-5 volume to include the new disks, but without[/b] performing online capacity expansion on the existing LUN.

I think unfortunately now you are a bit stuck, unless someone knows otherwise.

Please award points to any useful answer.

[clsaguiar]

Yes, now that I have added disks to my array I won't be able to take

them away to create a new array. Also I don't want to format the disk and start again.

I did find a solution for the ESX version (),

but I have ESXi 4.0 Installable and in this case I don't know what to do.

I have access to the ESXi through ssh, but I don't know if the instructions on this article are applicable. For instance, even the output of fdisk -l is different:

1. fdisk -l

Disk /dev/disks/mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0: 880.6 GB, 880691363840 bytes

64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 839892 cylinders

Units = cylinders of 2048 * 512 = 1048576 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System

/dev/disks/mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0p1 5 900 917504 5 Extended

/dev/disks/mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0p2 901 4995 4193280 6 FAT16

/dev/disks/mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0p3 4996 419943 424906752 fb VMFS

/dev/disks/mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0p4 * 1 4 4080 4 FAT16 <32M

/dev/disks/mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0p5 5 254 255984 6 FAT16

/dev/disks/mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0p6 255 504 255984 6 FAT16

/dev/disks/mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0p7 505 614 112624 fc VMKcore

/dev/disks/mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0p8 615 900 292848 6 FAT16

Partition table entries are not in disk order

[inforhunter]

delete the FAT16 partition then set up new partition and format them with fb(vmfs) filesystem.

you can not see new datastore in you VI,if thepartitions are not in VMFS format.