Bought a server with a bunch of disk, they didn't set it up quite like I wanted

[restorestore]

I needed a server for a project and ordered a Dell R730xd with 12 4 TB disks.

 

Since I didn't really have tons of time to fiddle around with it I asked them to set up RAID 6 and install server 2019.

 

This results in 40 TB usable and I can lose 2 disks. Which is what I needed.

 

So, it came as requested but with a 2 TB partition. I am unable to extend the partition due to cluster quantity.

 

What is the simplest way to go? I need to maximize available space.

 

Partition tool to increase cluster size then expand partition?

 

Is there a way to install the OS while partitioning the whole space?

 

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edit - Thanks for all the helpful replies, this is an awesome forum with kind and helpful people.

Edited March 4, 2022 by restorestore
saying thanks

[Electronics Wizardy]

Is this volume the boot drive, or do you have a separate boot drive?

 

Id suggest having a separate boot drive if you can, and you really don't want the os on a hdd these days.

 

You need to reformat the drive to change cluster size.

[restorestore]

2 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Is this volume the boot drive, or do you have a separate boot drive?

 

Id suggest having a separate boot drive if you can, and you really don't want the os on a hdd these days.

 

You need to reformat the drive to change cluster size.

yeah it's the boot drive. Is there a way to reformat/reinstall the OS with larger cluster size?

[restorestore]

2 minutes ago, restorestore said:

yeah it's the boot drive. Is there a way to reformat/reinstall the OS with larger cluster size?

Or maybe make a RAID 1 with 2 disks for OS and the rest for storage in another array?

[Electronics Wizardy]

23 minutes ago, restorestore said:

Or maybe make a RAID 1 with 2 disks for OS and the rest for storage in another array?

Thats what Id do if you can't have a seperate boot ssd. Id get a boss card for the server if possible, then you can boot from a raid 1 m.2 ssd

 

You might also be able to make 2 logical disks that show to the os, make one like 200gb for the os, and the other for storage

[restorestore]

7 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Thats what Id do if you can't have a seperate boot ssd. Id get a boss card for the server if possible, then you can boot from a raid 1 m.2 ssd

 

You might also be able to make 2 logical disks that show to the os, make one like 200gb for the os, and the other for storage

Thanks for the reply! Excellent advice.

[restorestore]

8 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Thats what Id do if you can't have a seperate boot ssd. Id get a boss card for the server if possible, then you can boot from a raid 1 m.2 ssd

 

You might also be able to make 2 logical disks that show to the os, make one like 200gb for the os, and the other for storage

I'll probably create a 2 disk array and a 10 disk array and do it that way. It's a server for someone else, it will have a very easy life and I need to get it set up in the next few days, so I don't really want to change the hardware.

[restorestore]

9 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Thats what Id do if you can't have a seperate boot ssd. Id get a boss card for the server if possible, then you can boot from a raid 1 m.2 ssd

 

You might also be able to make 2 logical disks that show to the os, make one like 200gb for the os, and the other for storage

the vendor said the server was probably in "legacy mode" vs UEFI when the OS was installed so that's why it limited itself to a 2TB partition and why the rest is completely unavailable.

[Electronics Wizardy]

2 hours ago, restorestore said:

the vendor said the server was probably in "legacy mode" vs UEFI when the OS was installed so that's why it limited itself to a 2TB partition and why the rest is completely unavailable.

Yea legacy would do that limit too, and seems much more likely, the default cluster size should support >2tb. Make sure it installs via uefi mode.

[restorestore]

31 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Yea legacy would do that limit too, and seems much more likely, the default cluster size should support >2tb. Make sure it installs via uefi mode.

yeah I'm pretty sure the guy installed it in a very automated way, so he probably didn't notice. An innocent enough mistake - assuming that's what it was.

[restorestore]

7 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Yea legacy would do that limit too, and seems much more likely, the default cluster size should support >2tb. Make sure it installs via uefi mode.

It was in legacy, "BIOS" and changing it to UEFI fixed it. A "Quick" reinstall and I get this: