Questions[expansion](server)

I was trying to expand /dev/sda3/ partition after I have added a new disk to my hardware RAID, but failed after resize2fs:

[root@server5 ~]# resize2fs -f /dev/sda3
resize2fs 1.41.12 (17-May-2010)
Filesystem at /dev/sda3 is mounted on /; on-line resizing required
old desc_blocks = 47, new_desc_blocks = 93
Performing an on-line resize of /dev/sda3 to 388385366 (4k) blocks.
resize2fs: Operation not permitted While trying to add group #6016

But let start from the beggining

I re-created partition succesfully using fdisk (origin size was ~ 800gb RAID1, now its ~1.5tb RAID5)

Disk /dev/sda: 1600.3 GB, 1600264691712 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 194554 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0006ce84

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *           1         128     1024000   83  Linux
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2             128        1148     8192000   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda3            1148      194555  1553541464   83  Linux

After it i was using partprobe on /dev/sda3 and everything seems succesfull (at least by lsblk)

[root@server5 ~]# lsblk
NAME   MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda      8:0    0  1.5T  0 disk 
├─sda1   8:1    0 1000M  0 part /boot
├─sda2   8:2    0  7.8G  0 part [SWAP]
└─sda3   8:3    0  1.5T  0 part /

After that I was trying to use resize2fsk but it failed. Also I run forcefsck at the reboot, but it didn't help much. seems like there is enough GDT blocks

[root@server5 ~]# tune2fs -l /dev/sda3
tune2fs 1.41.12 (17-May-2010)
Filesystem volume name:   <none>
Last mounted on:          /
Filesystem UUID:          790fa126-9bf9-41d6-90e1-f720dfbc4663
Filesystem magic number:  0xEF53
Filesystem revision #:    1 (dynamic)
Filesystem features:      has_journal ext_attr resize_inode dir_index filetype needs_recovery extent flex_bg sparse_super large_file huge_file uninit_bg dir_nlink extra_isize
Filesystem flags:         signed_directory_hash 
Default mount options:    user_xattr acl
Filesystem state:         clean
Errors behavior:          Continue
Filesystem OS type:       Linux
Inode count:              49283072
Block count:              197132288
Reserved block count:     9856614
Free blocks:              21290170
Free inodes:              49192326
First block:              0
Block size:               4096
Fragment size:            4096
Reserved GDT blocks:      977
Blocks per group:         32768
Fragments per group:      32768
Inodes per group:         8192
Inode blocks per group:   512
Flex block group size:    16
Filesystem created:       Mon Jan 29 00:08:33 2018
Last mount time:          Wed Jan 19 05:28:55 2022
Last write time:          Wed Jan 19 09:54:25 2022
Mount count:              1
Maximum mount count:      -1
Last checked:             Wed Jan 19 05:28:47 2022
Check interval:           0 (<none>)
Lifetime writes:          228 TB
Reserved blocks uid:      0 (user root)
Reserved blocks gid:      0 (group root)
First inode:              11
Inode size:           256
Required extra isize:     28
Desired extra isize:      28
Journal inode:            8
First orphan inode:       16121861
Default directory hash:   half_md4
Directory Hash Seed:      dff51d0c-ebe2-444e-9262-ffe391307277
Journal backup:           inode blocks
Seems like there is enough GDT blocks 

DF -h output

[root@server5 ~]# df -h
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda3       741G  659G   44G  94% /
tmpfs            48G     0   48G   0% /dev/shm
/dev/sda1       969M   38M  881M   5% /boot
tmpfs           1.0G     0  1.0G   0% /ramdrive_session

FS allowed to be resized,

[root@server5 ~]# dumpe2fs /dev/sda3 | grep -i features
dumpe2fs 1.41.12 (17-May-2010)
Filesystem features:      has_journal ext_attr resize_inode dir_index filetype needs_recovery extent flex_bg sparse_super large_file huge_file uninit_bg dir_nlink extra_isize
Journal features:         journal_incompat_revoke

Journal size looks ok:

[root@server5 ~]# dumpe2fs /dev/sda3 |  grep ^Journal
dumpe2fs 1.41.12 (17-May-2010)
Journal inode:            8
Journal backup:           inode blocks
Journal features:         journal_incompat_revoke
Journal size:             128M
Journal length:           32768
Journal sequence:         0xc8213ff3
Journal start:            2327
    

So I am totally stucked and asking for your help. How to properly add space to /dev/sda3 partition ? Thank you for attention

I am building a 24-drive storage server using an existing 8-port SAS RAID controller and a chassis with passive backplanes, which means I need expanders. Currently I am using the HP 36-port expander but there is a compatibility problem, so I have to migrate to another solution.

The alternative is to use two Lenovo 24-port expanders (which I know to have no support issues,) each with a x4 link to the RAID controller and 12 drives hooked to it. I would also reserve one x4 link from each expander for future expansion. This leaves me one x4 link from each expander.

Now can I use a x4 cable to join the two expanders using those two remaining ports?

I have a Supermicro CSE-815 X8DTU-F server.

In it I have installed an Adaptec RAID 71605 controller with 4 SAS HDDs.

With them I set up a RAID 5 with 3 discs only. Now I have connected the disk that was catching and I want to expand it to a RAID5 with the 4 disks.

I have done all the management of the adapter through "maxView Storage Manager" but at the moment of expanding the RAID it does not let me add the new disk. It just appears but doesn't let me select (see image).

It is my first post and I hope I have explained myself. I don't know if someone has hit him and can help me or is it some wrong configuration.

I think I have found the problem. Reviewing the screenshot I see that the new HDD detects it with 1,023 GB less (1047.55 MB less). This does not make sense since the 4 HDDs are identical. The disk is empty so I don't know why it says it is smaller. How can I reduce the size of the RAID 5 or fix this?

In my research on developing a low-cost external drive bay for my server, I was presented with a critical issue in attaching commodity SATA drives through any SAS expander based on the LSI controller chip. Is anyone else aware of this issue?

Is there more information available on exactly which chips are affected and avoided?

The specific issue is highlighted by the script hosted here on GitHub.

I do not know if the above example is the only way to make this fault occur or is just the easiest way. The problem seems to be something like a deadlock that is permanently written to the drive, making its data inaccessible. I can't tell if that means a bit of drive surgery with a donor board would allow data recovery or if the drive data is permanently scrambled or destroyed. The script from github is expanded below and appears to me a method of secure erasure so it is unsurprising that data is lost, but that does not appear to be the issue being highlighted.

echo --security-set-pass
hdparm --user-master u --security-set-pass 123 $1
sleep 1
echo --security-erase
hdparm --user-master u --security-erase 123 $1 &
sleep 1
echo --security-set-pass
hdparm --user-master u --security-set-pass 123 $1 &

Update:

A present configuration I have uses an 8 bay Netstor drive enclosure with two MiniSAS connectors, each of which are connected to ports on a PCIe LSI SAS card in the server. This has for several years hosted SATA drives, and to the best of my knowledge the Netstor box does not feature the interposers mentioned by @davidgo. Is this a practical use case that essentially validates the configuration or is it not?

I have seen examples of home-brew NAS units that use SAS expanders plugged into a host motherboard that has neither a CPU or memory, literally for the purpose of powering the card. If the card doesn't need the PCIe slot, why are they all designed to consume one? HighPoint make a SAS expander that uses a floppy drive power connector and the SCSI bracket mount, though I'm learning it is proprietary in the communication so unsuitable for my needs.

Some example cards with internal/external ports. Interestingly the second card seems to have no pin contacts at all for the slot shape, how it is powered is ambiguous:

Would this board be effective at powering such cards? Would there be any missing features or functions?