Triple Tech posted:

Question to my storage homies. My roommates and I are looking to build a new file server situation. I personally feel like the growth situation is our number one priority, while they're fine for just a larger setup.

1) In RAID (of various types, we're currently using Windows-level RAID), if I have an array built with 4 drives of K-size, does RAID support adding another drive to make the array bigger?

2) What RAID-ish setups support indefinitely expanding the capacity of the system?

My personal recommendation was to go with Windows Home Server, because you can turn off drives and replace them with new ones to take advantage of the new space. How about something Drobo ish?

One thing my roommate points out is that with Windows Home Server and duplication turned on, you're only getting half the effective space for every byte that you throw to the array. So, although it supports my goal of indefinite expansion, it is not as cost effective as a straight up RAID array (which, to my understanding, may not be able to grow).