Patent ID: 8060772

Claim:
A computer implemented method for managing redundant arrays of independent drives, the computer implemented method comprising: responsive to a failure of a hard disk associated with an original redundant array of independent drives to form a failed disk, calculating an amount of free capacity available across a set of remaining hard disks associated with the original redundant array of independent drives, wherein the set of remaining hard disks comprises every hard disk associated with the original redundant array of independent drives except the failed disk; responsive to a determination that the amount of free capacity is sufficient to re-create the original redundant array of independent drives at a same redundant array of independent drives level as the original redundant array of independent drives using only the set of remaining hard disks, reconstructing the original redundant array of independent drives using an amount of space in the set of remaining drives utilized by the original redundant array of independent drives and the free capacity to form a new redundant array of independent drives, wherein the new redundant array of independent drives has the same redundant array of independent drives level as the original redundant array of independent drives; and responsive to a determination that the amount of free capacity is insufficient to re-create the original redundant array of independent drives at the same redundant array of independent drives level as the original redundant array of independent drives using only the set of remaining hard disks: identifying a second redundant array of independent drives having an amount of free capacity that is sufficient to store a set of logical volumes of data associated with the original redundant array of independent drives; storing the set of logical volumes of data associated with the original redundant array of independent drives in the second redundant array of independent drives; and reconstructing the original redundant array of independent drives using only the set of remaining hard disks used by the original redundant array of independent drives, wherein the reconstructed redundant array of independent drives has the same redundant array of independent drives level as the original redundant array of independent drives.