Compaq Smart Array 5i Plus Controller and Battery Backed Write Cache Enabler User Guide
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COMPAQ CONFIDENTIAL
Writer: Amy L. Laffitte File Name: h-ch7 Configuring an Array
Codename: Executor Part Number: 266328-001 Last Saved On: 2/8/02 10:39 AM
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Configuring an Array
Compaq provides four utilities for configuring an array:
•
Option ROM Configuration for Arrays (ORCA)
—a simple ROM-based
configuration utility that runs on all operating systems
•
Array Configuration Utility (ACU)
—a versatile configuration utility that
provides maximum control over configuration parameters
•
Array Configuration Utility-XE (ACU-XE)
—a browser-based version of ACU
that can be used remotely on systems that are also running Compaq Insight
Manager XE
•
NetWare Online Array Configuration (CPQONLIN) Utility
—a menu-driven
utility for NetWare
The following limitations apply to all configuration methods:
•
For the most efficient use of drive space, do not mix drives of different capacity
within the same array. Each configuration utility treats all physical drives in an
array as if they have the same capacity as the smallest drive in the array. Excess
capacity of larger drives is wasted because it is unavailable to the array.
•
Only one online spare drive can be assigned per array.
•
The probability that an array will experience a hard drive failure increases with
the number of hard drives in the array (see Appendix D). If you configure an
array with RAID 5, keep the probability of failure acceptably low by using no
more than 14 drives.
