Managing RAID on Linux

Controller Setup

After installing a Mylex RAID controller, you should see a message similar to the following when you power on the system:

Scanning Option ROMs...
Mylex AcceleRAID 352 BIOS PLUS V6.01-30 (Nov 14, 2001)
Copyright (c) 2001 IBM Corporation. All rights reserved.
www.mylex.com

  Spinning up drives......
  AcceleRAID 352 Firmware Version 7.00-03
  RAID Adapter Serial #: 10026500327
  PCI Address: F0000000 Bus=2 Dev/Slot=13 Function=0 IRQ=9
  Adapter Memory Size = 64 MB (SDRAM/ECC)
  BIOS Enabled - 8 GB Disk Drive Geometry Selected.
  Press <ALT-M> for BIOS options
  Press <ALT-R> for RAID Configuration options
  No system drives installed

If arrays had already been defined, the last line would have displayed the number of arrays (logical drives) in the controller’s configuration. The banner also displays the amount of memory installed in the controller, the firmware version, and the card’s PCI address, location, and interrupt.

BIOS options

Press ALT-M to enter the BIOS options menu. There are three options, each of which controls the card’s ability to boot the system.

BIOS enabled/disabled

The BIOS must be enabled if you wish to boot from disks, arrays, or CD-ROM drives connected to the controller. If you don’t want to boot from these devices, you can disable the BIOS and shave a few seconds off the system startup. The remaining options do not apply if this option is disabled.

CD-ROM boot enabled/disabled

If you want to boot from a CD-ROM drive that is connected to your Mylex controller, this option ...