Managing RAID on Linux

Creating an Array

Press CTRL-F to invoke the Promise FastBuild utility when the controller’s initialization banner appears. Select the Define Array option to create a new array. Use the SPACEBAR to choose between the available options and the arrow keys to navigate between the fields. After choosing a RAID level and stripe size (RAID-0 only), navigate to the bottom section of the screen to select individual disks to be included in the array. The letter Y to the right of a disk indicates that it has been marked for inclusion. When you’re finished selecting disks, press CTRL-Y to save the array.

If you created a RAID-1, FastBuild will ask you if you prefer to Create and Build the array (that is, perform an initial resynchronization) or to only Create the array. It’s safe to select the Create Only option (answering no to the question that appears), since you are about to install an operating system for the first time. After you finish the installation process, the controller will warn you that an array is not synchronized. At that point, you can use FastBuild to manually build the array, and then continue booting your newly installed Linux operating system.

Next, exit to the main menu by pressing the ESCAPE key. Finally, press the ESCAPE key again to exit the FastBuild utility and restart the system.

When the system restarts, the array you just created will be listed in the controller’s initialization banner. If you need to make any changes, use CTRL-F to restart the FastBuild utility. ...