Managing RAID on Linux

Creating an Array and Installing Linux

The following steps outline the process for creating a new array and installing Linux onto a new system with a 3ware controller. The Kernel Configuration section later in this chapter outlines the process for adding 3ware support to the kernel on an existing system.

1. When the controller’s startup banner appears, press ALT-3 to access the configuration screen. The main menu is split into a list of disks and a list of arrays. No arrays will appear during the first use.

2. Use the arrow keys to navigate and the ENTER key to select disks for inclusion in the new array. An asterisk appears next to each disk once it has been selected.

3. After the desired disks are selected, navigate to the Create Array button at the bottom of the screen and press the ENTER key.

4. An array properties screen appears. Use the arrow and ENTER keys to adjust the RAID level, cache type (write-through or write-back) and stripe size as needed. Select OK when finished, and you’ll be returned to the main menu.

5. Press F8 to commit the new array to the controller’s memory. Some additional warnings may appear, indicating that data on the selected disk will be destroyed. Confirm the warnings if you are certain that the disks contain no important data and you want to continue creating the array. If you created an array with redundancy, a synchronization process will start before the system reboots. When the system restarts, the new array appears in the controller’s initialization banner.

When ...