Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard (Step 2)

Depending on the RAID level you selected in the Create Virtual Disk Wizard (Step 1) <Controller Name> page, the Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard (Step 2 of 3) - <Controller Name> page displays the disks and connectors (channels or ports) available for configuring the virtual disk.

The following is an example of what might be displayed:

Connector 0

The Connector section of the page displays the connectors on the controller and the disks attached to each connector. Select the disks you want to include in the virtual disk. In this example, the controller has a single connector with five disks.

  • Physical disk 0:0
  • Physical disk 0:1
  • Physical disk 0:2
  • Physical disk 0:3
  • Physical disk 0:4

Physical Disks Selected

The Physical Disks Selected section of the page displays the disks you have chosen. In this example, two disks are selected.

  • Physical disk 0:0
  • Physical disk 0:1

Each RAID level has specific requirements for the number of disks that must be selected. RAID 10, RAID 50, and RAID 60 also have requirements for the number of disks that must be included in each stripe or span.

If the controller is a SAS controller with firmware versions 6.1 and later and you selected RAID 10, RAID 50, and RAID 60, the user interface displays the following:

  • All Disks — Enables you to select all the physical disks in all the enclosures.
  • Enclosure — Enables you to select all physical disks in the enclosure.
  • Number of Disks per Span — Enables you to select the number of disks in each span (default = 2). This option is available only on SAS controllers with firmware version 6.1 and later.

    Let us consider that the controller has three enclosures with six physical disks each (total number of available disks = 3 x 6 =18 disks). If you select four disks per span, the controller creates four spans (18 disks/4 disks per span = 4 spans). The last two disks of the last enclosure are not part of RAID 10.

  • Select the number of disks to create a single spanned virtual disk list box — Enables you to create a single span virtual disk with 22 or 26 physical drives for PERC controllers. This list box option appears only if you have selected RAID 10 in step 1 and the system has 22 or more physical drives.

    Select the required connector and the corresponding physical disk, and click Continue.