Instruction Manual

26 Storage Controller Features
Fast Initialization of Virtual Disks
A fast initialization on a virtual disk overwrites the first and last 8 MB of the
virtual disk, clearing any boot records or partition information. The operation
takes only 2–3 seconds to complete and is recommended when you are
recreating virtual disks. To perform a fast initialization using the BIOS
Configuration Utility, see "Initializing Virtual Disks" on page 91.
NOTE: Fast Initialization is automatically executed when a virtual disk is created
with Dell OpenManage storage management application.
Consistency Checks
Consistency Check (CC) is a background operation that verifies and corrects
the mirror or parity data for fault tolerant virtual disks. It is recommended
that you periodically run a consistency check on virtual disks.
You can manually start a CC using the BIOS Configuration Utility or the
Dell OpenManage storage management application. To start a CC using the
BIOS Configuration Utility, see "Checking Data Consistency" on page 91.
You can schedule CC to run on virtual disks using a Dell OpenManage
storage management application.
Disk Roaming
Disk roaming is moving the physical disks from one cable connection or
backplane slot to another on the same controller. The controller
automatically recognizes the relocated physical disks and logically places
them in the proper virtual disks that are part of the disk group. You can
perform disk roaming only when the system is turned off.
CAUTION: Do not attempt disk roaming during RAID level migration (RLM) or
online capacity expansion (OCE). This causes loss of the virtual disk.
Perform the following steps to use disk roaming:
1
Turn off the power to the system, physical disks, enclosures, and system
components. Disconnect power cords from the system.
2 Move the physical disks to desired positions on the backplane or
the enclosure.
3 Perform a safety check. Make sure the physical disks are inserted properly.
4 Turn on the system.
PERC7.2_UG.book Page 26 Thursday, March 3, 2011 2:14 PM