User`s guide

Chapter 3: Building Your Storage Space ● 35
Creating Logical Drives
Adaptec Storage Manager has a wizard to help you create (or configure) logical drives, and
offers two configuration methods to choose from, depending on your needs:
● Express configuration (basic)—Automatically creates logical drives by grouping together
same-sized physical drives, and assigns RAID levels based on the number of physical disk
drives in the logical drive.
Use the express method when you want to use all available disk drives in the most efficient
manner. For instructions, see
page 35.
● Custom configuration (advanced)—Helps you group disk drives, set RAID levels,
determine logical drive size, and configure advanced settings manually.
Use the custom method when you want to create specific logical drives with any or all
available disk drives. For instructions, see page 38.
Note:
Adaptec recommends that you not combine SAS and SATA disk drives within the same
logical drive. Adaptec Storage Manager generates a warning if you try to create a logical drive using
a combination of SAS and SATA disk drives.
Express Configuration: The Easy Way
When you use express configuration, Adaptec Storage Manager automatically creates logical
drives by grouping together same-sized physical disk drives, and assigns RAID levels based on
the number of physical disk drives in a logical drive:
● A logical drive with three or more physical disk drives is assigned RAID 5.
● A logical drive with two physical disk drives is assigned RAID 1.
● A logical drive with only a single physical disk drive becomes a simple volume, which does
not offer redundancy.
Note:
To create a logical drive with any other RAID level, you must use the custom method, as
described on page 38. See Selecting the Best RAID Level on page 153 for more information about
RAID levels.
By default, logical drive size is set by Adaptec Storage Manager and automatically maximizes
the capacity of the disk drives. However, you can choose to specify a size for a logical drive, if
required.
To build your storage space with the express method:
1 In the Enterprise View, select the system you want, then select the controller you want.
2 On the toolbar, click Create.