User`s guide

Chapter 6: Modifying Your Direct Attached Storage ● 62
Including Different-sized Disk Drives in a Logical Drive
You can combine disk drives of different sizes in the same logical drive. If the logical drive
includes redundancy, however, the size of each segment can be no larger than the size of the
smallest disk drive. (See Selecting the Best RAID Level on page 153 for more information about
redundancy.)
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.
To create a logical drive with disk drives of different sizes, follow the instructions in Building
Your Storage Space on page 26.
When the logical drive is created, it appears similar to the example in the next figure, where a
RAID 5 logical drive includes two disk drives of one size and two of another—the disk drive
icons indicate that the two larger disk drives still have available space.
The Full Size Capacity View of the same RAID 5 logical drive shows that the larger disk drives
still have available space (free segments, indicated in light-blue) that is not part of a logical
drive. It also shows that the disk drive designated as a hot spare is large enough to replace any
of the disk segments included in the logical drive.
You can include a disk drive’s available space in a new logical drive (see page 63), or add it to an
existing logical drive (see page 70).
Disk drive icons show
space still available
Light-blue segments are not part of a logical drive
and are still available for use.