User guide

Array Configuration Utilities 6-33
Drive Rebuild
Drive rebuild occurs after a physical drive fails and is replaced. Only logical
drives configured for fault tolerance (RAID 1 or RAID 5) on the array with the
failed physical drive will rebuild.
Priority Settings
To set the drive rebuild priority, highlight the Smart Array 431 Controller and
select the Controller Settings. If you chose low priority for drive rebuild, drive
rebuilding takes place when there is not I/O to the drive. If you choose high
priority, drive rebuilding occurs faster, at the expense of normal I/O
operations. Choosing high priority for drive rebuilding protects an array, but
the array is vulnerable to additional drive failures while a drive is being
rebuilt.
Expand an Array
During an expand, performance may be slightly degraded. In most cases,
however, any potential degradation is offset by the addition of physical drives.
Some tips for expanding are:
■ Perform the expand process during periods of low server use. If you
must expand during peak periods, the Array Configuration Utility for
NetWare allows you to set the priority of the expand. Setting the priority
to LOW will affect performance the least, but it will take longer for the
new space to become available.
■ When expanding, you must add drives of at least the same capacity as
the smallest drive in the array. Adding larger drives wastes space
because only the space that is equal to the smallest drive size can be
used.
Add or Configure Spare Drives
When adding a spare drive to an array, you must have an unassigned drive or a
drive already assigned as a spare on another array. You can assign a single
spare to as many arrays as you want, or assign separate spares. When you
select Assign Spare Drive, only drives that qualify will appear (for example,
only those spares that are large enough will appear). If drives that you expect
to see do not appear, switch to the physical drive view (TAB key), and check
the size of the drives. The spare must be as large as the smallest drive in the
array.