Users Guide

The amount of time to wait before spinning down disks can be set using Configured Spin Down Delay.

The minimum value of the timer is 30 minutes (default) and the maximum is one day. Disks are spun

down automatically and spun up when accessed. All disks are spun up on reboot.

NOTE: There is a delay in I/O operations when a configured disk is being spun up.

Types Of Virtual Disk Initialization

You can initialize the virtual disks as described in the following sections:

CAUTION: The initializing virtual disks task erases the files and file systems while keeping the

virtual disk configuration intact. Initializing a virtual disk destroys all data on the virtual disk.

NOTE: The initialization operations mentioned here are not applicable for  Non-RAID disks.

Background Initialization Of Virtual Disks

Background Initialization (BGI) is an automated process that writes the parity or mirror data on newly

created virtual disks. BGI does not run on RAID 0 virtual disks. You can control the BGI rate in the Dell

OpenManage storage management application. Any change in the BGI rate does not take effect until the

next BGI run.

NOTE: You cannot disable BGI permanently. If you cancel BGI, it automatically restarts within five

minutes. For information on stopping BGI, see the topic Stopping Background Initialization.

NOTE: Unlike full or fast initialization of virtual disks, background initialization does not clear data

from the physical disks.

NOTE: CC/BGI typically causes some loss in performance until the operation completes.

Consistency Check (CC) and BGI perform similar functions in that they both correct parity errors.

However, CC reports data inconsistencies through an event notification, but BGI does not. You can start

CC manually, but not BGI.

Full Initialization Of Virtual Disks

Performing a full initialization on a virtual disk overwrites all blocks and destroys any data that previously

existed on the virtual disk. Full initialization of a virtual disk eliminates the need for the virtual disk to

undergo a BGI. Full initialization can be performed after the creation of a virtual disk.

During full initialization, the host is not able to access the virtual disk. You can start a full initialization on a

virtual disk by using the Slow Initialize option in the Dell OpenManage storage management application.

For more information on using the BIOS Configuration Utility to perform a full initialization, see the topic

Initializing Virtual Disks.

NOTE: If the system reboots during a full initialization, the operation aborts and a BGI begins on the

virtual disk.

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 the topic Initializing Virtual Disks