Novell LINUX ENTERPRISE SERVER 10 - STORAGE ADMINISTRATION GUIDE FOR EVMS Administration Manual page 16

Device Size Limits
Version 2.3 and later of mdadm supports component devices up to 4 TB in size each. Earlier
versions support component devices up to 2 TB in size.
IMPORTANT: If you have a local disk, external disk arrays, or SAN devices that are larger than the
supported device size, use a third-party disk partitioner to carve the devices into smaller logical
devices.
You can combine up to 28 component devices to create the RAID array. The md RAID device you
create can be up to the maximum device size supported by the file system you plan to use. For
information about file system limits for SUSE
Support" in the
www.novell.com/documentation/sles10).
Data Loss Considerations for the System Device
This install requires that you delete the default Partitioning settings created by the install, and create
new partitions to use EVMS instead. This destroys all data on the disk.
WARNING: To avoid data loss, it is best to use the EVMS install option only on a new device.
If you have data volumes on the system device, take one or more of the following precautionary
measures:
Storage Deployment Considerations for the System Device
By default, the YaST install for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server uses the Linux Volume Manager to
manage the system device. The install procedures in this section describe how to install SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server with EVMS as the volume manager of the system device. The instructions assume
the following:
16 SLES 10 Storage Administration Guide for EVMS
Your system uses the Grub or LILO boot loaders.
If you have an IA64 system, you must modify these install instructions to use the ELILO boot
loader (/boot/efi/elilo.conf) instead.
WARNING: Whenever you manually alter the kernel or initrd on your system, make sure
to run /sbin/elilo before shutting down the computer. If you leave out this step, your
system might not be bootable.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Installation and Administration Guide. (http://
Move the data volumes from the system device to another device.
If you cannot move the volumes, make a backup copy of the data, so you can restore the data
volumes later from a backup copy.
You want to use EVMS to manage the system device.
Only the system device is to be configured during the install.
Other devices on the system are not configured during the install, or are attached to the server
post-install. These additional devices are configured only after the system is operating and
performing as expected.
®
Linux Enterprise Server 10, see "Large File System