Raid Array Initialization - 3Ware 7000-2 - Escalade RAID Controller User Manual

c Select Storage.
d Select Disk Management.
5 Follow the steps the appear on-screen to write a signature to the
drive.
6 Right click on the drive and select Create Volume.
7 Follow the steps the appear on-screen to create a volume and to
assign a drive letter.

RAID array initialization

RAID 0 arrays do not need to be initialized and are immediately
available for use with full performance when created.
RAID 1 and 10 arrays are not initialized when created and are
immediately available for use with full performance when created.
The first time the array is verified (via the BIOS or 3ware 3DM),
the array is initialized. Initialization results in data from one disk
(the disk on the lower channel number) being copied to the other
drive. In RAID 10 arrays, data from one half of the array is copied
to the other half. After the initial verification, subsequent verifies to
a RAID 1 or 10 array result in the data from one drive (or set of
drives) being compared to the other drive (or set of drives).
RAID 5 arrays are immediately initialized after being created in the
BIOS by writing zeroes to all array members. The user can reboot
the system before this is complete in order to use the RAID 5 array
immediately. Once booted to the operating system, the RAID 5
array goes into initialization mode after a delay of up to ten min-
utes. The advantage of this procedure is that the RAID 5 array can
be used immediately, but it will not be fault tolerant until the initial-
ization is complete. The disadvantage of this is that it takes longer
for the array to become fully redundant, because it takes longer to
initialize an array than it does to write zeroes to the array.
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Windows® 2000 or Windows XP Installation
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