Creating a RAID Device

To create a RAID device:

1. Click the 'Shared Storage' tab in the 'Local Network' screen of the WBM. The 'Disk Management' screen appears (see figure 6.10).

2. Click the 'Add RAID Device' link in the 'RAID Devices' section. The 'RAID Properties' screen appears:

   Figure 6.31: RAID Properties

   

3. In the 'RAID Properties' screen:
   1. Choose the RAID level (RAID0, RAID1 or RAID5) from the combo box.
   2. Choose the underlying devices (your pre-configured partitions) in the next two combo boxes. For RAID1 you may choose only one device and later add another one.
   3. Type a name for the mount point of the RAID device in the 'Mount Point' field.
   4. Click 'Next'.

4. In the 'Partition Format' screen, choose 'Format the partition' and click 'Next' (see figure 6.32).

   Figure 6.32: Partition Format

   

5. Select the format type in the 'Partition File System' screen (see figure 6.33) and click 'Next'.

   Figure 6.33: Partition File System

   

6. The 'Partition Summary' screen (see figure 6.34) displays a summary of the chosen device properties. Press the 'Finish' button to execute the RAID device creation.

   Figure 6.34: Partition Summary

   

As soon as a RAID device is created, its formatting will begin. If the device is RAID1 and has two underlying devices, its re-synchronization process (partition mirroring) will begin simultaneously. During re-synchronization the RAID device is fully usable, and can be mounted and used.

Figure 6.35 depicts a successful configuration of two RAID devices, as they appear in the 'Raid Devices' section of the 'File Server' screen. The first is RAID0, consisting of two underlying partitions (one on each disk), and the second is RAID1, consisting of another set of underlying partitions. Note that the RAID0 total space is the sum of the two partitions, while the RAID1 total space is the size of one partition (due to mirroring).

Figure 6.35: RAID Devices