Best way to setup a VA7110?

[Paul Haygarth]

I've never worked with a RAID array before and I'm looking for some advice on how to setup up a VA7110. It has 15 x 18GB disks. I was thinking of using 1 for parity and 2 as hot spares. Also, I'm not sure how many LUN's to create, and how the Business Copy software affects this.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Joshua Scott]

with the VA7110, there's not as much manual control as with other RAID arrays. You cannot have 1 disk for parity, as the array manages this for you. the minimum level of protection is RAID5DP, which uses the equivelent of 2 disks for parity.

I assume you have the CommandView SW installed. Use it to select the RAID level, and # of Hotspares. The RAID levels are (IIRC):

AutoRAID. This automatically switches your data between RAID 1/0 protection and RAID 5DP.

RAID 1/0. This configures all the space as RAID 1/0.

One thing to note: once you choose AutoRAID you cannot change back to RAID 1/0 on the fly. You can change to AutoRAID from RAID 1/0 however. I would recommend using 1/0 initially, and when you NEED the space, change to AutoRAID (or better, add another enclosure with more disks.)

You cannot have 1 disk for parity, as the array manages this for you. the minimum level of protection is RAID5DP, which uses the equivelent of 2 disks for parity.

LUNS? However you need for the SW you run.

[Bob_Vance]

My suggestion would be to read the documentation -- it's available online.

Go to
. www.hp.com
and select "storage" in the middle
or go to
. www.hp.com/go/storage

select "entry level"
select "VA7110"
then "Technical Documentation" at the upper right
get the "HP StorageWorks Virtual Arrays va 7000 family - User and Service Guide
"