Smart Array 221 Controller in Slot 2

[GinoB]

I have 8 x 72GB SCSI Drives and i'm trying to setup RAID 5, which is all good. i selected the drives and The Array shows 555714MB, but when i try to create a logical drive it only allows me 486248MB. Then it supplies me with informational alert

#785: Background parity initialization is currently queued or in progress on logical drive 2 ( RAID 5 in array B). If background parity initialization is queued, it will start when I/O is performed on the drive. When background parity initialization completes, the performance of the logical drive will improve.

I also have upgraded the F/W to 4.50 (note: my server is Compaq 5500 - OLD baby)

have someone come accross thsi error before?

Thank you in adavance for your help.

Thanks

[Pshedges]

I am assuming that #785 is not an error, I you always recieve this notification on the MSA1000's when creating virtual disks within an array, so I would assume this to be normal on your controller.

Once I/O has been started on the array and the parity initialisation commences this runs at about 12GB per Hour (this is approximate and depends on what other I/O's are going on at the time).

As for the amount of space available, a 72GB drive (once formatted) will give about 69GB of space available, this multiplied by 8 gives approx 552GB, then if you create a RAID5 Logical drive you will lose about a futher 20% for the parity - thus giving you the sixe of a logical drive 486GB.