array format time VA7400

[Steve Lewis]

Can anyone tell me how long it takes to run the array format command?
We have a VA7400, with 15x36Gb, plus 2 DS2405s holding another 30x76Gb disks.
Is it near instantaneous or likely to take hours?

[Stuart Urquhart · Accepted solution]

Instantaneous - it just clears down tables on the controllers I think.

[D.Blond]

Stuart is OK. it is instantaneous.

[Seth Parker]

In the manual for the VA (someplace) it mentions how the formatting really happens. Previously unused disk space isn't actually formatted until it's needed. So as you add data to the VA, it will format what it needs to function. There is supposed to be a slight performance penalty on the first write, but only on the very first write. After that, the section of disk is truly formatted and doesn't need to be formatted again.

Regards,
Seth