VA7100 without Raid

[filip_6]

Hello

I just installed our VA7100 via fiber on our Windows 2000 server.

I have 6 disks x 18GB : 108 GB.

It seems like i cannot configure the VA7100 without raid, i need to choose between "HP Autoraid" and "Raid 1 + 0". There is no option to run the array without a Raid configuration.

I ask this cause with raid i only have 58GB available storage. Thats almost 50% i loose due to raid. I think thats a bit over the top.

Perhaps there is a way to configure the storage to use less disk space for Raid ?
Or can i run the VA7100 without Raid ?

All help welcome. thanx in advance.
filip

[Jim Turner]

1. Turn off your hot spare. That will give you a whole drive back.

2. Set your raid level to AutoRAID. This is essentially RAID5. I'll give you the full explanation of you want.

3. Leave about one drive's space unbound. Otherwise, when your array is full, a rebuild will take forever (if it completes at all).

There is no way that I know of to force a VA into a JBOD config.

[Seth Parker]

The VA series can't be configured without RAID. They're great low- to mid-range arrays, but they're initially expensive for disk when you configure them in terms of space used for redundancy. With 6 disks, there's no difference between the default AutoRAID and RAID 1+0 as the VA uses dual parity when in AutoRAID, and the hot spare is enabled by default. That means you loose 3 disks either way (2 to parity and one to spare with AutoRAID, or half the disks to RAID 1+0).

The good news is that you take that hit up front and once you get the thing configured with whatever RAID level you want (AutoRAID is preferrable), any disks you add increase the available storage space. You just have to take that big hit at the beginning.

Jim's advice for removing the hot spare is a good way to get yourself some disk back. Still, if you can afford it (both $ and capacity), the hot spare is cheap insurance in the long run!

Regards,
Seth