Smart Array 5i

[CA1516480]

I have a dl380G2 with the Smart Array 5i. I want to add 6 300gb drives and create one logical drive. what is the maximum logical drive size that can be created?

Thank you

[LaneB]

Such drives are available, but they will not come cheaply. A search at this link...

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&from=R10&_trksid=m37&satitle=Compaq+300GB+SCA&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=ZIP%2FPostal&sabfmts=1&saobfmts=insif&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1

...turns up only three hits, with a price in the area of $385 per drive. This means you're going to be spending over $2,000 for drives alone.

You might be able to get third-party SCA-connectorized Ultra-320 SCSI drives, BUT... If you expect to be able to take full advantage of the RAID and data-protection features inherent to HPaq RAID controllers, your drives will need to be Compaq/HP branded, with HP firmware.

As far as logical drive size: The 5i should not have a problem with it. HOWEVER -- With that large an array, I would recommend not using the 5i. Instead, get something with a bit more oomph, such as a SmartArray 5300 or 6400, with at least 128MB of cache.

Happy hunting.