Dell H810, H710P, H310 Full Initialization of Virtual Disks, Fast Initialization of Virtual Disks

NOTE: You cannot disable BGI permanently. If you cancel BGI, it automatically restarts within five minutes. For information on stopping BGI, see "Stopping Background Initialization" on page 84.

NOTE: Unlike full or fast initialization of virtual disks, background initialization does not clear data from the physical disks.

NOTE: CC/BGI typically causes some loss in performance until the operation completes.

Consistency Check (CC) and BGI perform similar functions in that they both correct parity errors. However, CC reports data inconsistencies through an event notification, but BGI does not. You can start CC manually, but not BGI.

Full Initialization of Virtual Disks

Performing a full initialization on a virtual disk overwrites all blocks and destroys any data that previously existed on the virtual disk. Full initialization of a virtual disk eliminates the need for the virtual disk to undergo a BGI. Full initialization can be performed after the creation of a virtual disk.

During full initialization, the host is not able to access the virtual disk.

You can start a full initialization on a virtual disk by using the Slow Initialize option in the Dell OpenManage storage management application. For more information on using the BIOS Configuration Utility to perform a full initialization, see "Initializing Virtual Disks" on page 61.

NOTE: If the system reboots during a full initialization, the operation aborts and a BGI begins on the virtual disk.

Fast Initialization of Virtual Disks

A fast initialization on a virtual disk overwrites the first and last 8 MB of the virtual disk, clearing any boot records or partition information. The operation takes only 2–3 seconds to complete and is recommended when you are recreating virtual disks. To perform a fast initialization using the BIOS Configuration Utility, see "Initializing Virtual Disks" on page 61.

Features

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