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Configuring an Array

HP provides three utilities for manually configuring an array:

•Array Configuration Utility (ACU)—A versatile, browser-based utility that provides maximum control over configuration parameters

•Option ROM Configuration for Arrays (ORCA)—A simple ROM-based configuration utility that runs on all operating systems

•NetWare Online Array Configuration Utility (CPQONLIN)—Amenu-driven utility for NetWare

NOTE: If you want to copy a particular array configuration to several other servers on the same network, use the Array Configuration Replicator (ACR) or the scripting capability of ACU. ACR is provided in the SmartStart Scripting Toolkit, available at www.hp.com/servers/sstoolkit.

For background information about drive arrays and fault-tolerance (RAID) methods, refer to Appendix D.

The following limitations apply to all configuration methods:

•For the most efficient use of drive space, do not mix drives of different capacity within the same array. Each configuration utility treats all physical drives in an array as if they have the same capacity as the smallest drive in the array. Excess capacity of larger drives is wasted because it is unavailable for data storage.

•The probability that an array will experience a hard drive failure increases with the number of hard drives in the array (for more detailed information, refer to Appendix F). If you configure an array with RAID 5, keep the probability of failure acceptably low by using no more than 14 drives.

HP Smart Array 641/642 Controller User Guide

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