Full inititialization of virtual disks, Fast inititialization of virtual disks, Consistency checks – Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller 6i User Manual

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About PERC 6 and CERC 6i Controllers

Full Inititialization 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. A full
initialization eliminates the need for that virtual disk to undergo a
background initialization and can be performed directly after the creation of
a virtual disk.

During full initialization, the host is not be 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. To use the
BIOS Configuration Utility to perform a full initialization, see "Initializing
Virtual Disks" on page 88.

NOTE:

If the system is rebooted during a full initialization, the operation aborts and

a BGI begins on the virtual disk.

Fast Inititialization 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. This operation
takes only 2-3 seconds to complete and is recommended when recreating
virtual disks. To perform a fast initialization using the BIOS Configuration
Utility, see "Initializing Virtual Disks" on page 88.

Consistency Checks

Consistency Check is a background operation that verifies and corrects the
mirror or parity data for fault tolerant virtual disks. It is recommended that
you periodically run a consistency check on virtual disks.

You can manually start a consistency check using the BIOS Configuration
Utility or a Open Manage storage management application. To start a
consistency check using the BIOS Configuration Utility, see "Checking Data
Consistency" on page 88. Consistency ch
ecks can be scheduled to run on
virtual disks using a Open Manage storage management application.

Dell_PERC6.1_UG.book Page 26 Wednesday, April 15, 2009 4:18 PM

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