HP 166207-B21 Smart Array 5300 Controller User Guide - Page 43

7 Configuring an Array Compaq provides four utilities for configuring an array: • Option ROM Configuration for Arrays (ORCA)-a simple ROM-based configuration utility that runs on all operating systems • Array Configuration Utility (ACU)-a versatile configuration utility that provides maximum control over configuration parameters • Array Configuration Utility XE (ACU-XE)-a browser-based version of ACU • NetWare Online Array Configuration Utility (CPQONLIN)-a menu-driven utility for NetWare 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. This chapter describes how to use ORCA, ACU, and CPQONLIN. For detailed information about using ACU-XE, refer to the Compaq Array Configuration Utility XE User Guide. For background information about drive arrays and fault-tolerance (RAID) methods, refer to Appendix D. Compaq Smart Array 5300 Controller User Guide 7-1