Customizing Virtual Disk for your Application

This section describes the procedure to create a custom virtual disk that is most suitable for your application.

Note: MSU v4.1.1503 is an early build that does not offer complete support for 88SE91xx IOP. The Marvell BIOS Utility (MBU) for 88SE91xx offers more flexibility for creating and managing virtual disks. For more information, see MBU for 88SE91xx IO Processor (IOP). Check the OEM website for an updated version of MSU that offers enhanced support for the 88SE91xx.

To create a custom virtual disk most suitable for your application

1.    Select Adapter.

2.    Roll-over the Operation tab, and select Create VD, as shown in Figure 1.

The Create New VD screen appears, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 1  Create VD

Figure 2  Create New VD

 

3.    Select RAID Level suitable for your application, as shown in Figure 3.

For information on RAID levels, see Selecting a RAID Level.

Figure 3  Select RAID Level

Note: Marvell Storage controllers support different sets of RAID levels depending on the hardware model and OEM software package. Some software packages, depending on OEM selections, support limited RAID levels by design. Check with the OEM vendor for information specific to your controller.

 

4.    Table 1 lists the minimum number of physical disks required for different RAID levels.

Table 1  Minimum Number of Physical Disks

Controller

Minimum Number of Physical Disks Required for RAID Level

 

0

1

1E

5

6

10

50

60

IO Processor (IOP)

2

2

3

3

4

4

6

8

Add the required number of physical disks for the selected RAID level from the list of available physical disks, as shown in Figure 3. When selected, a check-mark appears to the right of the physical disk, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4  Select Physical Disks

 

5.    After selecting the physical disks, select Next as shown in Figure 4.

The Create New VD screen now presents options to configure the virtual disk, as shown in Figure 5.

Note: Next is grayed-out until the minimum required number of physical disks are selected.

Figure 5  Create New VD

 

6.    As shown in Figure 5, MSU assigns a default name to the virtual disk. You can type a new name in the Name field.

7.    After selecting the Name, select the Initialization method for the virtual disk.

As shown in Figure 6, MSU has three options for Initialization, with the default being Fast Initialization.

Note: For information on Initialization, see Glossary.

Figure 6  Initialization

 

8.    After selecting the Name, select Stripe Size for the virtual disk.

As shown in Figure 7, the RAID controller being used has four options for Stripe Size, with the default being 64K.

Note: Availability of Stripe Sizes depends on the capabilities of the controller. For information on Stripe Size, see Glossary.

Figure 7  Stripe Size

Note: The MBU for 88SE91xx supports selection of Gigabyte Rounding. For more information, see MBU for 88SE91xx IO Processor (IOP).

 

9.    After selecting Stripe Size, select Submit to create the virtual disk.

MSU creates the virtual disk and displays the Property tab for the new virtual disk, as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8  VD Created