3ware, PATA, 2TB, and Me...

S

Stereodude

Not really a
Joined
Jan 22, 2002
Messages
10,865
Location
Michigan
So, I know that my 8 port PATA 3ware card can't have an array over 2TB on it. But I need more specifics. I'm hoping some of you know more about the limitations of the 3ware cards.

So, what happens if I plug in 6 500GB drives? Correcting for the whole 1000 / 1024 debacle, that would be 2328GB in RAID-5. Obviously I can't make a single 2328GB RAID-5 array... But, can I create a 2048GB "array" spanning all 6 drives, and another 280GB "array" using all 2328GB of the 6 drives? Or, am I limited to a single 2048GB "array"? Or, can I not even put 6 500's in a RAID-5 array and I would only be able to put 5 500s (giving me 1862GB)?

Thanks!
 
I assume you have a 7xxx series card?

IIRC, it is an array limit; so partitioning isn't going to help you. As to whether it would choke completely or not, I don't know.
 
Answering my own question it appears that the answer is B) Arrays are automatically truncated to 2TB... That makes 6 500's a waste about 280GB and 5 500 leave me 185GB short. 4 750s would be a much better fit (wasting less space), but I don't think we'll see them at a $150 price point any time soon.

Can anyone confirm the limit is 2TB (2^40) not 2x10^12?
 
Well, I can't say for certain, but the 3ware card shows my 5x500GB array in RAID-5 as 2TB in the BIOS.

Now I just have to figure out how why it put my RAID-1 boot drive as the 2nd array and how to fix it.
 
Stereodude said:
Well, I can't say for certain, but the 3ware card shows my 5x500GB array in RAID-5 as 2TB in the BIOS.

Now I just have to figure out how why it put my RAID-1 boot drive as the 2nd array and how to fix it.
Click to expand...

The 3Ware cards I've used seem to be picky about what hard drive is installed to what port. Want array 1 to be the boot drive, attach the hard drive to the 0 & 1 ports. Then create that array.

Bozo :joker:
 
Bozo said:
The 3Ware cards I've used seem to be picky about what hard drive is installed to what port. Want array 1 to be the boot drive, attach the hard drive to the 0 & 1 ports. Then create that array.

Bozo :joker:
Click to expand...
Yeah, I had to swap them back to port 0 & 1 to get Win XP booting again. I wanted to run them on 6 & 7 for better cooling.

Formatting 2TB takes a long time. I'm 50% done and it's been about 7 hours. :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top