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Is it possible with the HP Smart Array P410i to create 4 arrays from 6 disks in the following way:

  • 2 of them in a RAID 10
  • 4 of them used as single disks
Wesley
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Dmitry
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2 Answers2

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Yes, this combination is possible with Smart Array controllers. Thee setup you're asking about is configurable from the BIOS. You also have the option of creating multiple logical drives if you use the HP Smart Start CD to launch the array configuration utility. Using that tool, you could create an array of 6 disks and use a certain amount of space as a RAID 1+0 logical drive, which would stripe and mirror across a portion of all six disks. You could also create RAID 0 logical drives, which would strip across a portion of all six disks.

I'm curious as to why you'd want 4 single-disk arrays. Are you trying to use them in a ZFS solution? If so, please see here and here.

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ewwhite
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Check out the HP product page for the p410 (There isn't a comprehensive page for the 'i' model. The 'i' simply means it's built into the motherboard - ***i***ntegrated - so it's reasonable to assume the p410 manual is identical to the 'i' model). Specifically look at the support & documents link, specifically specifically the manuals link.

Taking a quick look at the "Configuring Arrays on HP Smart Array Controllers" document, it appears that, yes, you can create multiple disk arrays with the p410i. Multiple disk arrays of differing RAID types on the same controller is a trivial matter that even consumer motherboards are capable of handling these days.

However, I think there is some confusion concerning what the RAID numbers are. Raid 10 is a mirror of stripes, so you need at least 4 disks to produce one. RAID 0 is a striped set so you need at least two per array. To create a RAID 10 and 4 RAID 0 arrays, you'll need at least 12 disks. Did you mean you wanted a RAID 1 set and 4 individual disks?

Wesley
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  • Hi Wesley, yes correct I wanted to have one raid 10 array and 4 individual disks. – Dmitry Jan 22 '11 at 06:26
  • @Dmitry If you have a RAID 10 array plus 4 additional individuation disks, then that means you have 8 disks total Remember, RAID 10 needs at least 4 physical disks. You stated that you have 6 disks above. So you you have 6 disks or 8 - RAID 10 or RAID1? – Wesley Jan 22 '11 at 07:49