Hello everybody!
Watch this video to find out how to create two RAID systems based on one controller.
How to create RAID level 0 and 5 on an HP controller with the help of Array Configuration
Utility.
You’ll also learn why people may need several arrays built on one controller, and how to
recover data from a RAID system based on HP P822 controller.
Array Configuration Utility (ACU for short) is a tool for configuring disk arrays built
on HP Smart Array controllers.
This utility lets you control and monitor the status of RAID controllers and disk arrays.
You can download the program from the official website.
It is available in two versions – the one with a graphical interface, and the one designed
for the Command Prompt.
I’ll show you how to create RAID systems with both versions of the utility.
We’ll be building the RAID arrays on a controller HP P822.
The disks connected to the controller can be used to build one, two or even more RAID
systems of any level; the number and level of disk arrays will only be limited by how
many disks you have at hand.
The only downside of this strategy is that you’re going to lose data on both RAID systems
the moment your controller breaks down.
For illustration, we will create a RAID 0 for the operating system to boost read and
write speed, and a RAID 5 to store backups, archives and other important information.
In this case, the failure of one array is not going to affect the work of the other
one.
How to create a RAID 0 system in the console version of HP Array Configuration Utility
For starters, let’s explore how to create a RAID system with the help of the Command
Prompt.
The first step is to find the utility on the HPE official website and download it.
Run the utility and check the information about our controller.
In order to address a specific controller to build a RAID system, you need to identify
the slot to which it is connected.
This can be done with the command below: controller all show
This command addresses all controllers and shows their status.
As a result, you’ll see the list of controllers and the slots where each of them belongs.
Now you need to find out what disks are connected to the controller.
Here is the command to use: controller slot=1 physicaldrive all show
The command addresses the controller in the first slot and displays all physical disks
connected to it, as well as the drives united into a RAID system.
When you identify the disks that the future array will consist of, you can start building
this RAID.
Use the command “create”: hpacucli controller slot=1 create type=ld
drives=allunassigned raid=5 size=max hpacucli controller slot=1 create type=ld
drives=1:5,1:6,1:7 raid=5 size=max This command contains the following attributes:
Controller slot - 1.
Device type to be created: “ld” which stands for logical disk.
The disks to be included into this RAID can be presented as a list of drives, or you can
select all unassigned drives.
Another part of the command is the RAID level to be created.
Finally, you specify the size of the logical disk you want to create.
You can either give it in megabytes or select all available capacity, by adding “max.”
To check if this command was successful, use another one to check:
hpacucli controller slot=1 show config As a result, you’ll get the information
about all arrays created on this controller in a specific slot.
As we can see, RAID 5 was created with the entire space provided by three disks.
Due to peculiarities of its structure, the total capacity of a RAID 5 logical disk equals
the combined capacity of all the physical disks minus the capacity of one of the disks:
this RAID 5 was created with 3 drives of 300 GB each, and the final capacity of the logical
disk is 600 GB.
The last step is to format the new logical disk in the Disk Management.
How to create a RAID 5 system in HP Array Configuration Utility with a graphical interface
Now let’s try to create a RAID system with the same utility, but using the version with
the graphical interface.
Run the utility and select the controller from this list.
Below, click on the controller or on the unassigned drives and then click “Create Array” on
the right.
Select the disks that the future array will consist of, and click OK.
In the next window, hit the button “Create Logical Drive.”
Now give the RAID level - in my case, that is 0.
This RAID type lets you boost read and write speed; in theory, this speed is supposed to
increase as if multiplied by the number of actual disks in the array (say, having two
disks means you may get double speed), but in practice the increase is not that high.
After that, specify strip size (you can leave this setting at its default value), logical
disk size (set the size you need or select all the available space), and enable or disable
caching.
When all settings are ready, click Save to confirm it.
The RAID system is created, and you can see it on the left side of the main window.
To learn more the array, select it and click “More Information.”
How to recover data from a RAID system If your controller, operating system, or disks
suddenly fail, if the information is removed accidentally or drives are formatted by mistake,
Hetman RAID Recovery is there to help you out.
If your data was removed accidentally from the disk array, or the disks were formatted,
run the program, scan the logical disk and recover the deleted files – they will
be marked with a red cross.
Select the ones you need and click “Recovery,” then specify where
you want to save them; when the recovery process is complete, you’ll find the files in the
directory you have selected.
When the operating system is damaged or one of the disks within the array fails, connect
the disks to a Windows computer and run the recovery tool.
Hetman RAID Recovery will scan the disks of your RAID system automatically to read all
their data and then rebuild the disk array.
As you can see, the program managed to identify both RAID systems built with this controller
type even though the controller itself is currently missing.
Right-click on the disk and choose “Open,” then select the scan type, click “Next,”
and then “Finish” when the process is over.
You can see that the program finds all data remaining on the disk array – and even the
files which have been removed – without difficulty.
Select the stuff you need and click “Recovery,” and specify where
you want to save it; we strongly recommend against saving data to the same disk you are
recovering it from, so you should choose a different disk instead.
When the path is ready, click “Recovery” again, and when the operation is over, you’ll
find your files in the folder you have chosen.
How to build a RAID system in the Constructor When a disk is damaged or service information
is erased, the program may have difficulties with rebuilding the RAID automatically; however,
you can do it manually if you know the properties of this damaged array.
Open the RAID Constructor and select Manual mode, then fill in all the information you
know: the RAID type, block order and size, add the disks it used to include, use the
arrows to specify their order, and replace the missing disks with empty drives by clicking
the “plus” button.
When all the properties are given, click Add for the RAID system to appear in the Drive
Manager.
Scan it
and recover the information you need.
That is all for now!
Hopefully, this video was useful.
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Thank you for watching.
Good luck.