Dell MD3620I Computer Accessories User Manual


 
40 Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts
3
Provide host server access.
4
Create mappings to associate the virtual disks with the host servers.
NOTE: Host server access must be created before mapping virtual disks.
Disk groups are always created in the unconfigured capacity of a storage array.
Unconfigured capacity is the available physical disk space not already
assigned in the storage array.
Virtual disks are created within the free capacity of a disk group. Free capacity
is the space in a disk group that has not been assigned to a virtual disk.
Virtual Disk States
Table 4-2 describes the various states of the virtual disk, recognized by the
storage array.
Table 4-2. RAID Controller Virtual Disk States
State Description
Optimal The virtual disk contains physical disks that are online.
Degraded The virtual disk with a redundant RAID level contains an inaccessible
physical disk. The system can still function properly, but performance
may be affected and additional disk failures may result in data loss.
Offline A virtual disk with one or more member disks in an inaccessible
(failed, missing, or offline) state. Data on the virtual disk is no longer
accessible.
Force online The storage array forces a virtual disk that is in an Offline state to an
Optimal state. If all the member physical disks are not available, the
storage array forces the virtual disk to a Degraded state. The storage
array can force a virtual disk to an Online state only when a sufficient
number of physical disks are available to support the virtual disk.
book.book Page 40 Thursday, December 9, 2010 3:20 PM