Partitioning, Formatting, and Mounting Units

After you create a unit, whether through 3BM or 3DM2, it needs to be formatted, partitioned, and mounted by the operating system before it can be used.

The steps vary, depending on your operating system. For the appropriate steps, see:

To partition, format, and mount under FreeBSD

To partition, format, and mount under Linux

To partition, format, and mount under Mac OS

To partition, format, and mount under OpenSolaris

To partition, format, and mount under Windows

For information about partitioning, formatting, and mounting under VMware, consult VMware’s User Guide or contact VMware’s Technical Support.

To partition, format, and mount under Windows

1	Boot the system and log in as a system administrator.

2	Partition and format the new arrays or disks using the Administrative Tools from the Start menu:

a	Choose Computer Management from the Administrative Tools menu.

b	Select Storage.

c	Select Disk Management.

3	Follow the steps that appear on-screen to write a signature to the drive.

4	Right-click on the drive and select Create Volume.


	Note: If you plan on migrating your unit to a larger array or another RAID type in the future remember to select the dynamic disk option. Only dynamic disks can be resized into larger partitions. Older Windows systems cannot convert basic disks into dynamic disks after the file system has been created.

5	Follow the steps that appear on-screen to create a volume and to assign a drive letter.

The volume is automatically mounted after formatting completes.

To partition, format, and mount under Linux

1	Boot the system and log in as root.

2	Open a terminal window.

3	Partition the unit:


	Note: Depending on the version of Linux you are using, some of the following parted command outputs will be slightly different.

fdisk /dev/sda

If the unit is over 2 TB, use:

parted /dev/sda

(parted) mklabel

New disk label type? gpt

(parted) p

Disk geometry for /dev/sda: 0kB - 1074GB

Disk label type: gpt

Number Start End Size File system Name Flags

parted /dev/sda

(parted) mkpart

Partition type? [primary]?

File system type? [ext2]?

Start? 0

End? 1074gb

(parted) p

Disk geometry for /dev/sda: 0kB - 1074GB

Disk label type: gpt

Number Start End Size File system Name Flags1 17kB 1074MB 1074MB

4	Create or make the file system:

mkfs /dev/sda1

Use of the -j option to turn on journaling is recommended for large partitions.

For example:

mkfs -j /dev/sda1

If the partition is over 2 TB, use parted to also make the file system:

writing per-group metadata (begins)...0% to 100% is displayed)

(parted) quit (when completed)

5	Mount the volume:

mount /dev/sda1 /mnt

To partition, format, and mount under FreeBSD

1	Boot the system and log in as root.

2	Open a terminal window.

3	Partition the unit:

fdisk -BI /dev/da0;

disklabel /dev/da0 | disklabel -B -R -r da0

4	Create or make the file system:

newfs /dev/da0c

5	Mount the volume:

mount /dev/da0c /mnt

You can also use sysinstall to format and partition the unit.

To partition, format, and mount under Mac OS


	Note: “Initialization” of the unit by your operating system is different from “initialization” of a unit by 3ware. Initialization under your operating system will format your disk, erasing any existing data in the process. Initialization under 3ware does not erase data; it puts redundant data on the drives of redundant units into a known state so that data can be recovered in the event of a disk failure.

When you create a unit through 3DM2, the Mac OS X recognizes that a new disk is available, and displays a message asking what you want to do. (If this message does not appear, you can start the Disk Utility manually from the Finder and skip to step 2.)

1	In the Mac OS message, click Initialize.

Disk Insertion Message from the Mac OS

2	When the Macintosh® Disk Utility window opens, find and select the drive that represents your RAID unit.

Macintosh Disk Utility Window with New RAID Unit

3	In the Disk Utility Window, select the Partition tab.

Macintosh Disk Utility Window, Partition Tab

4	In the Volume Scheme column, click Current to show the drop-down menu and select the number of partitions that you want your RAID unit to have.

Tip: If you only want one storage volume, select 1 Partition. (Each partition will appear as a separate drive on your computer.)

Selecting the Number of Volumes in Disk Utility

5	On the right, specify a volume name and then click Partition.

It is recommended to use a unique name, although Mac OS X will allow you to give the same name to more than one partition.

If you have questions about what Format to select, see the Apple documentation.

Defining the Volume in the Macintosh Disk Utility

6	When a message asks you to confirm you want to partition the disk, click Partition.

Confirmation Message to Create the Partition

You will see a series of messages appear toward the bottom of the Disk Utility window as the RAID unit is first partitioned and then formatted. This may take a couple of minutes, depending on the size of the drives in your RAID unit.

Macintosh Disk Utility Showing Partitioning Progress