Help me configure this storage server!

[DiscipleDOC]

I got a new toy today...it was a new storage server from Dell! It's a PowerEdge NF500 with over 1.5 tB of storage space. I'm about to dismantle it and reconfigure the partitions, because Dell (for some unknown reason) decided to make it all one large partition.

So far, I've repart it to have a 93gb os partition, and now the fun begins.

Give me some suggestions of what I should do with the other partitions (and no, I will not put pr0n on my server, Crainger!)

[Revs]

How many physical drives does it have and how big?

[DiscipleDOC]

Four physical drives and they are 500gb each...

[Revs]

You thinking about RAIDing em up at all. What are you gonna be storing on there, anything specific or just general stuff?

If possible, I would RAID1 two of em for important stuff.

[DiscipleDOC]

Originally Posted by Revs

You thinking about RAIDing em up at all. What are you gonna be storing on there, anything specific or just general stuff?

It's RAID 5...and I am going to be storing files and backups on this server.

[Revs]

Hmm. I don't know enough about how RAID5 works to know what is possible, partition wise. Can you just partition it as if it were one drive?

[DiscipleDOC]

Originally Posted by Revs

Hmm. I don't know enough about how RAID5 works to know what is possible, partition wise. Can you just partition it as if it were one drive?

That's how it came...and I did not like it. Having everything on one drive is a nightmare if something was to happen to the os.

I would rather have at least 2 partitions.

[Revs]

Originally Posted by DiscipleDOC

That's how it came...and I did not like it. Having everything on one drive is a nightmare if something was to happen to the os.

I would rather have at least 2 partitions.

When I said 'one drive', I meant one physical drive, not one partition

Have you tried to partition it in Disk Management? If so what happens?

[DiscipleDOC]

Originally Posted by Revs

When I said 'one drive', I meant one physical drive, not one partition

Have you tried to partition it in Disk Management? If so what happens?

Disk Management won't allow you to re-partition the drives...I have to go into the card's bios and re-partition the drives.

[Revs]

Originally Posted by DiscipleDOC

Disk Management won't allow you to re-partition the drives...I have to go into the card's bios and re-partition the drives.

In that case i'm as lost as you, Doc. What's this 'card' you speak of. Is it what controls the drives? Do you connect to this through LAN?

[Revs]

I assume you meant it's a PowerVault?! That's the only NF500 model I could see.

If so this might help..

http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...n_en/admin.pdf

Page 31 onwards is about volume configs.

[crainger]

Originally Posted by DiscipleDOC

Disk Management won't allow you to re-partition the drives...I have to go into the card's bios and re-partition the drives.

Here is what you do. Setup RAID 5 in the cards bios. Don't partition anything or format anything in there. Install the OS, use it to configure the OS partition only. XP, Server setup all let you do that, just set it to 93 GB or whatever. NOW when the OS is installed use Disk Management to create the extra Partitions. The OS will probably only see one big drive with unallocated space.

OR

Break the array, install the OS to a partition on ONE of the drives. Once in the OS use it to create the RAID array across the drives. This way is less hassle, BUT I don't know if Windows supports RAID 5 in it's software (It does RAID 1 fine). Using Windows to run the RAID is also slower than going through the dedicated RAID card.