Avago Technologies 3ware 9650SE-12ML (Channel) - Manual (Page 115)

Configuring a New Unit
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Name of the unit (optional)
Units can be given names for easier identification. These names will be
visible in 3DM, CLI, and 3BM.
Type of configuration (RAID Level)
Available configuration types include RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6,
RAID 10, RAID 50, and Single Disk. For information about the different
RAID levels, see “Understanding RAID Concepts and Levels” on page 5
Stripe size, if appropriate for the RAID level
In general, smaller stripe sizes are better for sequential I/O, such as video, and
larger stripe sizes are better for random I/O (such as databases).
Striping size is not applicable for RAID 1, because it is a mirrored array
without striping.
Using the default stripe size of 64KB usually gives you the best performance
for mixed I/Os. If your application has some specific I/O pattern (purely
sequential or purely random), you might want to experiment with a smaller or
larger stripe size.
Boot volume size
When you create a unit through 3BM or CLI, you can create a special volume
to function as the boot volume. This is useful if you will be installing an
operating system onto the unit, and want it to be installed in one volume and
have a separate volume for data.
This is an optional feature. You do not have to create a boot volume if you
plan to install the operating system on the unit.
If you are creating a very large unit and have enabled the Auto-Carving
policy, the boot volume will be created in addition to any volumes created
through auto-carving. For more information about auto-carving, see “Using
Auto-Carving for Multi LUN Support” on page 92.
This feature can only be specified in 3BM and CLI.
Warning: Creating a unit writes the DCB and makes any earlier data on the drives
inaccessible.