Synchronizing logical drives

The purpose of synchronizing logical drives is to compute and write the parity data on the selected drives. Synchronizing a logical drive verifies that the data redundancy for the logical drive is correct.

If the type of ServeRAID controller you are using does not support the auto-synchronization and data-scrubbing features, manually synchronize your RAID level-1 and RAID level-5 logical drives weekly. This does not alter data on the drive.

To synchronize a logical drive:

  1. Select a logical drive Logical drive from the Main Tree.
  2. Select Synchronize logical drive from the Actions menu.
  3. Click Yes.

If the logical drive is attached to a controller that supports auto-synchronization, the ServeRAID Manager automatically synchronizes all new RAID level-5 logical drives. The Manager displays a progress indicator in the status bar. You can perform any other actions on the controller during an auto-synchronization. You can also turn off the server during an auto-synchronization and, when you turn on the server, the firmware will continue the auto-synchronization where it left off.

If the logical drive is attached to a controller that does not support auto-synchronization, you will receive a warning event in the Event Viewer stating that you must synchronize the logical drive before storing data. Complete the steps listed above. For controllers that do not support auto-synchronization, consider manually synchronizing your RAID level-1 and RAID level-5 logical drives weekly. This does not alter data on the drive.

Synchronization is a lengthy operation. You cannot perform any other actions on the controller until the synchronization completes. Do not turn off the server until the synchronization is complete. The Manager displays a progress indicator in the status bar.