Windows 2008r2 Disk Limit
Hi Chaps,
Need advice.
We have the below new server that needs to become the company new Data Server.
HP DL380G7
12gb Ram
1 x On Board Smart Array p410i / 512mb Raid Controller
8 x HP 1TB SAS 2.5” Hot Plug Drives, 1 drive to become a Hot Spare.
1 x Raid 6 License
We must have 1 Windows share for Data at around 4TB in size; we do not wish to have many drive letter mappings. Just 1 drive letter and then thousands of folders. Nice and Simple.
From the server should be :
C: drive for Windows 2008r2 OS
D: drive for DATA
E: drive for dvd drive
Server has had all latest Firmware updates done.
So I booted with Smart Start and created 1 x Raid 6 Array using the license, then created 1 Logical Drive with a Host Spare.
Created a Windows Boot Partition of 110gb and installed Windows.
Once OS was installed I looked in Windows Disk Mgnt and noticed there were 2 x 2tb volumes and also my 110gb OS partition.
After some googling I have learnt that the DATA Drive needs to be GPT, as I only have 1 DISK this will not work so I need to rebuild the server and start again. No Problem but this is where I get stuck.
Remember we did originally spec the server to be Raid 6.
Option 1 :
Two Arrays, with Two Logical Drives
Raid 1=OS (2 x 1TB) C Drive would be 1TB using Logical Drive 1
Raid 5-Data (5 x 1TB) D Drive would be 4TB using Logical Drive 2
Shared Spare (1 x 1TB)
Option 2 :
One Array, with Two Logical Drives
Raid 6=(7x1TB) Create a smaller 110gb Logical Drive for OS, then create on the same array another Logical drive with the remaining disk space ( around 4.5TB)
Option 3:
Is there one ?
So hopefully you can see what we are trying to do.
I already know that the boot partition cannot be GPT.
What I need help in is which option should I be choosing, pro’s and cons, any other options?
Our end goal is simple ?
C: drive for Windows 2008r2 OS : around 100gb
D: drive for DATA : around 4TB
Raid 5 or 6, would prefer 6 as its more redundancy.
1 hotspare drive
If it help the data will be mainly AutoCad.
Thanks and please feel free to comment anywhere?
Thanks
Need advice.
We have the below new server that needs to become the company new Data Server.
HP DL380G7
12gb Ram
1 x On Board Smart Array p410i / 512mb Raid Controller
8 x HP 1TB SAS 2.5” Hot Plug Drives, 1 drive to become a Hot Spare.
1 x Raid 6 License
We must have 1 Windows share for Data at around 4TB in size; we do not wish to have many drive letter mappings. Just 1 drive letter and then thousands of folders. Nice and Simple.
From the server should be :
C: drive for Windows 2008r2 OS
D: drive for DATA
E: drive for dvd drive
Server has had all latest Firmware updates done.
So I booted with Smart Start and created 1 x Raid 6 Array using the license, then created 1 Logical Drive with a Host Spare.
Created a Windows Boot Partition of 110gb and installed Windows.
Once OS was installed I looked in Windows Disk Mgnt and noticed there were 2 x 2tb volumes and also my 110gb OS partition.
After some googling I have learnt that the DATA Drive needs to be GPT, as I only have 1 DISK this will not work so I need to rebuild the server and start again. No Problem but this is where I get stuck.
Remember we did originally spec the server to be Raid 6.
Option 1 :
Two Arrays, with Two Logical Drives
Raid 1=OS (2 x 1TB) C Drive would be 1TB using Logical Drive 1
Raid 5-Data (5 x 1TB) D Drive would be 4TB using Logical Drive 2
Shared Spare (1 x 1TB)
Option 2 :
One Array, with Two Logical Drives
Raid 6=(7x1TB) Create a smaller 110gb Logical Drive for OS, then create on the same array another Logical drive with the remaining disk space ( around 4.5TB)
Option 3:
Is there one ?
So hopefully you can see what we are trying to do.
I already know that the boot partition cannot be GPT.
What I need help in is which option should I be choosing, pro’s and cons, any other options?
Our end goal is simple ?
C: drive for Windows 2008r2 OS : around 100gb
D: drive for DATA : around 4TB
Raid 5 or 6, would prefer 6 as its more redundancy.
1 hotspare drive
If it help the data will be mainly AutoCad.
Thanks and please feel free to comment anywhere?
Thanks
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You have to choose option 1 because :
- if you have a lot of I/O on your DATA disk, the OS is not impacted
- if the OS have to use I/O, your user will not be impacted
- If your DATA drive crash, you can rebuild it without reinstall the OS (just restore from backup).
If you will have a lot of I/O, for me, you have to choose this option.It's not very important to loose 1 TB for the OS, you have to prioritize the performance