Create a Metadata Array
Ten GB of disk space is enough to store the metadata for a volume containing 10
million files, so a two-drive RAID 1 (mirrored) array is generally large enough to store
the metadata for your SAN volume. If you dedicate a spare drive to this array to
guarantee availability, three drives are adequate for your SAN metadata. If your RAID
arrays consist of four or more drives, you can convert an existing array into a small
metadata array so you can reuse the extra drives.
To create the metadata array:
1
If you don’t have three spare drives or if all drives in your RAID systems belong to
RAID arrays, use the management application for your RAID system to delete an
existing array.
2
Use two of the drives to create a two-drive RAID 1 (mirrored) array.
3
Assign a third drive as a dedicated spare for the array.
You can use leftover drives from the original array to create a separate array, or save
them for use as spares. If you’re using an Xserve RAID system for storage, don’t put
the RAID array used for metadata on the same RAID controller as an array used for
user data.
Step 7: