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The array now appears in the dialog window at the bottom of the screen. If you changed the logical size of the array, you have the option to add another logical disk that contains some or all of the remaining space. If you want to add another logical disk, simply tune the array's configuration, as described in step 7, and then repeat step 8. You can also leave the remaining space unallocated and configure it later, but you won't be able to access it until you've assigned it to a logical drive.

Choose Apply to commit the array to the controller's memory.

After you select the Apply option, the new configuration is written to the controller's memory, and after a few seconds, you are returned to the main menu. If you created arrays that use redundancy (such as RAID-1 or RAID-5), the initial synchronization process will commence. You can monitor the progress of the rebuild process by selecting Advanced Options and then Background Tasks from EzAssist's main menu. You can now reboot the system and install a new operating system on the array that you just created, or wait until the rebuild process is complete. You may also create additional arrays and fine-tune the controller. See "The DAC960" section, earlier in this chapter.

Configuring an existing disk for standalone JBOD mode

Mylex controllers do not operate in pass-through mode for JBOD. If you are replacing an existing SCSI controller with a Mylex RAID controller and want to access an operating system that was already installed on a single physical disk, you will need to create a logical JBOD drive first.

Before connecting existing disks to the new controller and creating a logical JBOD drive, you should take a few preparatory steps. You can install the Mylex controller along with your existing SCSI controller, or you can wait until you've completed the first six steps and then swap controllers. It's advisable, but not required, to perform steps 1–6 in single-user mode. I also recommend creating a backup copy of /etc/lilo.conf and /etc/fstab before proceeding. It's also a good idea to have a rescue floppy disk or CD-ROM handy.

Reconfigure the kernel so that it supports Mylex controllers (see The DAC960 Driver section, earlier in this chapter).

Copy the new kernel and System.map to /boot.

Edit /etc/lilo.conf and add a new kernel stanza that uses the new kernel. It's essential that this new stanza contain a root line that points to the device special file for the new root partition. So if your current root partition is /dev/sda2, create a root line that reads root=/dev/rd/c0d0p2. In this case, your system disk will be connected to the first channel of the first Mylex controller and appear as logical drive 0. Use a device file that will reflect your new system configuration. In general, you probably want any system disk in JBOD mode to be the first logical drive on the first controller.

If /etc/lilo.conf contains a boot line, remove it. You can add a new boot line after the new controller is installed and the system is brought back online.

Execute /sbin/lilo to rebuild the master boot record.

Edit /etc/fstab to reflect the new Mylex device files. On modern systems that use disk labels, you will likely need to change only the swap entry (which always uses a real device entry instead of a disk label). Thus, if your swap file is located at /dev/sda3, change it to /dev/rd/c0d0p3 to indicate partition three on the first logical drive of the first controller.

At this point, you should power down the system and install the new controller. If the controller is already installed, move your existing disk to the Mylex controller and then power-on the system.

Use ALT-R to enter the EzAssist RAID configuration utility.

Select the controller that is connected to your existing system disk.

If a dialog warning pops up, saying that no configuration was detected, answer yes, and a configuration menu will appear. Otherwise, choose Configure RAID Drive from the main menu.

A menu with