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3ware® User Guide > Configuring Units > Configuring a New Unit > Creating a Unit through 3BM

Creating a Unit through 3BM
In 3BM, configuration tasks start from the main 3ware BIOS Manager screen .
Show 3BM Main Display
To create a unit through 3BM
1
At the main 3BM screen, select the drives to be included by highlighting each one and pressing Enter or Space to select it.
When you select a drive, an asterisk appears next to it in the left most column (see Figure: Show Asterisks Next to Selected Drives).
 
Tip: If you want to use all available drives, press Alt-A to select them all.
Show Asterisks Next to Selected Drives
2
After all drives for the unit are selected, Tab to the Create Unit button and press Enter.
 
Tip: You can also press Alt-C to choose Create Unit.
3
On the 3ware Disk Array screen, make sure that the proper drives are listed.
Show Create Disk Array Display
4
(Optional) Press Enter and type a name for the unit; then press Enter again to set the name.
5
Tab to the RAID Configuration field and press Enter to display a list of available configurations for the number of drives you selected.
Show Configuration Choices for Four Drives
6
Use the arrow keys to select the configuration you want and press Enter.
7
Tab to the field Stripe Size and select the desired striping size (16, 64, or 256 KB).
Show Stripe Sizes for a RAID 5
8
(Optional) Tab through the policy fields and make any appropriate changes to the default settings for:
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For details about these settings, see Configuration Options When Creating a Unit.
9
(Optional) Tab to the field Boot Volume Size, press Enter and type the size for the boot volume (volume 0) in gigabytes; then press Enter again to set the size.
10
Tab to the OK button and press Enter to confirm creation of the unit.
11
Multiple volumes will be created if you entered a Boot Volume Size of greater than zero (0), or if auto-carving is enabled and the combined size of the drives in your unit is large enough to divide it into multiple volumes.
If you are not satisfied with how the volumes will be split up in the unit, delete the unit from the main 3BM screen and recreate it using a different Boot Volume Size. If desired, you can change the auto-carving policy or the carve size on the Policies page. For more information, see Using Auto-Carving for Multi LUN Support.
You are returned to the main 3BM screen.
 
Note: The unit is not actually created and no data is overwritten until you have finished making all your changes and press F8.
12
A warning message tells you that all existing data on the drives will be deleted, and asks you to confirm that you want to proceed.
Show Confirmation Message when Saving and Exiting
If you made changes to units on more than one controller, the details about changes about to be made may extend beyond one screen. In this case, you use the PgUp and PgDn keys to bring more information into view.
13
Type Y to continue, delete any existing data on the drives, and create the unit.
14
 
Note: For RAID 5 and RAID 6 units with 5 or more disks, and RAID 50 units with a subunit of 5 or more disks, initialization of the unit begins immediately. You can postpone initialization if you want to begin using the units right away, however initialization from the BIOS is faster than it is under the operating system, so it will be a longer period of time until the unit has optimal performance. For more information, see About Initialization.

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