# Adding Virtual Drives

The Virtual Drive Settings window enables you to configure and add virtual drives to the drive group. Detailed descriptions for all of the parameters are present in the Virtual Drive Settings window.

The virtual drive settings differ or might not be supported for some controllers. For more information, see LSI Storage Authority Feature Comparison Matrix.

Perform the following steps to configure and add virtual drives:

1. Specify the number of virtual drives you want to create.
2. Specify the size of the virtual drives you want to create.
   Each virtual drive has the same capacity. If you specify the capacity first and then the number of virtual drives, the virtual drive capacity is adjusted with the available capacity.
3. Enter a name for the virtual drive in the Virtual Drive Name field.
   The virtual drive name can have a maximum of 15 characters.
4. Select a strip size from the Strip Size drop-down list.
   Strip sizes of 64 KB, 128 KB, 256 KB, 512 KB, and 1024 KB are supported.
5. Specify the initialization policy for the virtual drive. The options follow:
   - No Initialization
   - Fast Initialization
   - Full Initialization
6. Specify the read policy for the virtual drive. The options follow:
   - No Read Ahead
   - Always Read Ahead
7. Specify the write policy for the virtual drive. The options follow:
   - Write Through
   - Write Back
   - Always Write Back

   The write policy depends on the status of the Energy Pack. If the Energy Pack is not present, is low, is failed, or is being charged, the current write policy switches to Write Through.

8. Specify the I/O policy for the virtual drive. The options follow:
   - Direct IO
   - Cached IO
9. Specify a disk cache setting for the virtual drive. The options follow:
   - Unchanged
   - Enabled
   - Disabled
10. Click Add Virtual Drives.
    The newly created virtual drive appears in the Advanced Configuration window just below the Virtual Drives section.
    Note: You will lose some drive capacity if you choose drives with uneven and large capacities while creating a virtual drive.

    If you want to modify the virtual drive settings before finishing the configuration, click the icon.

    The Virtual Drive Settings window opens.

    You can modify the settings and click Modify Virtual Drive.
11. Click Finish to successfully add the virtual drive to the drive group.

Parent topic: Creating a New Storage Configuration Using the Advanced Configuration Option