Use of the /dev/hdX device name is deprecated on the i386 and x86_64 architecture for IDE drives, and has changed to /dev/sdX. This change does not apply to the PPC architecture.

If you have difficulties with the installation not detecting a Smart Array card, enter linux isa at the installer prompt. This lets you manually select the required card.

Whereas older IDE drivers supported up to 63 partitions per device, SCSI devices are limited to 15 partitions per device. Anaconda uses the new libata driver in the same fashion as the rest of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, so it is unable to detect more than 15 partitions on an IDE disk during the installation or upgrade process. If you are upgrading a system with more than 15 partitions, you may need to migrate the disk to Logical Volume Manager (LVM).

A change in the way that the kernel handles storage devices means that device names like /dev/hdX or /dev/sdX may differ from the values used in earlier releases. Anaconda solves this problem by relying on partition labels. If these labels are not present, then Anaconda provides a warning that these partitions need to be labelled. Systems that use Logical Volume Management (LVM) and the device mapper usually do not require relabeling.

Support is included for installation to encrypted block devices, including the root file system.

Not all IDE RAID controllers are supported. If your RAID controller is not yet supported by mdraid, you may combine drives into RAID arrays by configuring Linux software RAID. For supported controllers, configure the RAID functions in the computer BIOS.

The version of GRUB included in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 now supports ext4, so Anaconda now allows you to use the ext4 file system on any partition, including the /boot and root partitions.