When you define the number of disks on hosts that run the Linux operating system, you are allocating space for configured disks. Disks are represented as device files in the Linux operating system.
In Linux kernel versions 2.4 and later, 256 minor numbers are available for each of the eight major numbers that can be used to define Linux device files. Use the following formula to define the maximum number of device files for the host system:
(Number of major numbers) * (Number of minor numbers) / (Number of partitions) = Number of devices
For example, if you have 16 partitions on a 2.4 kernel, you would have 128 devices (8 x 256 / 16 = 128).
In Linux kernel version 2.6 and later, more minor device numbers are available than the Lenovo Storage V series system supports.