Substantial corrections to man pages.

From: "Scott Weikart" <Scott.W@Benetech.org>

Thanks Scott!

4 files changed, 156 insertions, 159 deletions

diff --git a/md.4 b/md.4
index 0076558..cf423cb 100644
--- a/md.4
+++ b/md.4
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 ''' See file COPYING in distribution for details.
 .TH MD 4
 .SH NAME
-md \- Multiple Device driver aka Linux Software Raid
+md \- Multiple Device driver aka Linux Software RAID
 .SH SYNOPSIS
 .BI /dev/md n
 .br
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ supports RAID levels
 If some number of underlying devices fails while using one of these
 levels, the array will continue to function; this number is one for
 RAID levels 4 and 5, two for RAID level 6, and all but one (N-1) for
-RAID level 1, and dependant on configuration for level 10.
+RAID level 1, and dependent on configuration for level 10.
 .PP
 .B md
 also supports a number of pseudo RAID (non-redundant) configurations
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ device down to a multiple of 64K and then subtract 64K).
 The available size of each device is the amount of space before the
 super block, so between 64K and 128K is lost when a device in
 incorporated into an MD array.
-This superblock stores multi-byte fields in a processor-dependant
+This superblock stores multi-byte fields in a processor-dependent
 manner, so arrays cannot easily be moved between computers with
 different processors.
 
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ and 12K from the end of the device, on a 4K boundary, though
 variations can be stored at the start of the device (version 1.1) or 4K from
 the start of the device (version 1.2).
 This superblock format stores multibyte data in a
-processor-independent format and has supports up to hundreds of
+processor-independent format and supports up to hundreds of
 component devices (version 0.90 only supports 28).
 
 The superblock contains, among other things:
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ The manner in which the devices are arranged into the array
 .TP
 UUID
 a 128 bit Universally Unique Identifier that identifies the array that
-this device is part of.
+contains this device.
 
 When a version 0.90 array is being reshaped (e.g. adding extra devices
 to a RAID5), the version number is temporarily set to 0.91.  This
@@ -90,8 +90,8 @@ that can complete the reshape processes is used.
 
 .SS ARRAYS WITHOUT SUPERBLOCKS
 While it is usually best to create arrays with superblocks so that
-they can be assembled reliably, there are some circumstances where an
-array without superblocks in preferred.  This include:
+they can be assembled reliably, there are some circumstances when an
+array without superblocks is preferred.  These include:
 .TP
 LEGACY ARRAYS
 Early versions of the
@@ -114,19 +114,19 @@ a MULTIPATH array with no superblock makes sense.
 .TP
 RAID1
 In some configurations it might be desired to create a raid1
-configuration that does use a superblock, and to maintain the state of
+configuration that does not use a superblock, and to maintain the state of
 the array elsewhere.  While not encouraged for general us, it does
 have special-purpose uses and is supported.
 
 .SS LINEAR
 
 A linear array simply catenates the available space on each
-drive together to form one large virtual drive.
+drive to form one large virtual drive.
 
 One advantage of this arrangement over the more common RAID0
 arrangement is that the array may be reconfigured at a later time with
-an extra drive and so the array is made bigger without disturbing the
-data that is on the array.  However this cannot be done on a live
+an extra drive, so the array is made bigger without disturbing the
+data that is on the array.  This can even be done on a live
 array.
 
 If a chunksize is given with a LINEAR array, the usable space on each
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ device, the second chunk to the second device, and so on until all
 drives have been assigned one chunk.  This collection of chunks forms
 a
 .BR stripe .
-Further chunks are gathered into stripes in the same way which are
+Further chunks are gathered into stripes in the same way, and are
 assigned to the remaining space in the drives.
 
 If devices in the array are not all the same size, then once the
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ requests across all devices to maximise performance.
 
 All devices in a RAID1 array should be the same size.  If they are
 not, then only the amount of space available on the smallest device is
-used.  Any extra space on other devices is wasted.
+used (any extra space on other devices is wasted).
 
 .SS RAID4
 
@@ -176,10 +176,10 @@ array. Unlike RAID0, RAID4 also requires that all stripes span all
 drives, so extra space on devices that are larger than the smallest is
 wasted.
 
-When any block in a RAID4 array is modified the parity block for that
+When any block in a RAID4 array is modified, the parity block for that
 stripe (i.e. the block in the parity device at the same device offset
 as the stripe) is also modified so that the parity block always
-contains the "parity" for the whole stripe.  i.e. its contents is
+contains the "parity" for the whole stripe.  I.e. its content is
 equivalent to the result of performing an exclusive-or operation
 between all the data blocks in the stripe.
 
@@ -192,10 +192,10 @@ parity block and the other data blocks.
 RAID5 is very similar to RAID4.  The difference is that the parity
 blocks for each stripe, instead of being on a single device, are
 distributed across all devices.  This allows more parallelism when
-writing as two different block updates will quite possibly affect
+writing, as two different block updates will quite possibly affect
 parity blocks on different devices so there is less contention.
 
-This also allows more parallelism when reading as read requests are
+This also allows more parallelism when reading, as read requests are
 distributed over all the devices in the array instead of all but one.
 
 .SS RAID6
@@ -210,12 +210,12 @@ disk failure mode, however.
 
 .SS RAID10
 
-RAID10 provides a combination of RAID1 and RAID0, and sometimes known
+RAID10 provides a combination of RAID1 and RAID0, and is sometimes known
 as RAID1+0.  Every datablock is duplicated some number of times, and
 the resulting collection of datablocks are distributed over multiple
 drives.
 
-When configuring a RAID10 array it is necessary to specify the number
+When configuring a RAID10 array, it is necessary to specify the number
 of replicas of each data block that are required (this will normally
 be 2) and whether the replicas should be 'near', 'offset' or 'far'.
 (Note that the 'offset' layout is only available from 2.6.18).
@@ -243,7 +243,7 @@ suitably large chunk size is used, but without as much seeking for
 writes.
 
 It should be noted that the number of devices in a RAID10 array need
-not be a multiple of the number of replica of each data block, those
+not be a multiple of the number of replica of each data block; however,
 there must be at least as many devices as replicas.
 
 If, for example, an array is created with 5 devices and 2 replicas,
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ then space equivalent to 2.5 of the devices will be available, and
 every block will be stored on two different devices.
 
 Finally, it is possible to have an array with both 'near' and 'far'
-copies.  If and array is configured with 2 near copies and 2 far
+copies.  If an array is configured with 2 near copies and 2 far
 copies, then there will be a total of 4 copies of each block, each on
 a different drive.  This is an artifact of the implementation and is
 unlikely to be of real value.
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ read/write at the address will probably succeed) or persistent
 faults can be "fixable" meaning that they persist until a write
 request at the same address.
 
-Fault types can be requested with a period.  In this case the fault
+Fault types can be requested with a period.  In this case, the fault
 will recur repeatedly after the given number of requests of the
 relevant type.  For example if persistent read faults have a period of
 100, then every 100th read request would generate a fault, and the
@@ -301,8 +301,8 @@ failure modes can be cleared.
 
 When changes are made to a RAID1, RAID4, RAID5, RAID6, or RAID10 array
 there is a possibility of inconsistency for short periods of time as
-each update requires are least two block to be written to different
-devices, and these writes probably wont happen at exactly the same
+each update requires at least two block to be written to different
+devices, and these writes probably won't happen at exactly the same
 time.  Thus if a system with one of these arrays is shutdown in the
 middle of a write operation (e.g. due to power failure), the array may
 not be consistent.
@@ -320,7 +320,7 @@ known as "resynchronising" or "resync" is performed in the background.
 The array can still be used, though possibly with reduced performance.
 
 If a RAID4, RAID5 or RAID6 array is degraded (missing at least one
-drive) when it is restarted after an unclean shutdown, it cannot
+drive, two for RAID6) when it is restarted after an unclean shutdown, it cannot
 recalculate parity, and so it is possible that data might be
 undetectably corrupted.  The 2.4 md driver
 .B does not
@@ -333,11 +333,11 @@ this behaviour can be overridden by a kernel parameter.
 If the md driver detects a write error on a device in a RAID1, RAID4,
 RAID5, RAID6, or RAID10 array, it immediately disables that device
 (marking it as faulty) and continues operation on the remaining
-devices.  If there is a spare drive, the driver will start recreating
-on one of the spare drives the data what was on that failed drive,
+devices.  If there are spare drives, the driver will start recreating
+on one of the spare drives the data which was on that failed drive,
 either by copying a working drive in a RAID1 configuration, or by
 doing calculations with the parity block on RAID4, RAID5 or RAID6, or
-by finding a copying originals for RAID10.
+by finding and copying originals for RAID10.
 
 In kernels prior to about 2.6.15, a read error would cause the same
 effect as a write error.  In later kernels, a read-error will instead
@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ cause md to attempt a recovery by overwriting the bad block. i.e. it
 will find the correct data from elsewhere, write it over the block
 that failed, and then try to read it back again.  If either the write
 or the re-read fail, md will treat the error the same way that a write
-error is treated and will fail the whole device.
+error is treated, and will fail the whole device.
 
 While this recovery process is happening, the md driver will monitor
 accesses to the array and will slow down the rate of recovery if other
@@ -384,7 +384,7 @@ causing an enormous recovery cost.
 The intent log can be stored in a file on a separate device, or it can
 be stored near the superblocks of an array which has superblocks.
 
-It is possible to add an intent log or an active array, or remove an
+It is possible to add an intent log to an active array, or remove an
 intent log if one is present.
 
 In 2.6.13, intent bitmaps are only supported with RAID1.  Other levels
@@ -419,9 +419,9 @@ also known as
 .IR Reshaping ,
 is the processes of re-arranging the data stored in each stripe into a
 new layout.  This might involve changing the number of devices in the
-array (so the stripes are wider) changing the chunk size (so stripes
+array (so the stripes are wider), changing the chunk size (so stripes
 are deeper or shallower), or changing the arrangement of data and
-parity, possibly changing the raid level (e.g. 1 to 5 or 5 to 6).
+parity (possibly changing the raid level, e.g. 1 to 5 or 5 to 6).
 
 As of Linux 2.6.17, md can reshape a raid5 array to have more
 devices.  Other possibilities may follow in future kernels.
@@ -445,29 +445,29 @@ Disable writes to that section of the array (using the
 .B sysfs
 interface),
 .IP \(bu 4
-Take a copy of the data somewhere (i.e. make a backup)
+take a copy of the data somewhere (i.e. make a backup),
 .IP \(bu 4
-Allow the process to continue and invalidate the backup and restore
+allow the process to continue and invalidate the backup and restore
 write access once the critical section is passed, and
 .IP \(bu 4
-Provide for restoring the critical data before restarting the array
+provide for restoring the critical data before restarting the array
 after a system crash.
 .PP
 
 .B mdadm
-version 2.4 and later will do this for growing a RAID5  array.
+versions from 2.4 do this for growing a RAID5 array.
 
 For operations that do not change the size of the array, like simply
 increasing chunk size, or converting RAID5 to RAID6 with one extra
-device, the entire process is the critical section. In this case the
-restripe will need to progress in stages as a section is suspended,
+device, the entire process is the critical section.  In this case, the
+restripe will need to progress in stages, as a section is suspended,
 backed up,
-restriped, and released.  This is not yet implemented.
+restriped, and released; this is not yet implemented.
 
 .SS SYSFS INTERFACE
-All block devices appear as a directory in
+Each block device appears as a directory in
 .I sysfs
-(usually mounted at
+(which is usually mounted at
 .BR /sys ).
 For MD devices, this directory will contain a subdirectory called
 .B md
@@ -486,8 +486,8 @@ This value, if set, overrides the system-wide setting in
 .B /proc/sys/dev/raid/speed_limit_min
 for this array only.
 Writing the value
-.B system
-to this file cause the system-wide setting to have effect.
+.B "system"
+to this file will cause the system-wide setting to have effect.
 
 .TP
 .B md/sync_speed_max
@@ -561,7 +561,7 @@ operation is started.
 As mentioned above, md will not normally start a RAID4, RAID5, or
 RAID6 that is both dirty and degraded as this situation can imply
 hidden data loss.  This can be awkward if the root filesystem is
-affected.  Using the module parameter allows such arrays to be started
+affected.  Using this module parameter allows such arrays to be started
 at boot time.  It should be understood that there is a real (though
 small) risk of data corruption in this situation.
 
@@ -603,15 +603,15 @@ is ignored (legacy support).
 Contains information about the status of currently running array.
 .TP
 .B /proc/sys/dev/raid/speed_limit_min
-A readable and writable file that reflects the current goal rebuild
+A readable and writable file that reflects the current "goal" rebuild
 speed for times when non-rebuild activity is current on an array.
 The speed is in Kibibytes per second, and is a per-device rate, not a
-per-array rate (which means that an array with more disc will shuffle
+per-array rate (which means that an array with more disks will shuffle
 more data for a given speed).   The default is 100.
 
 .TP
 .B /proc/sys/dev/raid/speed_limit_max
-A readable and writable file that reflects the current goal rebuild
+A readable and writable file that reflects the current "goal" rebuild
 speed for times when no non-rebuild activity is current on an array.
 The default is 100,000.
 
diff --git a/mdadm.8 b/mdadm.8
index 25a6758..4f7126e 100644
--- a/mdadm.8
+++ b/mdadm.8
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 .SH NAME
 mdadm \- manage MD devices
 .I aka
-Linux Software Raid.
+Linux Software RAID
 
 .SH SYNOPSIS
 
@@ -43,8 +43,7 @@ and
 
 .B MULTIPATH
 is not a Software RAID mechanism, but does involve
-multiple devices.  For
-.B MULTIPATH
+multiple devices:
 each device is a path to one common physical storage device.
 
 .B FAULTY
@@ -91,7 +90,7 @@ provides a layer over a true device that can be used to inject faults.
 mdadm has several major modes of operation:
 .TP
 .B Assemble
-Assemble the parts of a previously created
+Assemble the components of a previously created
 array into an active array. Components can be explicitly given
 or can be searched for.
 .B mdadm
@@ -106,7 +105,7 @@ sorts of arrays,
 .I mdadm
 cannot differentiate between initial creation and subsequent assembly
 of an array.  It also cannot perform any checks that appropriate
-devices have been requested.  Because of this, the
+components have been requested.  Because of this, the
 .B Build
 mode should only be used together with a complete understanding of
 what you are doing.
@@ -120,7 +119,7 @@ Create a new array with per-device superblocks.
 .TP
 .B "Follow or Monitor"
 Monitor one or more md devices and act on any state changes.  This is
-only meaningful for raid1, 4, 5, 6, 10 or multipath arrays as
+only meaningful for raid1, 4, 5, 6, 10 or multipath arrays, as
 only these have interesting state.  raid0 or linear never have
 missing, spare, or failed drives, so there is nothing to monitor.
 
@@ -128,8 +127,8 @@ missing, spare, or failed drives, so there is nothing to monitor.
 .B "Grow"
 Grow (or shrink) an array, or otherwise reshape it in some way.
 Currently supported growth options including changing the active size
-of component devices in RAID level 1/4/5/6 and changing the number of
-active devices in RAID1/5/6.
+of component devices and changing the number of active devices in RAID
+levels 1/4/5/6, as well as adding or removing a write-intent bitmap.
 
 .TP
 .B "Incremental Assembly"
@@ -219,7 +218,7 @@ mode to be assumed.
 .TP
 .BR \-h ", " \-\-help
 Display general help message or, after one of the above options, a
-mode specific help message.
+mode-specific help message.
 
 .TP
 .B \-\-help\-options
@@ -259,17 +258,17 @@ gives an intermediate level of verbosity.
 
 .TP
 .BR \-f ", " \-\-force
-Be more forceful about certain operations.  See the various modes of
+Be more forceful about certain operations.  See the various modes for
 the exact meaning of this option in different contexts.
 
 .TP
 .BR \-c ", " \-\-config=
 Specify the config file.  Default is to use
 .BR /etc/mdadm.conf ,
-or if that is missing, then
+or if that is missing then
 .BR /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf .
 If the config file given is
-.B partitions
+.B "partitions"
 then nothing will be read, but
 .I mdadm
 will act as though the config file contained exactly
@@ -278,26 +277,25 @@ and will read
 .B /proc/partitions
 to find a list of devices to scan.
 If the word
-.B none
+.B "none"
 is given for the config file, then
 .I mdadm
 will act as though the config file were empty.
 
 .TP
 .BR \-s ", " \-\-scan
-scan config file or
+Scan config file or
 .B /proc/mdstat
 for missing information.
 In general, this option gives
 .B mdadm
-permission to get any missing information, like component devices,
-array devices, array identities, and alert destination from the
-configuration file:
-.BR /etc/mdadm.conf .
-One exception is MISC mode when using
+permission to get any missing information (like component devices,
+array devices, array identities, and alert destination) from the
+configuration file (see previous option);
+one exception is MISC mode when using
 .B \-\-detail
 or
-.B \-\-stop
+.B \-\-stop,
 in which case
 .B \-\-scan
 says to get a list of array devices from
@@ -320,11 +318,11 @@ Options are:
 .RS
 .IP "0, 0.90, default"
 Use the original 0.90 format superblock.  This format limits arrays to
-28 componenet devices and limits component devices of levels 1 and
+28 component devices and limits component devices of levels 1 and
 greater to 2 terabytes.
 .IP "1, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2"
 Use the new version-1 format superblock.  This has few restrictions.
-The different subversion store the superblock at different locations
+The different sub-versions store the superblock at different locations
 on the device, either at the end (for 1.0), at the start (for 1.1) or
 4K from the start (for 1.2).
 .RE
@@ -333,13 +331,13 @@ on the device, either at the end (for 1.0), at the start (for 1.1) or
 .B \-\-homehost=
 This will override any
 .B HOMEHOST
-setting in the config file and provides the identify of the host which
+setting in the config file and provides the identity of the host which
 should be considered the home for any arrays.
 
 When creating an array, the
 .B homehost
 will be recorded in the superblock.  For version-1 superblocks, it will
-be prefixed to the array name.  For version-0.90 superblocks part of
+be prefixed to the array name.  For version-0.90 superblocks, part of
 the SHA1 hash of the hostname will be stored in the later half of the
 UUID.
 
@@ -381,7 +379,7 @@ number of spare devices.
 
 .TP
 .BR \-z ", " \-\-size=
-Amount (in Kibibytes) of space to use from each drive in RAID1/4/5/6.
+Amount (in Kibibytes) of space to use from each drive in RAID level 1/4/5/6.
 This must be a multiple of the chunk size, and must leave about 128Kb
 of space at the end of the drive for the RAID superblock.
 If this is not specified
@@ -436,8 +434,8 @@ The layout of the raid5 parity block can be one of
 The default is
 .BR left\-symmetric .
 
-When setting the failure mode for
-.I faulty
+When setting the failure mode for level
+.I faulty,
 the options are:
 .BR write\-transient ", " wt ,
 .BR read\-transient ", " rt ,
@@ -447,10 +445,10 @@ the options are:
 .BR read\-fixable ", " rf ,
 .BR clear ", " flush ", " none .
 
-Each mode can be followed by a number which is used as a period
+Each failure mode can be followed by a number, which is used as a period
 between fault generation.  Without a number, the fault is generated
 once on the first relevant request.  With a number, the fault will be
-generated after that many request, and will continue to be generated
+generated after that many requests, and will continue to be generated
 every time the period elapses.
 
 Multiple failure modes can be current simultaneously by using the
@@ -466,23 +464,23 @@ the level of the array ("faulty")
 must be specified before the fault mode is specified.
 
 Finally, the layout options for RAID10 are one of 'n', 'o' or 'f' followed
-by a small number.  The default is 'n2'.
+by a small number.  The default is 'n2'.  The supported options are:
 
-.I n
+.I 'n'
 signals 'near' copies. Multiple copies of one data block are at
 similar offsets in different devices.
 
-.I o
+.I 'o'
 signals 'offset' copies.  Rather than the chunks being duplicated
 within a stripe, whole stripes are duplicated but are rotated by one
 device so duplicate blocks are on different devices.  Thus subsequent
 copies of a block are in the next drive, and are one chunk further
 down.
 
-.I f
+.I 'f'
 signals 'far' copies
-(multiple copies have very different offsets).  See md(4) for more
-detail about 'near' and 'far'.
+(multiple copies have very different offsets).
+See md(4) for more detail about 'near' and 'far'.
 
 The number is the number of copies of each datablock.  2 is normal, 3
 can be useful.  This number can be at most equal to the number of
@@ -504,10 +502,10 @@ exist unless
 .B \-\-force
 is also given.  The same file should be provided
 when assembling the array.  If the word
-.B internal
+.B "internal"
 is given, then the bitmap is stored with the metadata on the array,
 and so is replicated on all devices.  If the word
-.B none
+.B "none"
 is given with
 .B \-\-grow
 mode, then any bitmap that is present is removed.
@@ -523,7 +521,7 @@ Storing bitmap files on other filesystems may result in serious problems.
 Set the chunksize of the bitmap. Each bit corresponds to that many
 Kilobytes of storage.
 When using a file based bitmap, the default is to use the smallest
-size that is atleast 4 and requires no more than 2^21 chunks.
+size that is at-least 4 and requires no more than 2^21 chunks.
 When using an
 .B internal
 bitmap, the chunksize is automatically determined to make best use of
@@ -560,7 +558,7 @@ when trying to recover from a major failure as you can be sure that no
 data will be affected unless you actually write to the array.  It can
 also be used when creating a RAID1 or RAID10 if you want to avoid the
 initial resync, however this practice \(em while normally safe \(em is not
-recommended.   Use this ony if you really know what you are doing.
+recommended.   Use this only if you really know what you are doing.
 
 .TP
 .BR \-\-backup\-file=
@@ -697,10 +695,10 @@ will look for super blocks with a minor number of 0.
 .BR \-N ", " \-\-name=
 Specify the name of the array to assemble.  This must be the name
 that was specified when creating the array.  It must either match
-then name stored in the superblock exactly, or it must match
+the name stored in the superblock exactly, or it must match
 with the current
 .I homehost
-is added to the start of the given name.
+prefixed to the start of the given name.
 
 .TP
 .BR \-f ", " \-\-force
@@ -721,10 +719,10 @@ an attempt will be made to start it anyway.
 .B \-\-no\-degraded
 This is the reverse of
 .B \-\-run
-in that it inhibits the started if array unless all expected drives
+in that it inhibits the startup of array unless all expected drives
 are present.  This is only needed with
-.B \-\-scan
-and can be used if you physical connections to devices are
+.B \-\-scan,
+and can be used if the physical connections to devices are
 not as reliable as you would like.
 
 .TP
@@ -859,10 +857,10 @@ update the relevant field in the metadata.
 
 .TP
 .B \-\-auto\-update\-homehost
-This flag is only meaning with auto-assembly (see discussion below).
+This flag is only meaningful with auto-assembly (see discussion below).
 In that situation, if no suitable arrays are found for this homehost,
 .I mdadm
-will recan for any arrays at all and will assemble them and update the
+will rescan for any arrays at all and will assemble them and update the
 homehost to match the current host.
 
 .SH For Manage mode:
@@ -888,7 +886,7 @@ and
 can be given to
 .BR \-\-remove .
 The first causes all failed device to be removed.  The second causes
-any device which is no longer connected to the system (i.e and open
+any device which is no longer connected to the system (i.e an 'open'
 returns
 .BR ENXIO )
 to be removed.  This will only succeed for devices that are spares or
@@ -908,19 +906,19 @@ same as
 .BR \-\-fail .
 
 .P
-Each of these options require that the first device list is the array
-to be acted upon and the remainder are component devices to be added,
-removed, or marked as fault.  Several different operations can be
+Each of these options require that the first device listed is the array
+to be acted upon, and the remainder are component devices to be added,
+removed, or marked as faulty.  Several different operations can be
 specified for different devices, e.g.
 .in +5
 mdadm /dev/md0 \-\-add /dev/sda1 \-\-fail /dev/sdb1 \-\-remove /dev/sdb1
 .in -5
 Each operation applies to all devices listed until the next
-operations.
+operation.
 
 If an array is using a write-intent bitmap, then devices which have
 been removed can be re-added in a way that avoids a full
-reconstruction but instead just updated the blocks that have changed
+reconstruction but instead just updates the blocks that have changed
 since the device was removed.  For arrays with persistent metadata
 (superblocks) this is done automatically.  For arrays created with
 .B \-\-build
@@ -928,10 +926,9 @@ mdadm needs to be told that this device we removed recently with
 .BR \-\-re\-add .
 
 Devices can only be removed from an array if they are not in active
-use.  i.e. that must be spares or failed devices.  To remove an active
-device, it must be marked as
-.B faulty
-first.
+use, i.e. that must be spares or failed devices.  To remove an active
+device, it must first be marked as
+.B faulty.
 
 .SH For Misc mode:
 
@@ -1137,14 +1134,15 @@ is not given, then
 .I mdadm
 acts as though
 .B \-\-scan
-was given and identify information is extracted from the configuration file.
+was given and identity information is extracted from the configuration file.
 
 The identity can be given with the
 .B \-\-uuid
 option, with the
 .B \-\-super\-minor
-option, can be found  in the config file, or will be taken from the
-super block on the first component-device listed on the command line.
+option, will be taken from the md-device record in the config file, or
+will be taken from the super block of the first component-device
+listed on the command line.
 
 Devices can be given on the
 .B \-\-assemble
@@ -1179,7 +1177,6 @@ intent is clear. i.e. the name must be in a standard form, or the
 .B \-\-auto
 option must be given to clarify how and whether the device should be
 created.
-
 This can be useful for handling partitioned devices (which don't have
 a stable device number \(em it can change after a reboot) and when using
 "udev" to manage your
@@ -1189,7 +1186,7 @@ initialisation conventions).
 
 If the option to "auto" is "mdp" or "part" or (on the command line
 only) "p", then mdadm will create a partitionable array, using the
-first free one that is not in use, and does not already have an entry
+first free one that is not in use and does not already have an entry
 in /dev (apart from numeric /dev/md* entries).
 
 If the option to "auto" is "yes" or "md" or (on the command line)
@@ -1200,7 +1197,7 @@ It is expected that the "auto" functionality will be used to create
 device entries with meaningful names such as "/dev/md/home" or
 "/dev/md/root", rather than names based on the numerical array number.
 
-When using this option to create a partitionable array, the device
+When using option "auto" to create a partitionable array, the device
 files for the first 4 partitions are also created. If a different
 number is required it can be simply appended to the auto option.
 e.g. "auto=part8".  Partition names are created by appending a digit
@@ -1232,7 +1229,7 @@ anything that it finds which is tagged as belonging to the given
 homehost.  This is the only situation where
 .I mdadm
 will assemble arrays without being given specific device name or
-identify information for the array.
+identity information for the array.
 
 If
 .I mdadm
@@ -1248,8 +1245,8 @@ so for example
 If the array uses version-1 metadata, then the
 .B name
 from the superblock is used to similarly create a name in
-.BR /dev/md .
-The name will have any 'host' prefix stripped first.
+.BR /dev/md
+(the name will have any 'host' prefix stripped first).
 
 If
 .I mdadm
@@ -1274,7 +1271,7 @@ devices from one host to another.
 .HP 12
 Usage:
 .B mdadm \-\-build
-.I device
+.I md-device
 .BI \-\-chunk= X
 .BI \-\-level= Y
 .BI \-\-raid\-devices= Z
@@ -1297,7 +1294,7 @@ once complete.
 .HP 12
 Usage:
 .B mdadm \-\-create
-.I device
+.I md-device
 .BI \-\-chunk= X
 .BI \-\-level= Y
 .br
@@ -1447,7 +1444,7 @@ The exit status of
 .I mdadm
 will normally be 0 unless
 .I mdadm
-failed to get useful information about the device(s).  However if the
+failed to get useful information about the device(s); however, if the
 .B \-\-test
 option is given, then the exit status will be:
 .RS
@@ -1472,9 +1469,9 @@ The device should be a component of an md array.
 will read the md superblock of the device and display the contents.
 If
 .B \-\-brief
-is given, or
+or
 .B \-\-scan
-then multiple devices that are components of the one array
+is given, then multiple devices that are components of the one array
 are grouped together and reported in a single entry suitable
 for inclusion in
 .BR /etc/mdadm.conf .
@@ -1553,11 +1550,11 @@ The result of monitoring the arrays is the generation of events.
 These events are passed to a separate program (if specified) and may
 be mailed to a given E-mail address.
 
-When passing event to program, the program is run once for each event
-and is given 2 or 3 command-line arguments.  The first is the
-name of the event (see below).  The second is the name of the
+When passing events to a program, the program is run once for each event,
+and is given 2 or 3 command-line arguments: the first is the
+name of the event (see below), the second is the name of the
 md device which is affected, and the third is the name of a related
-device if relevant, such as a component device that has failed.
+device if relevant (such as a component device that has failed).
 
 If
 .B \-\-scan
@@ -1566,7 +1563,7 @@ command line or in the config file.  If neither are available, then
 .B mdadm
 will not monitor anything.
 Without
-.B \-\-scan
+.B \-\-scan,
 .B mdadm
 will continue monitoring as long as something was found to monitor.  If
 no program or email is given, then each event is reported to
@@ -1614,7 +1611,7 @@ faulty. (syslog priority: Critical)
 .TP
 .B FailSpare
 A spare component device which was being rebuilt to replace a faulty
-device has failed. (syslog priority: Critial)
+device has failed. (syslog priority: Critical)
 
 .TP
 .B SpareActive
@@ -1636,7 +1633,7 @@ generated when
 notices a drive failure which causes degradation, but only when
 .I mdadm
 notices that an array is degraded when it first sees the array.
-(syslog priority: Critial)
+(syslog priority: Critical)
 
 .TP
 .B MoveSpare
@@ -1652,7 +1649,7 @@ If
 has been told, via the config file, that an array should have a certain
 number of spare devices, and
 .I mdadm
-detects that it has fewer that this number when it first sees the
+detects that it has fewer than this number when it first sees the
 array, it will report a
 .B SparesMissing
 message.
@@ -1667,14 +1664,14 @@ flag was given.
 .RE
 
 Only
-.B Fail ,
-.B FailSpare ,
-.B DegradedArray ,
-.B SparesMissing ,
+.B Fail,
+.B FailSpare,
+.B DegradedArray,
+.B SparesMissing
 and
 .B TestMessage
 cause Email to be sent.  All events cause the program to be run.
-The program is run with two or three arguments, they being the event
+The program is run with two or three arguments: the event
 name, the array device and possibly a second device.
 
 Each event has an associated array device (e.g.
@@ -1692,16 +1689,16 @@ the second device is the array that the spare was moved from.
 For
 .B mdadm
 to move spares from one array to another, the different arrays need to
-be labelled with the same
+be labeled with the same
 .B spare-group
 in the configuration file.  The
 .B spare-group
-name can be any string. It is only necessary that different spare
+name can be any string; it is only necessary that different spare
 groups use different names.
 
 When
 .B mdadm
-detects that an array which is in a spare group has fewer active
+detects that an array in a spare group has fewer active
 devices than necessary for the complete array, and has no spare
 devices, it will look for another array in the same spare group that
 has a full complement of working drive and a spare.  It will then
@@ -1724,7 +1721,7 @@ for RAID1, RAID5 and RAID6.
 .IP \(bu 4
 increase the "raid-disks" attribute of RAID1, RAID5, and RAID6.
 .IP \(bu 4
-add a write-intent bitmap to any array which support these bitmaps, or
+add a write-intent bitmap to any array which supports these bitmaps, or
 remove a write-intent bitmap from such an array.
 .PP
 
@@ -1752,7 +1749,7 @@ inactive devices.
 
 When reducing the number of devices in a RAID1 array, the slots which
 are to be removed from the array must already be vacant.  That is, the
-devices that which were in those slots must be failed and removed.
+devices which were in those slots must be failed and removed.
 
 When the number of devices is increased, any hot spares that are
 present will be activated immediately.
@@ -1778,7 +1775,7 @@ to restore the backup and reassemble the array.
 .SS BITMAP CHANGES
 
 A write-intent bitmap can be added to, or removed from, an active
-array.  Either internal bitmaps, or bitmaps stored in a separate file
+array.  Either internal bitmaps, or bitmaps stored in a separate file,
 can be added.  Note that if you add a bitmap stored in a file which is
 in a filesystem that is on the raid array being affected, the system
 will deadlock.  The bitmap must be on a separate filesystem.
@@ -1808,7 +1805,7 @@ to be conditionally added to an appropriate array.
 
 .I mdadm
 performs a number of tests to determine if the device is part of an
-array, and which array is should be part of.  If an appropriate array
+array, and which array it should be part of.  If an appropriate array
 is found, or can be created,
 .I mdadm
 adds the device to the array and conditionally starts the array.
@@ -1820,8 +1817,8 @@ will only add devices to an array which were previously working
 automatic inclusion of a new drive as a spare in some array.
 
 .B "mdadm \-\-incremental"
-requires a bug present in all kernels through 2.6.19, to be fixed.
-Hopefully this will be fixed in 2.6.20.  Alternately apply the patch
+requires a bug-fix in all kernels through 2.6.19.
+Hopefully, this will be fixed in 2.6.20; alternately, apply the patch
 which is included with the mdadm source distribution.  If
 .I mdadm
 detects that this bug is present, it will abort any attempt to use
@@ -1865,11 +1862,11 @@ The metadata can match in two ways.  Either there is an array listed
 in
 .B mdadm.conf
 which identifies the array (either by UUID, by name, by device list,
-or by minor-number), the array was created with a
+or by minor-number), or the array was created with a
 .B homehost
-specified, and that
+specified and that
 .B homehost
-matches that which is given in
+matches the one in
 .B mdadm.conf
 or on the command line.
 If
@@ -1879,7 +1876,7 @@ current host, the device will be rejected.
 
 .IP +
 .I mdadm
-keeps a list of arrays that is has partly assembled in
+keeps a list of arrays that it has partially assembled in
 .B /var/run/mdadm/map
 (or
 .B /var/run/mdadm.map
@@ -1918,7 +1915,7 @@ devices present for the data to be accessible.  For a raid1, that
 means one device will start the array.  For a clean raid5, the array
 will be started as soon as all but one drive is present.
 
-Note that neither of these approaches is really ideal.  If it is can
+Note that neither of these approaches is really ideal.  If it can
 be known that all device discovery has completed, then
 .br
 .B "   mdadm \-IRs"
@@ -1939,12 +1936,12 @@ one, and will provide brief information about the device.
 
 .B "  mdadm \-\-assemble \-\-scan"
 .br
-This will assemble and start all arrays listed in the standard config file
+This will assemble and start all arrays listed in the standard config
 file.  This command will typically go in a system startup file.
 
 .B "  mdadm \-\-stop \-\-scan"
 .br
-This will shut down all array that can be shut down (i.e. are not
+This will shut down all arrays that can be shut down (i.e. are not
 currently in use).  This will typically go in a system shutdown script.
 
 .B "  mdadm \-\-follow \-\-scan \-\-delay=120"
@@ -1971,9 +1968,9 @@ contain unwanted detail.
 .B "  echo 'DEVICE /dev/hd[a\-z] /dev/sd*[a\-z]' > mdadm.conf"
 .br
 .B "  mdadm \-\-examine \-\-scan \-\-config=mdadm.conf >> mdadm.conf"
-.ber
-This will find what arrays could be assembled from existing IDE and
-SCSI whole drives (not partitions) and store the information is the
+.br
+This will find arrays which could be assembled from existing IDE and
+SCSI whole drives (not partitions), and store the information in the
 format of a config file.
 This file is very likely to contain unwanted detail, particularly
 the
@@ -1988,7 +1985,7 @@ actual config file.
 Create a list of devices by reading
 .BR /proc/partitions ,
 scan these for RAID superblocks, and printout a brief listing of all
-that was found.
+that were found.
 
 .B "  mdadm \-Ac partitions \-m 0 /dev/md0"
 .br
@@ -2060,7 +2057,7 @@ for more details.
 .SS /var/run/mdadm/map
 When
 .B \-\-incremental
-mode is used. this file gets a list of arrays currently being created.
+mode is used, this file gets a list of arrays currently being created.
 If
 .B /var/run/mdadm
 does not exist as a directory, then
@@ -2077,7 +2074,7 @@ behaviour when creating device files via the
 option.
 
 The standard names for non-partitioned arrays (the only sort of md
-array available in 2.4 and earlier) either of
+array available in 2.4 and earlier) are either of
 .IP
 /dev/mdNN
 .br
@@ -2085,7 +2082,7 @@ array available in 2.4 and earlier) either of
 .PP
 where NN is a number.
 The standard names for partitionable arrays (as available from 2.6
-onwards) is one of
+onwards) are either of
 .IP
 /dev/md/dNN
 .br
diff --git a/mdadm.conf.5 b/mdadm.conf.5
index e370d2c..4807055 100644
--- a/mdadm.conf.5
+++ b/mdadm.conf.5
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 ''' See file COPYING in distribution for details.
 .TH MDADM.CONF 5
 .SH NAME
-mdadm.conf \- configuration for management of Software Raid with mdadm
+mdadm.conf \- configuration for management of Software RAID with mdadm
 .SH SYNOPSIS
 /etc/mdadm.conf
 .SH DESCRIPTION
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ line and it should have only one address.
 .B MAILFROM
 The
 .B mailfrom
-line (which can only be abbreviate at leat 5 characters) gives an
+line (which can only be abbreviated to at least 5 characters) gives an
 address to appear in the "From" address for alert mails.  This can be
 useful if you want to explicitly set a domain, as the default from
 address is "root" with no domain.  All words on this line are
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ DEVICE /dev/sd[bcdjkl]1
 .br
 DEVICE /dev/hda1 /dev/hdb1
 
-# /dev/md0 is known by it's UID.
+# /dev/md0 is known by its UID.
 .br
 ARRAY /dev/md0 UUID=3aaa0122:29827cfa:5331ad66:ca767371
 .br
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ ARRAY /dev/md0 UUID=3aaa0122:29827cfa:5331ad66:ca767371
 .br
 ARRAY /dev/md1 superminor=1
 .br
-# /dev/md2 is made from precisey these two devices
+# /dev/md2 is made from precisely these two devices
 .br
 ARRAY /dev/md2 devices=/dev/hda1,/dev/hdb1
 
diff --git a/mdassemble.8 b/mdassemble.8
index e844756..d9d2aa4 100644
--- a/mdassemble.8
+++ b/mdassemble.8
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 .SH NAME
 mdassemble \- assemble MD devices
 .I aka
-Linux Software Raid.
+Linux Software RAID
 
 .SH SYNOPSIS
 
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ Linux Software Raid.
 .SH DESCRIPTION 
 .B mdassemble
 is a tiny program that can be used to assemble MD devices inside an
-initial ramdisk (initrd) or initramfs, it is meant to replace the in-kernel
+initial ramdisk (initrd) or initramfs; it is meant to replace the in-kernel
 automatic raid detection and activation.
 It can be built statically and linked against lightweight libc alternatives, like
 .B dietlibc,