Richard Michael wrote:

How do I create an array with a helpful name? i.e. "/dev/md/storage"?

The mdadm man page hints at this in the discussion of the --auto option
in the ASSEMBLE MODE section, but doesn't clearly indicate how it's done.

Must I create the device nodes by hand first using MAKEDEV?

Does this help?

http://linux-raid.osdl.org/index.php/Partitionable

David