RAID arrays are a way to scale up your computer’s performance. What is RAID? RAID arrays are composed of at least two drives that have been programmed to function as one larger and more powerful hard drive. This article will explain what RAID is and what it does. You can also choose between RAID 0, 1, 5 or 10.
What is RAID?
RAID stands for redundant array of independent drives or disks. This allows you to store backups of your data, improve speed and efficiency, or both.
There are many RAID configurations available, but the most popular are RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 5. RAID 10 is the most common.
What is RAID 0?
Also known as “disk striping,” RAID 0 optimizes the speed of your hard drives. RAID 0 can be used to combine at least two drives and write data simultaneously on either one or both. It all depends on the system. This will improve read and write speeds. But, data can be lost if one of the drives fails.
RAID 0 splits the data into segments when you save a file. These are called striped units. It then spreads the data to all drives on your array. This process is known as striping. It makes it easier to access data faster when you have multiple drives working together.
RAID 0 is quicker than buying a large hard disk with the same capacity. You would have only one hard drive processing data, instead of multiple arrays.
RAID 0 doesn’t include backups or redundancy. This means that if one of your drives crashes, all data on that drive will be lost. Because your data is stored on multiple drives and processed over several drives, losing one drive can result in all your data being lost. Additionally, you have a higher chance of one disk failing because you use multiple disks.
RAID 0 can be used to store temporary files and files you have backed-up elsewhere.
What is RAID 1 and how does it work?
RAID 1 (also known “disk mirroring”) is about backing up data. Also known as redundancy, it’s also known as “disk replication”. RAID 1 is for those who have more than one drive. It will create duplicates of your data and keep a copy on each. Mirroring is a method that ensures your files won’t be lost if one of your drives fails.
RAID 1 ensures that even if one of your drives fails, you still have copies of all your data on the second drive. You can then replace the failed drive by a new one while your computer is still running. This will create a mirror image of all data on the drive. Hot-swappable is a term for this capability in RAID arrays.
RAID 1 will limit your storage space to half of what you would otherwise get. This is because each time you save an image to one drive, a copy will be saved to another drive.
RAID 1 should be used to store data you don’t wish to lose such as important banking data, family photos and documents.
What is RAID 5 and how does it work?
RAID 5, also known as disk striping with parity, is all about speed and redundancy. RAID 5 is for those who have at least three hard drives. It will split your data into segments, and then save them across all your drives.
You can now write data to this array. Just like RAID 0, the data is divided into units and spread across your array. It also stores parity bits. Parity bits are binary digits that help your array detect any errors or missing segments. These bits can be used as redundancies.
The drives in this array can be hot-swappable, just like Disk Mirroring. You can replace a drive if it fails and the array will recreate your RAID configuration.
RAID 5 won’t offer the same speed or as RAID 1 the same amount of storage as RAID 0. Parity bits will require processing power, and some storage space will remain for redundancies. If you have three 500GB hard drives, 1TB of storage will be available. One-third of the space will go to redundancies.
This configuration is ideal for storing important data and running applications that require speed and efficiency.
What is RAID 10 and how does it work?
RAID 10 is a hybrid RAID configuration. It’s actually RAID 1+0. This allows you to get disk striping speed and redundancies from disk mirroring. This is sometimes called “stripe-of-mirrors” by techies.
RAID 10 is a way to increase your speed if you have more than one drive. You also get the benefits of having redundant drives. This also means you will need to purchase more drives and only half the capacity.
RAID 10 is ideal for hosting servers or running applications that require continuous access. You still have your mirror drives with all your data intact even if one or two of the drives fails.
You may be looking for a way to create a RAID array but aren’t sure if you should use traditional hard drives or solid state drives. Check out our article about the differences between HDD and SSD.
