Learn how different RAID levels can provide data protection.*END
RAID and How it Works
RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is a way of saving data in different places on multiple drives.
This is to protect the data in the case of a drive failure.
RAID employs disk Mirroring or disk Striping.
IMPORTANT:RAID is not a backup and does not provide protection against:
- Data loss caused by malicious attacks
- File system corruption
- Viruses
- Malware or ransomware
RAID Levels
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Supported RAID levels will vary per brand and product. |
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| JBOD | "just-a-bunch-of-disks" | Each drive can be accessed as an individual volume | No fault tolerance | Audio applications, General Usage |
| 0 | Disk striping | Offers the highest performance and a usable storage capacity of 100% of total available storage capacity | No fault tolerance- failure of one drive in the array results in complete data loss | Content creation applications requiring highest storage capacity |
| 1 | Mirror of two drives | Maximum level of data protection as identical data is written to multiple drives | Usable storage space is 50% of total available capacity | Applications in which data security is paramount |
| 1E | Stripped Mirror of two or more drives | Maximum level of data protection as identical data is written to all drives in the RAID | Usable storage space is the capacity of one drive in the RAID | Application in which data security is paramount |
| 5 | Disk striping with distributed parity | High read performance, medium write performance with data protection in case of a drive failure | Usable storage capacity equals total capacity of all drives in the array, less the capacity of one drive. Example: 4 TB - 1 TB(for RAID 5) = 3TB usable capacity Disk failure results in drop in performance |
Content creation applications requiring data protection |
| 6 | Disk striping with dual distributive parity | Similar to RAID 5, but can have 2 drives fail and still have access to the data. | Usable storage capacity equals total capacity of all drives in the array, less the capacity of two drives. Disk failure results in drop in performance |
Content creation applications requiring data protection |
| 10 | Mirror of striped drive pairs | Higher performance than RAID 1 with same level of data protection | Usable storage space is 50% of total available capacity | Content creation applications requiring data protection |
| 50 | RAID 0 striping across low level RAID 5 arrays. | Improvement on the write speeds and better fault tolerance compared to RAID 5. Allows 1 drive failure per RAID 5 in the RAID 50 array | Usable storage capacity equals total capacity of all drives in the array, less the capacity of two drives | Applications that require high fault tolerance and capacity |
| 60 | RAID 0 striping across low level RAID 6 arrays. | Allows 2 drive failures per RAID 6 in the RAID 60 array | Usable storage capacity equals total capacity of all drives in the array, less the capacity of four drives | Applications that require high fault tolerance and capacity |
