Information about RAID & RAID Types

Introduction
Modern hard disks come in sizes as large as 500GB, and continue to expand. Soon they will likely reach 1TB (Terabyte =
1000GB) and beyond. However, sometimes even the largest or fastest hard disks are not enough for certain applications.
The acronym ‘RAID 'stands forRedundantArray ofIndependent(orInexpensive)D isks.Itis generally recom m ended that
all disks in a RAID should be identical (or at the very least, the same size and speed). There are several variations
designed to meet different needs. Some are for making larger, faster storage solutions. Others trade off size for
increased reliability. Yet others try and accomplish both. Here is a rundown of the basic types of RAID available today.

RAID 0 - a.k.a. Striping

This is a setup where data is striped across two or
more disks. It is not redundant at all, but is still
considered a variation of RAID. Each file is broken
into several small parts, and the first part is placed
on the first disk, the second on the second disk, the
third on the third disk (or back on the first disk if
there are only two), etc. This allows a computer to
access data much faster than normal, because the
data is split equally between multiple physical disks
and they can all be put to use when retrieving data.
Unfortunately, with this boost in speed comes a
significant danger of data loss. If any disk in the
array fails, you lose ALL the data in the array. So,
even though more disks in the array means faster
speed (up to a point), each additional disk also
brings a greater threat of total information loss. Since there is no redundancy, all disk space is available - allowing very
large drive spaces for non-critical data.

RAID 1 - a.k.a. Mirroring

This setup is basically the inverse of striping. Here,
rather than putting different bits of data on each
disk, a copy of every single piece of information is
written to every disk in the array. This is usually
only done with two disks, and it gives you a
complete copy of everything so that if one disk fails
you have a complete and up-to-date backup of
everything. In fact, the array can continue to
function as long as a single disk (with all the data) is
intact and operational. For the record, since all the
data is being written to every disk, there is no
performance benefit - and it is conceivable there
might be a slight performance decrease (especially
when writing to the array). Additionally, only half
the total disk space is available because of the
mirroring process.
RAID 0+1 - Mirroring Two RAID 0 Stripes
This is our first RAID style that attempts to give both a performance and reliability boost. It requires four or more disks
to function, and effectively creates two RAID 0 arrays, and then mirrors them. Hence, both array could fail (either one or
two disks in it) and the other would continue to function. This allows you a similar performance boost to a two-disk RAID
0 array, but with a good measure of the stability of a RAID 1 array. However, just like RAID 1, only half the total amount
of disk space is usable (since all data is written twice).

RAID 10 - Striping Two RAID 1 Mirrors

Similar to the results of a RAID 0+1 (mentioned
above), this setup provides both an increase in
performance and reliability over a single disk drive.
This is accomplished by creating two RAID 1 Mirror
arrays and then striping data across them. Again, a
single disk can fail and the array should continue to
function. Four or more disks are required, and only
half the total disk space is usable (the rest being taken
up by redundant data).

RAID 5 - Striping with Parity

RAID 5 requires at least three disks, making it more
affordable (in terms of disks) to operate than either
RAID 0+1 or 10. The key to RAID 5 is 'parity' data.
Parity data is special code generated when data is
written to the array that allows it to rebuild a whole
disk if one should fail. The array operates by striping a
given amount of data across all the disks except one,
and using that one to store parity data. The next piece
of data is treated the same, except that a different
disk is used to store the parity data - and so on. This
way, the total storage available is the total amount of
disk space less one disk's worth (that gets used up for
parity). Reading data from a RAID 5 array is not as fast
as it would be from a RAID 0 (as there is a parity
stream to check), but is still slightly faster than a single
disk drive.
RAID 6 - RAID 5 on Steroids
This configuration uses the same basic idea as
RAID 5, but creates two separate parity sets. This
means it has to have four disks to function, and
loses two disks worth of storage space to parity.
However, it also means that any two disks can fail,
and the array can still be rebuilt. Additionally, RAID
6 (and, to a certain extent, RAID 5) can scale up
easily and give very large storage arrays while only
losing a small portion of their overall drive space.
For example, a 10 disk RAID 6 array would still
have 8 disks worth of space and be able to handle
two complete disk failures. Reading data from a
RAID 6 array is not quite as fast as it would be
from a RAID 5 (as there are two parity streams to
check), but is still faster than a single disk.

JBOD - Just a Bunch of Disks

While not a real RAID style, JBOD is an option on many disk controllers built into motherboards. It is simply a
com pilation ofm ultiple physicaldisks into one big,fully usable drive.Som etim es this process is know n as ‘spanning'.As
it is in no way redundant, it offers no data safety. This setup is only useful if you have multiple hard disks but only want
to work with a single, larger drive within your operating system. Also, unlike other true RAID forms, this allows you to
use disks of different sizes at whim - and without wasting space.

Hot Spare Disks

In larger arrays, where data integrity is of paramount importance, a disk failure can still be a dangerous thing. For
example, if a single disk in a RAID 5 fails, then the data is at additional risk until that drives is replaced. Until a new
replacement disk can be installed and rebuilt into the array another disk failure would cause all data to be lost. While it
is unlikely that a second failure would occur, sometimes it just isn't worth the risk. The best option when this is the case
is to have an extra disk already installed and ready to take over for whichever disk dies. This is called having a Hot Spare
disk. Sometimes it is denoted by a +1 after the RAID title (i.e. RAID 5 +1). With a Hot Spare system that is properly setup,
if a failure occurs then the spare is immediately rebuilt in place of the failed disk. Then, when the failed disk is replaced,
it becomes the new spare.

Other types of RAID

There are other forms of RAID that are not as commonly used. Those variations include RAID 2, 3, 4, and 7. More
detailed info one these can be found at other websites, including these:
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/perf/raid/levels/index.htm
http://www.acnc.com/04_00.html - good illustrations!

Additionally, there are variations on RAID 5 and 6 that are worth noting. RAID 50 and 60 are basically striped pairs of
RAID 5 or 6 arrays, giving yet again increased performance at the cost of a small amount of statistical reliability.
However, they require 6 or 8 disks (respectively) at a minimum and require advanced and often expensive controller
cards, making them very rarely used options.

Type Min. Disks Space Cost R/W Perf. Data Safety

0 2 None Excellent Poor
1 2 50% Average Good
0+1 4 50% Good Good
10 4 50% Good Good
5 3 1 Disk Good Good
6 4 2 Disks Good Excellent