What is Raid And Why we configure Raid. What is Raid0, Raid1, Raid5 , Raid6 And Raid10
Define Raid :
RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is a mechanics that combines multiple hard drives into a single logical unit for the purpose of data storage and redundancy. RAID provides improved performance, data security, and fault tolerance compared to using individual drives.
The primary reasons for configuring RAID are as follows:
Data redundancy and fault tolerance: RAID offers various levels of redundancy, allowing data to be distributed and replicated across multiple drives. In the event of a drive failure, data can be reconstructed from the remaining drives, minimizing the risk of data loss. RAID provides data protection and ensures system availability, which is crucial for critical applications or servers.
Performance improvement: RAID can improve read and write performance by distributing data across multiple drives, enabling parallel data access and increasing overall throughput. This is particularly beneficial in scenarios where high I/O (Input/Output) performance is required, such as databases or file servers.
Increased storage capacity: By combining multiple drives into a RAID array, you can create a single logical volume that appears as a larger storage capacity to the operating system. This allows for efficient utilization of available disk space.
Common RAID configurations, or RAID levels, include:
RAID 0 (Striping):
Data is striped across multiple drives, offering improved performance as data can be read from and written to multiple drives simultaneously. However, RAID 0 does not provide redundancy, so a single drive failure can result in complete data loss.
RAID 1 (Mirroring):
Data is duplicated or mirrored across multiple drives, providing full redundancy. Each drive in the mirror contains an identical copy of the data, so if one drive fails, the data remains accessible from the mirrored drive. RAID 1 resign the storage capacity for data verbosity.
RAID 5:
Data is striped across multiple drives, similar to RAID 0, but with parity information distributed across the drives as well. This allows for recovery in case of a single drive failure. RAID 5 provides a good balance between performance, capacity, and redundancy.
RAID 6:
Similar to RAID 5, but with two parity blocks distributed across the drives. RAID 6 can tolerate the failure of two drives simultaneously, providing higher fault tolerance compared to RAID 5.
RAID 10 (or RAID 1+0):
It combines RAID 1 mirroring and RAID 0 striping. Data is mirrored over banded pairs of drives, and then the mirrored pairs are striped. RAID 10 offers both performance improvement and high fault tolerance.
The specific RAID configuration chosen depends on the intended use case, desired level of redundancy, performance requirements, and available hardware. It's important to note that configuring RAID involves hardware or software support, and the exact procedure may vary based on the RAID controller or software used.