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The Truth about RAID Technology
RAID – Redundant Array of Inexpensive (or sometimes “Independent”) Disks – is a method of combining several hard drives into one logical unit. It can offer fault tolerance and higher throughput levels than a single hard drive or group of independent hard drives.
RAID is a mature technology that speeds up data access while at the same time protecting your data from hard disk failure. RAID is quickly becoming a necessary component in every network since data loss and downtime can prove both fatal and financially destructive. Most networks are designed to provide instant access to massive amounts of data. More and more employees have to access customer and other databases. Intranets and corporate Web sites provide access to huge databases online.
RAID provides increased storage capacities, and protects your important data from hard drive failure.
RAID Levels:
RAID 0
RAID 1
RAID 3
RAID 5
RAID 10
There are multiple benefits of using RAID:
Reliability
Scalability
Real-time data recovery with uninterrupted access when a hard drive fails
System uptime and network availability
Protection against data loss
multiple drives working in parallel increase system performance
A disk system with RAID capability can protect its data and provide on-line, immediate access to its data, despite a single disk failure (some RAID storage systems can withstand two concurrent disk failures). RAID capability also provides for the on-line reconstruction of the contents of a failed disk to a replacement disk.
RAID offers faster hard drive performance and nearly complete data safety. Storage requirements are expanding as file sizes get bigger and rendering needs get more complex. If you handle very large images or work on audio and video files, faster data throughput means enhanced productivity. RAID can be backed up to tape while the system is in use.
There are 5 most commonly used RAID levels. These levels are not ratings, but rather classifications of functionality. Different RAID levels offer dramatic differences in performance, data availability and data integrity depending on the specific I/O environment. There is no single RAID level that is perfect for all users.
Storage Requirements can be calculated through RAID Calculator.
RAID 0: STRIPING
RAID 0 refers to striping data across multiple disks without any redundant information. Data is divided into blocks and distributed sequentially among the disks. This level is also referred to as pure striping. The number of disk drives needed to create a RAID 0 is one or more. In other words, a single drive can be configured as a RAID 0 array. This type of array can be used to enhance performance in either a request rate intensive or transfer rate intensive environment. Unfortunately, striping reduces the level of data availability since a disk failure will cause the entire array to be inaccessible.
RAID 0 was not defined originally but has become a commonly used term.
Advantages:
Easy to Implement
No capacity loss – all storage is usable
Disadvantages:
Not a “true” RAID due to the lack of fault-tolerance
Failure of only one disk will result in loss of all data on the array
RAID 1: MIRRORING / DUPLEXING
RAID 1 is the first defined level that allows a measure of data redundancy. Data written to one disk drive is simultaneously written to another disk drive. If one disk fails, the other disk can be used to run the system and reconstruct the failed disk. Since the disk is mirrored, it does not matter if one of them fails because both disks contain the same data at all times.
RAID level 1 provides high data availability since two complete copies of all information are maintained. In addition, read performance may be enhanced if the array controller allows simultaneous reads from both members of a mirrored pair. Higher availability will be achieved if both disks in a mirror pair are on separate I/O busses, known as duplexing.
Advantages:
Higher read performance than a single disk
Disadvantages:
Requires twice the desired disk space
RAID 3: SRTIPING AND PARITY
In RAID 3, data is striped across a set of disks. In addition, parity is generated and stored on a dedicated disk. With RAID 3, data chunks are much smaller than the average I/O size and the disk spindles are synchronized to enhance throughput in transfer rate intensive environments. RAID 3 is well suited for CAD/CAM or imaging type applications as well as streaming media. Since parity is used, a RAID 3 stripe set can withstand a single disk failure without losing data or access to data.
Advantages:
Good data availability
High performance for transfer rate intensive applications
Cost effective – only 1 extra disk is required for parity
Disadvantages:
Poor random I/O performance
Disk failure has a significant impact on performance
RAID 5: SRTIPING AND PARITY
RAID 5, similar to level 3, stripes data and parity to generate redundancy. However, instead of requiring entirely new disk for parity storage, the parity is distributed through the stripe of the disk array.
In RAID 5 both parity and data are striped across a set of separate disks. Next, the new parity is calculated. Finally, the new data and parity are written to separate disks. Data chunks are much larger than the average I/O size, but are still resizable. Disks are able to satisfy requests independently which provides high read performance in a request rate intensive environment. Since parity information is used, a RAID 5 stripe can withstand a single disk failure without losing data or access to data.
Advantages:
Highest read data transaction rates
Cost effective – only 1 extra disk is required
Disadvantages:
Individual block data transfer rate same as a single disk.
RAID 10
RAID 10 is technically (RAID 1 + RAID 0), a combination of RAID 1 and 0 – mirroring and striping, but without parity. RAID 10 is a stripe across a number of mirrored drives. It is implemented as a striped array whose segments are RAID 1 arrays. RAID 10 has the same fault tolerance as RAID level 1, as well as the same overhead for fault-tolerance as mirroring alone.
Advantages:
Very high I/O rates are achieved by striping RAID 1 segments
Excellent solution for sites that would normally use RAID 1
Great for Oracle and other databases which need high performance and fault tolerance.
Disadvantages:
Expensive to maintain
As with Raid 1 total capacity is equal to half of the total capacity of all disk in the array.
Get Back Lost Data with Recover Files After Format
Recover Files After Format is a complete solution for data recover. It provides you with a user friendly set of tools which allows you to recover lost data or, if secure data removal is your aim, to completely delete data so that it can never fall into the wrong hands. Whether you have lost data due to a system failure, accidental deletion, formatting a disk or infection by malicious software, Recover Files After Format provides you with the best chances of restoring your data in one piece. Even if your disk has been completely formatted, Recover Files After Format, hence its name, can usually help you. To ensure that you never lose important files again, it’s always a good idea to have data recovery software installed.
It doesn’t matter at all what sort of data you have lost, because Recover Files After Format provides the best possible chances of data recovery regardless of whether the file is a document, image or anything else. The software can recover data in the vast majority of cases, although levels of success may vary for the reasons explained as follows: Data which has been deleted or data which is on a disk that’s been formatted is not initially modified in any way. Once data is deleted, it just means that other files can then overwrite that space, eventually completely overwriting the deleted data and making it completely impossible to recover. For this reason, you should deal with the problem as soon as you are alerted to it. The sooner you get to the problem, the more likely you are to succeed with data recovery. This is the case with absolutely any data recovery solution. Recover Files After Format uses advanced methods to thoroughly scan any type of media, including hard disks, external disks and flash drives, for deleted or formatted files which are recoverable.
Unfortunately, there is no standard way of recovering deleted data. When you format a disk or empty the recycle bin, the data may seem to be gone for good. However, third-party software like Recover Files After Format can overcome this limitation of Windows.
Data recovery may not be what you are looking for right now, however. In some cases, you may want to be able to assure yourself that all sensitive and financial information is completely, permanently removed from your computer, especially if you are selling or donating it. Recover Files After Format, unlike most data recovery solutions, provides you with features which allow you to securely delete data as well.
Recover Files After Format is an all-in-one solution providing everything you need for data recovery and secure data removal all in a single program. The interface is user-friendly and no steep learning curves are involved. The interface is easily navigable and the controls are largely self-explanatory. Click on the link above to learn more about the solution and how it can help you. There is a demo version available too. Recover Files After Format works on any FAT or NTFS media.
Get Back Lost Data with Recover Files After Format
Recover Files After Format is a complete solution for data recover. It provides you with a user friendly set of tools which allows you to recover lost data or, if secure data removal is your aim, to completely delete data so that it can never fall into the wrong hands. Whether you have lost data due to a system failure, accidental deletion, formatting a disk or infection by malicious software, Recover Files After Format provides you with the best chances of restoring your data in one piece. Even if your disk has been completely formatted, Recover Files After Format, hence its name, can usually help you. To ensure that you never lose important files again, it’s always a good idea to have data recovery software installed.
It doesn’t matter at all what sort of data you have lost, because Recover Files After Format provides the best possible chances of data recovery regardless of whether the file is a document, image or anything else. The software can recover data in the vast majority of cases, although levels of success may vary for the reasons explained as follows: Data which has been deleted or data which is on a disk that’s been formatted is not initially modified in any way. Once data is deleted, it just means that other files can then overwrite that space, eventually completely overwriting the deleted data and making it completely impossible to recover. For this reason, you should deal with the problem as soon as you are alerted to it. The sooner you get to the problem, the more likely you are to succeed with data recovery. This is the case with absolutely any data recovery solution. Recover Files After Format uses advanced methods to thoroughly scan any type of media, including hard disks, external disks and flash drives, for deleted or formatted files which are recoverable.
Unfortunately, there is no standard way of recovering deleted data. When you format a disk or empty the recycle bin, the data may seem to be gone for good. However, third-party software like Recover Files After Format can overcome this limitation of Windows.
Data recovery may not be what you are looking for right now, however. In some cases, you may want to be able to assure yourself that all sensitive and financial information is completely, permanently removed from your computer, especially if you are selling or donating it. Recover Files After Format, unlike most data recovery solutions, provides you with features which allow you to securely delete data as well.
Recover Files After Format is an all-in-one solution providing everything you need for data recovery and secure data removal all in a single program. The interface is user-friendly and no steep learning curves are involved. The interface is easily navigable and the controls are largely self-explanatory. Click on the link above to learn more about the solution and how it can help you. There is a demo version available too. Recover Files After Format works on any FAT or NTFS media.