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What is a RAID controller and what bennefits would you receive?
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
RAID stands for "Redundant Array of Inexpensive/Independent Disks". RAID works by combining two or more hard drives. It can increase performance and/or data redundancy and/or capacity. There are many different RAID types, the most common being RAID 0 (stripe), RAID 1 (mirror) and RAID 5 (stripe with parity).
In a RAID 0 (stripe) array, data is split equally between the number of disks in the array. For example, when a 2 MB file is written to a RAID 0 array with two hard drives, the file is split in to two parts and 1 MB of data is written to each hard drive. This increases capacity and performance, but sharply decreases redundancy since only one of the drives needs to fail for all information to be lost.
Performance = Drive Speed * Number of Drives
Capacity = Drive Size * Number of Drives
Redundancy allows for no drives to fail.
In a RAID 1 (mirror) array, a complete copy is written to each hard drive in the array. Capacity and performance stay the same, but redundancy is increased. As long as one drive works, you will not lose data.
Performance = Drive Speed
Capacity = Drive Size
Redundancy allows for all but one drive to fail.
In a RAID 5 (stripe with parity) array, you need at least three hard drives. Files are split up to all but one of the drives (similar to RAID 0) and a parity bit is written to the last drive. This increases performance, capacity and redundancy. Performance is not as good as RAID 0, but still better than RAID 1. Redundancy is not as good as RAID 1, but is still quite reliable.
Performance = Drive Speed * (Number of Drives - 1) (Theoretical)
Capacity = Drive Size * (Number of Drives - 1)
Redundancy allows for one drive to fail.
There are other RAID levels, but they are not as common.
The main benefit of using a RAID array is data redundancy and/or performance.
Non-commercial (home) users and enthusiasts wanting a very large increase in performance (theoretically multiples of the number of drives used) usually go for RAID 0 since they often are not too worried about drive failure and they enjoy the larger drive capacities that it provides.
Small businesses who only need cheap redundancy usually go for RAID 1. If one drive fails, the drive can be replaced and the mirror array restored.
Larger businesses or those needing file/database performance go for RAID 5. They can afford the price of an extra drive and a more expensive RAID controller. RAID 5 provides high performance with large capacities while still maintaining data redundancy and is the most desirable in a business or enterprise environment.
There are some other options for RAID such as RAID 10 or RAID 01.
RAID 10 features two separate RAID 0 arrays which are then mirrored in a RAID 1 array.
RAID 01 is the opposite, with two separate RAID 1 arrays which are then striped with a RAID 0 array.
There are other non-standard RAID levels, but most are rather uncommon.
Alternatively, there is also drive spanning (aka JBOD), but this provides no extra redundancy or performance. Drives are "glued", if you will, end to end.
The benefits of each RAID level vary. The type of RAID used depend on the job it must fulfill.
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∙ 15y ago
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What additional hardware will be necessary to implement two identical hard drive?
Hardware will be RAID PCIe / PCIx RAID hardware controller but The hardware RAID is often the motherboard RAID controller or a separate RAID card.
What are two reasons you should not use RAID to replace backups?
RAID should not replace backups because: 1) It is very possible that both disks are damaged at the same moment, for example by fire, overvoltage from a lightning strike etc. 2) RAID does not protect from user accidentally erasing information. And there are plenty of other reasons: 3) Usually RAID arrays are assembled from identical disks from the same manufacturing batch and they are burdened identically. This means that they are quite likely to fail around the same time. 4) RAID array can be corrupted by a single bug or failure in the RAID controller.
What is raid support?
RAID stands for "Redundant Array of Inexpensive/Independent Disks". RAID can increase performance and/or data redundancy and/or capacity. There are many different RAID types, the most common being RAID 0 (stripe), RAID 1 (mirror) and RAID 5 (stripe with parity).RAID works by combining two or more hard disks.In a RAID 0 (stripe) array, data is split equally between the number of disks in the array. For example, when a 2 MB file is written to a RAID 0 array with two hard drives, the file is split in to two parts and 1 MB of data is written to each hard drive. This increases capacity and performance, but sharply decreases redundancy since only one of the drives needs to fail for all information to be lost.In a RAID 1 (mirror) array, a complete copy is written to each hard drive in the array. Capacity and performance stay the same, but redundancy is increased. As long as one drive works, you will not lose data.In a RAID 5 (stripe with parity) array, you need at least three hard drives. Files are split up to all but one of the drives (similar to RAID 0) and a parity bit is written to the last drive. This increases performance, capacity and redundancy. Performance is not as good as RAID 0, but still better than RAID 1. Redundancy is not as good as RAID 1, but is still quite reliable. Capacity is the sum of all but one of the drives.There are other RAID levels, but they are not as common.RAID support simply means that whatever device is being described supports RAID. Nearly anything supports RAID. The only computer component that "RAID support" would be relevant to would be a computer motherboard or an IDE or SATA controller.
What are Levels of RAID 0 1 5 and Which one is better and why?
RAID 0 is the best for speed because it uses "data stripping". That means if one drive fails, all you have left on the other one is useless bits and pieces of your files. That means one drive failing will corrupt ALL your data. If you choose RAID 0, you MUST back up your data at the very least every day. Preferably every hour. Automatic back ups is a good idea anyway. RAID 1 uses "mirroring". When you save a file, it gets saved to BOTH drives. Putting drives in RAID 1 does not make the system faster. That means if one drive fails, the other one will still contain all your data. The problem with RAID 1 is that you only get HALF of the space you bought. For example, if you put 2 drives with a 3TB capacity in RAID 0, you would have 6TB. 2 drives with 3TB each in RAID 1 would mean instead of 6TB, you would only have 3TB. The reason for that is because both drives contain the EXACT same data. RAID 5 is pretty good for speed and if 1 drive fails, you can just replace it and rebuild the RAID 5 array without losing any data. RAID 5: RAID 1: RAID 0: I would create a RAID 0 array to store your files and if you care about any of the files you would store on your computer, a RAID 1 or RAID 5 array (I would recommend RAID 5) to back up your data to. I hope this helps.
What does the term raid server recovery mean?
The term "RAID server recovery" means just that: recovery of the RAID server. A RAID server is a computer that runs RAID software to act as a secondary storage.
When implementing RAID on a motherboard where do you enable the feature?
RAID is implemented using a RAID controller on the motherboard or on a RAID controller card. RAID is enabled in the BIOS.
What additional hardware will be necessary to implement two identical hard drive?
Hardware will be RAID PCIe / PCIx RAID hardware controller but The hardware RAID is often the motherboard RAID controller or a separate RAID card.
What is the role of a disk array RAID controller?
It's a device that manages the physical hard drives installed into you computer. Since it's very common when used in hardware RAID, it is often called a RAID controller.
You have xp pro with raid controller what happen when you install window 7 will you have to reinstall the raid drivers?
Depends on the raid controller. Windows 7 includes a awefull lot of drivers, so it probably will just work without reinstalling the drivers.
How do you Un-Raid 2 HDs?
Check with your motherboard manual (if it has onboard RAID), or check with your RAID controller's manual to see if it supports setting up single drives and not having a raid configuration.
What function key allows you to install a RAID controller driver?
The F6 key.
Where can SAS RAID controller cards be purchased from online?
SAS RAID controller cards can be purchased from Intel, HP, Dell Canada or Newegg. If one is knowledgeable enough with this product Ebay is an excellent choice for finding cheaper prices.
Describe the differences between a hardware RAID and a software RAID?
Brief introduction about Hardware RAIDThe hardware-based system manages the RAID subsystem independently from the host and presents to the host only a single disk per RAID array.An example of a Hardware RAID device would be one that connects to a SCSI controller and presents the RAID arrays as a single SCSI drive. An external RAID system moves all RAID handling "intelligence" into a controller located in the external disk subsystem. The whole subsystem is connected to the host via a normal SCSI controller and appears to the host as a single disk.RAID controllers also come in the form of cards that act like a SCSI controller to the operating system but handle all of the actual drive communications themselves. In these cases, you plug the drives into the RAID controller just like you would a SCSI controller, but then you add them to the RAID controller's configuration, and the operating system never knows the difference.Brief introduction about Software RAIDSoftware RAID implements the various RAID levels in the kernel disk (block device) code. It offers the cheapest possible solution, as expensive disk controller cards or hot-swap chassis are not required. Software RAID also works with cheaper IDE disks as well as SCSI disks. With today's fast CPUs, Software RAID performance can excel against Hardware RAID.Difference between hardware raid and software raidObviously, hardware RAID is pricier compared to software RAID, due to the extra hardware that you need to purchase. The hardware is typically expensive, and adds a substantial amount to the cost of the whole system.On the flip side, the cheap software RAID can impair the host computer, which may result in poor performance. This is because it needs to process the data before it is written to disk, to determine where each piece of data should go.The controller in a hardware RAID handles these operations, so that the host processor does not have to. The host processor will simply write the data, just like in a normal hard drive.Tips: The performance hit taken by the system can vary a lot, depending on what type of RAID array you have in use. It could be very minimal, as with the case of a JBOD array. Or it can be quite substantial, especially with stripping and mirroring on multiple disks.Hardware RAID offers better reliability compared to software RAID. A software RAID can be prone to data corruption, due to the fault of the RAID software or driver that is being used. A software RAID can also be affected if the host computer is heavily loaded. Heavy processing can cause some pieces of data to be delayed by a small amount of time. These delays can add up, and negate the benefits of the RAID array to some degree.
What are some of the best Sata Raid Controller brands?
Some of the best Sata Raid Controller brands include LSI, High Point, Areca, Adaptec, and Intel. These products can be bought online on New Egg and other electronics retailers.
Will a missing PCI card cause reboot?
Removing a PCI card from a system should generally not cause any boot problems. Probably the only exception would be if the card was a RAID controller, and you moved the drives to another controller.
If you have replaced the mb CPU RAM and HD can you install a PCI IDE raid controller to recover data from your old raid formatted hard drives?
YES
What is the difference between hardware raid and software raid?
Name says major difference between both. by the way Software RAID is created using feature provided by Operating System or any special software, but Hardware RAID is created using Hardware RAID controller Card. When you create RAID you are adding overheads to read and write operations. If you create software RAID and your server is too busy or you have many read and write operations you will see there is impact on performance. When you create HARDWARE RAID you will use dedicated controller with processor and some cache. This will not create overhead for your OS and you will find better performance. Software RAID will save some money for you but Hardware RAID will provide you value addition.
