Different levels of redundant array of independent disks (RAID) offer security in the event of a hard drive failure, some offer a level of performance, or some offer both. In your opinion, which RAID type provides the best level of both security and performance? Why?

 

RAID 5 is the most common secure RAID level. It requires at least 3 drives but can work with up to 16. Data blocks are striped across the drives and on one drive a parity check sum of all the block data is written. The parity data is not written to a fixed drive, they are spread across all drives. Using the parity data, the server can recalculate the data of one of the other data blocks, should that data no longer be available. That means a RAID 5 array can withstand a single drive failure without losing data. Although RAID 5 can be achieved in software, a hardware controller is recommended. Often extra cache memory is used on these controllers to improve the write performance.

• Read data transactions are very fast while write data transactions are somewhat slower (due to the parity that has to be calculated).
• If a drive fails, you still have access to all data, even while the failed drive is being replaced and the storage controller rebuilds the data on the new drive..

RAID 5 is a good all-round system that combines efficient storage with excellent security and decent performance. It is ideal for file and application servers that have a limited number of data drives.