RAID Levels: Choosing the Right Option for High Reliability
What RAID level should you use to protect the drive against a crash and ensure high reliability?
A. RAID 2
B. RAID 0
C. RAID 5
D. RAID 1
Answer:
To protect the drive against a crash and ensure high reliability, the RAID level that you should use is RAID 1.
RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks, and it is a data storage technology that combines multiple physical drives into a single logical unit. Each RAID level has different characteristics and provides varying levels of performance, capacity, and fault tolerance.
In RAID 1, also known as mirroring, data is written simultaneously to two or more drives, creating an exact copy of the data on each drive. This redundancy provides increased data protection and reliability. If one drive fails, the system can continue to operate seamlessly using the remaining drives. The failed drive can be replaced without any data loss or interruption.
RAID 1 is the suitable choice for protecting the drive against a crash because:
1. RAID 1 provides redundancy:With RAID 1, data is duplicated across multiple drives, ensuring that even if one drive fails, the data remains intact on the other drive(s). This redundancy minimizes the risk of data loss in the event of a drive crash.
2. High reliability:Since data is mirrored on multiple drives, RAID 1 offers a high level of reliability. If one drive fails, the system can continue to function without any interruption, as the mirrored drive(s) can still provide access to the data.
3. Easy drive replacement:In the event of a drive failure, replacing the failed drive in a RAID 1 configuration is straightforward. Once the faulty drive is removed, a new drive can be inserted and the RAID controller will automatically rebuild the data onto the new drive. This process is known as drive rebuilding.
4. No data loss during drive failure:Since RAID 1 duplicates the data across drives, there is no data loss even if a drive crashes. The mirrored drive(s) still have an exact copy of the data, ensuring the system remains operational.
It is important to note that RAID 2, RAID 0, and RAID 5 are not suitable choices for high reliability and protection against drive crashes. RAID 2 is rarely used today, as it requires special hardware and provides minimal advantages compared to other RAID levels. RAID 0 offers improved performance but lacks redundancy, making it highly susceptible to data loss in case of a single drive failure. RAID 5 provides data striping with parity, but it is more suitable for a balance between performance, capacity, and redundancy, rather than high reliability.