It’s the one that just won’t go away!
Topics and inquiries pepper the SR discussion forum on a regular basis regarding pros and cons, configuration, RAID levels, etc. Thus, it might be time to remind readers of some standing resources here at SR that aim to assist readers with everything RAID:
Front and center is the Reference Guide’s 70+ pages of information on RAID. It covers benefits and limitations, configuration of arrays, and exhaustively surveys the various levels one may encounter. Wonder what the difference is between RAID 01 and 10? Considering the tradeoffs between mirroring and parity? Features to look for on controllers and drives? It’s all in there… we highly recommend taking a look to see if your questions aren’t answered right there.
Then, moving on from the theoretical to the empirical, readers who have yet to review our article on TCQ, RAID, ATA, and SCSI will find it well worth their while to do so. While the data presented is drawn off of WD Raptor and Seagate Cheetah drives, the principles found there, and more specifically, the performance (or lack thereof!) that one may expect to achieve when implementing RAID transcend the examples and apply just as much today as they have over the years.
