RAID stands for “Redundant Array of Independent/Inexpensive Disks.” What this does, is it allows you to store data across multiple drives. The point of this is to not only reduce data loss, it can also improve performance. Generally, RAID can be used for backups such as NAS systems (See Seagate IronWolf Pro HDD). There are various RAID configurations which are all different. Not all RAID configurations offer data redundancy, and not all offer performance increases. How RAID works is it takes a single line for all data to travel, instead of splitting it up through multiple lines. This means data can reach its location much faster. That being said, the faster RAID system you have, the less redundancy you have. So it is a trade off of if you want speed (for performance) or redundancy (for backing up). Some potential RAID configurations are as follows:

RAID 1

RAID 1 has at least two drives which get mirrored and contain the exact data. If one drive fails, that doesn’t mean the other ill fail. As long as one drive is functioning, it will continue to operate. This makes RAID 1 one of the most reliable configurations. The issues with RAID 1 is that the write speed is as fast as the weakest link. This means, if you have one slow drive and one fast drive, that fast drive will perform as well as the slow one. RAID 1 configuration also works this way with storage. If you have a 500GB storage drive and a 1TB storage drive, you will only be left with 500GB total since it goes off the one with the smaller space. This is why Supernova Gaming recommends getting matching drives for your RAID 1 Configuration.

RAID 5

RAID 5 works best with at least three drives. This distributes the data across each drive. If one drive fails, it will use a logic gate called an XOR (Exclusive Or) to piece together the missing information from the other drives. This configuration works with multiple lines, unlike RAID 1. This means it is not as fast as RAID 1, however it offers excellent backup capability. With RAID 5, you will lose about 30% of your storage space for parity functions.

RAID 6

RAID 6 shares similarities with RAID 5. It functions in a similar manner, but uses a minimum of four drives. Similarly to how RAID 5 loses about 30% of space, RAID 6 will lose 50% of storage. So what’s the benefits? Speed. Raid 6 is faster than RAID 5, however it does have a slower write speed. We recommend only doing RAID 6 with six drives or more to get the full benefit of RAID 6, while mitigating the downsides.

RAID 10

RAID 10 is also called RAID 1+0. It is best when used with four drives. Instead of mirroring each other, it uses the drives to mirror the two other disks. Essentially, the drives work in pairs. This offers unbeatable reliability. It can handle drive failures in either pair or even one drive in both sets fail. The downfall of RAID 10 is that if both drives of one pair fail, the entire system will collapse. With RAID 10, you lose an estimated 50% of your storage space, and it generally has a slow write speed.

What do we recommend?

We can’t necessarily recommend one over the other. Depending on what you need, the RAID Configuration that is best for you will vary. What we recommend is assessing the situation of why you need a RAID, then learn what each does and determine what is best that way.