RAID 1 Reliability: All What You Wanted to Know
Here you will find out:
- what is RAID 1
- what are RAID 1 reliability
- how DiskInternals can help you
Are you ready? Let's read!
About RAID 1
RAID 1 is a purely mirrored disk array that does not use striping at all. A given raid can consist of at least two disks of the same size, and these two disks are full copies of each other. Mirrored arrays must always be even numbers. Redundancy in a given RAID 1 is repetition for data protection.
At the same time, each disk has a certain capacity. The data is reflected on the other disk, so only the same files can be stored on both disks. This is one of the biggest complaints from users about data storage using mirroring.
RAID 1 provides more or less normal write speed, but faster read speed. The main factor in choosing RAID 1 is maximum reliability: the disk array will work as long as at least one disk in the array is working.
Reliability & Performance of RAID 1
First, let's focus on the well-known high reliability of RAID 1, which, as mentioned above, is associated with the storage mechanism: mirroring. In other words, if one disk is damaged, that's not a problem at all - you can easily replace it with a new one and your data won't go anywhere. You just need to rebuild the array correctly and that's it.
When using RAID 1, its reliability will depend on certain conditions that will be announced here.
If you want more reliability, use an SSD rather than a hard drive to build the array, since the failure rate of an SSD is much lower.
Each raid has its controller, which, like any disk, can become unusable. Therefore, if the controller suddenly fails, most likely, even mirroring will not help, and the data will be destroyed.
Now let's focus on the performance of RAID 1. Unfortunately, the write speed here is not as fast as we would like, but this is compensated by the read speed, which is excellent. Again, the degree of performance will depend on the type of drives in the array: the array will perform better with solid-state drives.
Disadvantages
RAID 1 is not used for huge servers storing terabytes of critical data due to redundancy issues. Because data must be written to mirrored disks both times, the write speed will be slow. As a result, this raid offers half the capacity of the real data storage because half is used for its copies.
In general, RAID 1 is commonly used for backups, however, it does not protect data from power surges or other physical damage. Therefore, if part of the file is damaged, the same damage will be on the other disk.
RAID 1 data recovery with DiskInternals RAID Recovery
DiskInternals RAID Recovery is a specialized application that can perform data recovery at any RAID level, as well as disk imaging.
The program is developed using advanced technologies, considering the wishes of its customers, and a reliable Recovery Wizard will help you if you have little knowledge of how to restore an array. The utility also has additional features for safe data recovery; for example, free preview of files before export, determining important parameters such as disk order, array type, RAID controller type, stripe size, etc.
The program is developed using advanced technologies, considering the wishes of its customers, and a reliable Recovery Wizard will help you if you have little knowledge of how to restore an array. The utility also has additional features for safe data recovery; for example, free preview of files before export, determining important parameters such as disk order, array type, RAID controller type, stripe size, etc.
Follow these instructions for painless array recovery:
1. Download and install DiskInternals RAID Recovery on your computer, then open it and (if necessary) run the Recovery Wizard.
2. Select an array to scan that you want to connect to your computer first.
3. Select the information search mode:
- Fast (superficial),
- Deep (for detailed viewing).
After scanning, view the search results and thus check the integrity and correctness of the data - all these stages are provided to you completely free of charge.
Then purchase a license from the DiskInternals website to complete the export of the data to the desired storage location.