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RAID Arrays
Module 2.4
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RAID Arrays
After completing this module, you will be able to:
Describe what RAID is and the needs it addresses
Describe the concepts upon which RAID is built
Compare and contrast common RAID levels
Recommend the use of the common RAID levels based
on performance and availability considerations
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RAID - Redundant Array of Independent Disks


RAID
Controller
RAID Array
Host
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RAID Components


RAID
Controller
Logical
Array
Logical
Array
Physical
Array
RAID Array
Host
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Data Organization: Strips and Stripes
Stripe 1
Stripe 2
Stripe 3
Strips
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RAID Performance: Striping
Logical Array
LUN
RAID
Controller
Host
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RAID Redundancy: Mirroring
RAID Array
Mirrored Disk
RAID
Controller
Host
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RAID Redundancy: Parity
Parity Disk
0
8
4
1
9
5
2
10
6
3
11
7
0 1 2 3
8 9 10 11
4 5 6 7
RAID
Controller
Host
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Parity Calculation
Parity
Data
Data
Data
Data
4
2
3
5
14
5 + 3 + 4 + 2 = 14
The middle drive fails:
5 + 3 + ? + 2 = 14
? = 14 5 3 2
? = 4

RAID Array
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RAID Levels
0 Striped Array with No Fault Tolerance
1 Disk Mirroring
3 Parallel Access Array with Dedicated Parity Disk
4 Striped Array with Independent Disks and a
Dedicated Parity Disk
5 Striped Array with Independent Disks and Distributed
Parity
Combinations of levels (I.e., 1 + 0, 0 + 1, etc.)

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RAID 0 Striped Array with no Fault Tolerance
RAID
Controller
Block 4 Block 4 Block 3 Block 3 Block 2 Block 2 Block 1 Block 1 Block 0 Block 0
Host
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RAID 1 Disk Mirroring
RAID
Controller
Block 1 Block 1 Block 1 Block 0 Block 0 Block 0
Host
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RAID 0+1 Striping and Mirroring
RAID
Controller
Block 3 Block 3 Block 3 Block 2 Block 2 Block 2 Block 1 Block 1 Block 1 Block 0 Block 0 Block 0
Host
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RAID 1+0 Mirroring and Striping
RAID
Controller
Block 3 Block 3 Block 3 Block 2 Block 2 Block 2 Block 1 Block 1 Block 1 Block 0 Block 0 Block 0
Host
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RAID 0+1 vs. RAID 1+0
Benefits are identical under normal operations.
Rebuild operations are very different.
RAID 1+0 uses a mirrored pair only 1 disk is rebuilt if a disk fails
RAID 0+1 if a single drive fails, the entire stripe is faulted
RAID is 0+1 is a poorer solution and is less common
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RAID 3 - Parallel Transfer with Dedicated Parity
Disk
RAID
Controller
Block 1
Block 2
Block 3
P 0 1 2 3
Block 0 Block 3 Block 2 Block 1 Block 0
Parity
Generated
Host
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RAID 4 - Striping with Dedicated Parity Disk
RAID
Controller
P 0 1 2 3
Block 0 Block 0
Block 0
Block 4
Block 1
Block 5
Block 2
Block 6
Block 3
Block 7
P 0 1 2 3
P 4 5 6 7
Parity
Generated
Block 0
P 0 1 2 3
Host
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Block 0
P 0 1 2 3
RAID 5 - Independent Disks with Distributed Parity
Block 7
RAID
Controller
P 0 1 2 3
Block 0 Block 4 Block 0
Block 1
Block 5
Block 2
Block 6
Block 3
Parity
Generated
Block 0
P 0 1 2 3
Block 4
P 4 5 6 7 P 4 5 6 7
Block 4
P 4 5 6 7
Block 4
Parity
Generated
Host
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RAID Implementations
Hardware (usually a specialized disk controller card)
Controls all drives that are attached it
Performs all RAID-related functions including volume management
Array(s) appear to the host operating system as a regular disk drive
Dedicated cache to improve performance
Generally provides some type of administrative software
Software
Generally runs as part of the operating system
Volume management and performed by the server
Provides more flexibility for hardware, which can reduce the cost
Performance is dependent on CPU load & server performance
Has limited functionality
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Hot Spares
RAID
Controller
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Hot Swap
RAID
Controller
RAID
Controller
RAID
Controller
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Module Summary
Key points covered in this module:
What RAID is and the needs it addresses
The concepts upon which RAID is built
The difference between RAID levels
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Check Your Knowledge
What is a RAID array?
What benefits do RAID arrays provide?
What methods can be used to provide higher data
availability in a RAID array?
What is the primary difference between RAID 3 and RAID
5?
Why might you use a combined RAID level, such as RAID
1+0 or 0+1?