RAID 0 or RAID 1?

Dave M · #1 (**permalink**) 06-17-09, 03:29

I see that BODhost provides RAID configurations for servers. Frankly, I don't really know much about it except that it protects you in case of harddrive crash. My question is, which type of RAID is best, RAID 0 or RAID 1? Only those two because the others use many more harddrives, which is rather expensive. Both 0 and 1 use two harddrives, though, so I'm not sure which is better.

iamsam · #2 (**permalink**) 06-17-09, 03:51

If you're looking for redundancy, then RAID 1 is the one you want. The reason is because in RAID 1, the data is mirrored across every disk in the array, so as long as one disk is alright, then your data is safe.

RAID 0, on the other hand, doesn't provide any kind of redundancy. In RAID 0, data is distributed across several disks, resulting in greater speed, but this also means if even just one of the disks in the array fails, all data in all disks will also be lost.

Spooky · #3 (**permalink**) 06-17-09, 07:49

Wait, so you mean that if something happens to your hard drive, they can just exchange it with the other one from the RAID array? Does the server still experience any downtime during the swap or does the exchange happen while the server is still running?

Dawnsday · #4 (**permalink**) 06-17-09, 07:59

What exactly is RAID 0 or RAID 1? I'm a little behind the times on some of this stuff. Everyday I com here and I learn something new. I love Bodhost.

Vertigo · #5 (**permalink**) 06-17-09, 11:01

@Dawnsday: RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks. Basically, it's a setup used to increase redundancy by distributing data across multiple disks. RAID 0 is the only RAID setup that doesn't increase redundancy because, like iamsam says, the data is distributed across multiple disks in such a way that if even a single disk in the array is lost, the whole array ceases to function. There's a lot more technical stuff about it that I really can't explain in a short post, but there's an article on Wikipedia about RAID if you want to read up on it.

@Spooky: There will be some minimal downtime while the disk is replaced. If, however, you have a server that supports disk hot-swapping, then downtime will be further mitigated or eliminated entirely. For maximum possible uptime and redundancy, though, the best option would be to use RAID 10, which is like a combination of RAID 0 and 1 across a larger array.

Dave M · #6 (**permalink**) 06-20-09, 13:27

Hmm... so RAID 0 isn't redundant? I think I'd go with reliability rather speed, so RAID 1 will probably be best for me. Speed is relative, after all, and a sufficiently fast server with good specs is fast enough for most.

Jenny Walker · #7 (**permalink**) 06-21-09, 00:19

I've never heard of RAID before this. Do we really need it? I'm thinking of getting a dedicated server eventually but finances are a little tight lately so I'd rather avoid having to pay extra if I can.

bluetrance05 · #8 (**permalink**) 06-30-09, 00:05

Raid 0 is data stripping but does not provide data redundancy and the data you save will be lost if one drive fails. Raid 1 is responsible for mirroring both disks and it carries best fault tolerance and can save your data because it is 100 percent redundant. I would definitely choose RAID 1 if I was asked.