RAID Storage Isn’t Always Enough: Misconceptions About RAID Servers
| Summary: It’s naive to assume that once you install a RAID server, you are immune to data loss. This false understanding could eventually lead to permanent data loss. Whenever you face data loss from a RAID data storage solution, you’ll need Professional RAID recovery Services. |
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They say that nothing is permanent, and the exact same thing holds true for RAID data storage solutions.
Many businesses use RAID servers for their mission-critical data needs.
Now, many people tend to assume that a RAID server is a “fit it and forget it” solution. That’s wrong.
Is a RAID server better than a plain old hard drive? – Absolutely.
Is a RAID server immune to data loss or other forms of data corruption? – Decidedly not.
In this article, we will address this misconception as well as a few other common ones about RAID servers, across all RAID levels.
Table of Contents
Through the course of this article, you will learn the following things:
- What is a RAID Drive?
- What is RAID Configuration?
- All RAID Levels – Explained
- Common Misconceptions About RAID Servers
- Recover Data From A RAID Server
- Things To Remember
And with that, let us get dive in.
What is a RAID Drive?
Before we begin, it might hold you in good stead to learn, or relearn what is a RAID Drive exactly.
Well, for starters, the RAID in RAID server stands for “Redundant Array Of Independent Disks”.
In really simple terms, a series of drives equipped with RAID server technology can store the same data in different places.
Why? Because such a move decreases the chances of a single drive failure causing catastrophic data loss in your server since the data on a RAID server is across many places.
Think of it like hedging your bets — all your eggs (data) are not in one basket with RAID data storage solutions.
What is RAID Configuration?
The easiest way to explain this is to tell you that a RAID server can come in many different “trims”, much like a sports car.
And, just like a high-performance sports car, each “trim” is designed to do something a little better than the others.
PS — if you were wondering which is the fastest RAID configuration out of all RAID levels, then RAID 0 will emerge as the clear winner in terms of read and write speeds.
Bear in mind however that while RAID 0 may be the fastest RAID configuration, it is also the only RAID trim with no fault tolerance whatsoever.
Below is an example of the most popular RAID level currently in use in data centers around the world.
All RAID Levels: Explained
Below is a table that summarises the differences between all RAID levels.
| RAID Level | Drives Needed (Minimum) | Usable Storage Capacity | Fault Tolerance (If Applicable) |
|---|---|---|---|
| RAID 0 | 2 Drives | 100% Of Total Available Storage | Not Applicable |
| RAID 1 | 2 Drives | 50% Of Total Available Storage | Tolerance of 1 Failed Drive |
| RAID 5 | 3 Drives | 75% Of Total Available Storage | Tolerance of 1 Failed Drive |
| RAID 6 | 4 Drives | 50% Of Total Available Storage | Tolerance of 2 Failed Drives |
| RAID 10 | 4 Drives | 50% Of Total Available Storage | Tolerance of 1 Failed Drive |
Of course, there are many more RAID levels, these just happen to be the most popular.
You can read more about RAID levels, and which one is the best suited for you at this link.
Here is another example of a very popular RAID level, RAID 1:
Additional Reading: RAID Levels: Which One is Right for You
Common Misconceptions About RAID Servers
Here are the most common misconceptions about RAID servers that are prevalent across the industry:
1. Misconception: RAID Server Are Backups
It happens more frequently than you think — people look at the word RAID and think that they can’t lose their data.
While it is certainly true that some RAID levels that employ mirroring do have copies of the data created, they are certainly not foolproof.
Think of it this way: You have a computer, and you create a backup of that computer, on the same computer’s hard disk.
Now that doesn’t sound very safe, does it?
Well, if your RAID server is supposed to function as its own backup, what will you do if something happens to the whole server, like a controller failure?
This is the number one pain point that people seem to knowingly ignore.
To cut a very long story short: your RAID server also needs its own dedicated backup.
After all, it only takes one incident to destabilize your network.
Also, if you are thinking that you could use another RAID server to backup your original one, please don’t.
A RAID-oriented backup solution can actually compound your troubles by further mirroring any damages throughout the remainder of the undamaged arrays.
2. Miscommunication: RAID Server Failure is Always Obvious
The second common misconception is that you will always know when something is going on with your RAID server.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
A problem could be working itself into your system over the course of several days, or even weeks.
Malware, unauthorized access, accidental deletion, antivirus misappropriations, minimal controller failure, and redundancy striping (failure to strip the data) are some examples.
The examples listed above all manifest themselves over the course of about three to four weeks, and if not caught early, will wreak havoc on your RAID server.
You may not know until it is too late — this is why having a dedicated IT technician or outsourcing the IT needs to a qualified professional is a must.
Qualified people who have experience running RAID servers can catch these problems early on and nip them in the bud — saving you a lot of time and money in the process.
3. All RAID Levels Have Redundancies
It’s the same story as with all RAID levels having their own backups.
Only the RAID levels that employ the use of mirroring, or mirroring and striping together will be able to offer the user a redundancy.
In this case, redundancy is defined as the failure of one or more drives in the array not affecting the overall functioning of the system.
Even though redundancy-proof arrays continue to function after losing one (or more) drive, it is understood that you should replace them without delay.
Long story short: only mirrored RAID servers can offer full-scale redundancies, but the redundancy will come at the cost of usable total array storage.
4. Two Or More RAID Drives Will never Fail Together
A big misconception is that a RAID system will never face the failure of more than one drive at a time.
In situations like controller failure, voltage fluctuations, power delivery malfunctions, and similar cases, it is very easy to lose multiple disks at the same time.
Add to this the fact that many RAID servers use exactly the same model of hard drives in their system.
This effectively means that you have many identical hard drives, working in the same conditions, in the same temperatures, and running the same firmware.
This makes it statistically more likely that if one drive has failed, the others may well soon follow suit.
This gives you all the more reason not to delay attempts at recovering your RAID server in such a situation.
Recover Data from a RAID Server
If you have found yourself at the receiving end of a RAID data storage system failure, then the last thing you want to do is panic.
That, and also a DIY fix — you’d want to stay well clear of those.
Your best hope of recovering your data is to contact Stellar Data Recovery.
- Stellar has over three decades worth of experience in both data recovery as well as data deletion.
- We’ve been fortunate to have over 3 million of our software licenses embraced by users worldwide.
- Our dedicated team of 100+ R&D engineers works tirelessly to bring innovative and superior-quality solutions.
- Our network spreads across the globe with 8000+ partners and branches in several Indian cities.
- Our technicians will give you a 100% free quote and price estimate before committing to the recovery.
So, what more could you want?
Give Stellar Data Recovery a call and say goodbye to your RAID data storage solution problems.
Even if you have not faced data loss yet, a checkup once in a while is recommended.
After all, RAID failure is always obvious, right?
Additional Reading: How to Recover Data from RAID Server
Things To Remember in RAID Server
RAID servers do have their own problems, but they are astronomically better than other types of data storehouses.
It is also easy to forget that RAID isn’t actually a physical thing.
RAID is simply a type of array (collection) of hard drives that read, recall, and write data in a particular order.
Also, anyone who begins a sentence with the line “The best RAID server…” probably knows nothing about RAID, to begin with.
Each RAID level is built to suit a different need and to serve a different clientele, and RAID levels are highly customizable as per your specific needs.
That is why it is imperative to do your own research or onboard, proper professionals, when setting up your RAID data storage solution.
If you’re struggling with RAID data loss and need hard drive data recovery, talk to us. Stellar Data Recovery Service is India’s most trusted data care brand. In India, we have branches in 14 major cities, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Noida, Pune, and Vashi. If you need hard drive data recovery in Kolkata, visit our Kolkata branch.
That said, we hope that this article has proven helpful, and we’ll see you in the next one.
About The Author
Urvika Tuteja
Urvika Tuteja is an SEO Executive at Stellar® with a good understanding of online marketing. She is known for her quick and enthusiastic learning abilities. Urvika contributes her skills to managing operational activities and driving the growth of organic traffic.