I believe we can all agree that the worst is losing a hard drive. This is where RAID comes in, meaning Redundant Array of Independent Disks. RAID is somewhat similar to attaching more drives together so you’ll feel safer about your data, and sometimes with higher performance or speeds. Sounds complicated; however, it really is not!
Let’s break down each of the RAID levels, and we can identify the best RAID level to host custom applications or WordPress sites.
The downside? When one of those drives goes bad, you lost everything. This works great for testing or something that will only be temporary, or projects that can’t afford much in terms of data safety.
Downside? Because everything is duplicated, you are going to lose half of your storage, however, RAID 1 is a solid plan. The downside to consider is the effort that is involved with utilizing RAID 1 on a smaller WordPress site or personal project.
While it has a slower rebuild time when one of the disks fails, RAID 5 can be a perfect balance of speed, safety, and storage. Because of these qualities, many of the web hosting companies use RAID 5.
The drawbacks are that it requires a minimum of four disks and it costs more. But if you have a busy site or mission critical application, then RAID 10 is a perfect choice.
• RAID 0 – This is performance but you lose all your data.
• RAID 1 – This is protection and pretty easy to set up.
• RAID 5 – This is a balance of performance and protection.
• RAID 10 – This is performance and redundancy.
The next time someone mentions RAID 5 or 10, you'll really understand what they mean - no wondering!
Let’s break down each of the RAID levels, and we can identify the best RAID level to host custom applications or WordPress sites.
RAID 0 - FAST, but risky
So you had a fast performance. RAID 0 spreads your data across multiple drives so they will both load faster.The downside? When one of those drives goes bad, you lost everything. This works great for testing or something that will only be temporary, or projects that can’t afford much in terms of data safety.
RAID 1 - SAFE and EASY
RAID 1 will copy all your data to another second drive. In the event that your primary drive fails, you now have a less stressful way of recovering everything because you have a second drive.Downside? Because everything is duplicated, you are going to lose half of your storage, however, RAID 1 is a solid plan. The downside to consider is the effort that is involved with utilizing RAID 1 on a smaller WordPress site or personal project.
RAID 5 – Balanced option
RAID 5 requires a minimum of three disks. It stripes your data and additionally provides parity, so if one disk fails, your data is still accessible.While it has a slower rebuild time when one of the disks fails, RAID 5 can be a perfect balance of speed, safety, and storage. Because of these qualities, many of the web hosting companies use RAID 5.
RAID 10 – Fast and safe
RAID 10 is basically a combination of RAID 0 and RAID 1. It strips your data across multiple disks, AND mirrors it. So you have the speed of RAID 0 and the protection of RAID 1.The drawbacks are that it requires a minimum of four disks and it costs more. But if you have a busy site or mission critical application, then RAID 10 is a perfect choice.
Picking the Right RAID Specifications
Do you want performance, protection, or both?• RAID 0 – This is performance but you lose all your data.
• RAID 1 – This is protection and pretty easy to set up.
• RAID 5 – This is a balance of performance and protection.
• RAID 10 – This is performance and redundancy.
Final Thoughts
Once you get the hang of RAID, it becomes less intimidating. Think of it like buying a car: performance, protection, or both. If your sites or apps are important, choose a RAID level that meets your requirements. Then your data is protected and your hosting will be trouble-free.The next time someone mentions RAID 5 or 10, you'll really understand what they mean - no wondering!