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How it increases performance
The more drives you have in your RAID 0 array, the faster the
potential drive reading performance. All hard drives have
limitations on how fast they can read and write files. If half a
file is stored on one RAID 0 drive and the other half on another
RAID 0 drive, each drive only has to read half of the file. So, the
entire file is accessed by the computer up to twice as fast (using
a two-drive RAID 0 array). In a three-drive RAID 0 array, if the
file is evenly distributed among the drives, each drive must
read only a third of the file, and so on. If the entire file happens
to be stored on only one of the drives, the file is accessed at
the same speed as if it were on a standard hard drive setup.
Dividing up files between multiple hard drives is called
striping
.
In the following graphic, each letter represents a unique block
of data, and each column represents a separate hard drive.
How it makes file storage cheaper
Because RAID 0 lets your computer see multiple hard drives as
a single drive, you can install several lower capacity (less
expensive) drives and have the same single-drive storage
simplicity and capacity as a larger, more expensive hard drive.
Drawbacks
Unfortunately, RAID 0 lets multiple drives behave as one in
another way. If part of the array fails (such as a hard drive
crashing), the entire array fails. Because the drives are treated
like a single drive, parts of files (including operating system
files) can be spread across several drives, leaving the computer
with only file fragments if one drive fails. Regular and frequent
backups are critical.
Another drawback is that RAID 0 treats each hard drive as if it
has the storage capacity of the smallest drive in the array. So
if you have three drives (300 GB, 250 GB, and 200 GB) in a
RAID 0 array, your computer only recognizes 600 GB total
capacity.
A
C
E
B
D
F
RAID 0
8513213.book Page 37 Tuesday, August 26, 2008 5:08 PM
Summary of Contents for FX6710
Page 1: ...8513213 book Page a Tuesday August 26 2008 5 08 PM...
Page 2: ...8513213 book Page b Tuesday August 26 2008 5 08 PM...
Page 10: ...CHAPTER 1 About This Reference 4 8513213 book Page 4 Tuesday August 26 2008 5 08 PM...
Page 48: ...CHAPTER 4 Advanced Hardware Setup 42 8513213 book Page 42 Tuesday August 26 2008 5 08 PM...
Page 116: ...CHAPTER 7 Troubleshooting 110 8513213 book Page 110 Tuesday August 26 2008 5 08 PM...
Page 126: ...APPENDIX A Legal Notices 120 8513213 book Page 120 Tuesday August 26 2008 5 08 PM...
Page 135: ...8513213 book Page 129 Tuesday August 26 2008 5 08 PM...
Page 136: ...MAN JOPLIN FX HW REF GDE R0 8 08 8513213 book Page 130 Tuesday August 26 2008 5 08 PM...