Setting up a RAID for High Speed Performance
and Data Security
Blackmagic MultiDock supports two of the most common RAID configurations, RAID 0 and
RAID 1. A RAID, or Redundant Array of Independent Disks, can provide increased speeds or
stronger data security. For example, RAID level 0 stripes your drives together so they are
recognized by your computer as one single drive to increase performance. RAID level 1
configures two drives so one is always mirrored by the other, which increases data security.
NOTE
Striping your drives as a RAID shares data over a set of drives which requires
careful management. It’s also worth noting that if you’re striping drives as a RAID,
stripe only a set of SSDs or a set of HDDs, not a combination of both.
RAID Level 0 for High Speed Performance
When using HDDs for uncompressed video capture and playback, it’s beneficial to stripe
2 to 4 drives together as a RAID. Sharing the data amongst a pair of drives doubles the total
capacity, plus decreases their workload, so you get faster performance. Similarly, configuring 3 or
4 drives as a RAID level 0 triples or quadruples, their total drive capacity. For example, a computer
will recognize 4 x 1 terabyte drives striped using RAID 0 as one single 4 terabyte drive.
When drives are striped together in a RAID set, be careful not to unplug any of the drives while
your computer is powered, otherwise you may lose all your data. When using RAID, eject the
drives and disconnect the MultiDock from your computer before removing or swapping drives.
SSDs can also be striped together as RAID 0, however, performance increases are generally limited
to workflows using large sequential files, such as reading and writing Ultra HD, 4K, or uncompressed
video files. For general every day tasks, the performance increase is negligible so you should
probably use single SSDs.
When detecting drives, Blackmagic MultiDock looks for drive names, not drive bays, therefore
a set of drives configured as a RAID can be plugged into any of Blackmagic MultiDock’s 4
drive bays.
RAID Level 1 for Data Security
Blackmagic MultiDock has 4 drive bays which let you configure 2 pairs of mirrored SSDs or
HDDs. A mirrored pair of drives are recognized as one single drive. Using RAID level 1 gives
you an immediate back up as you write data to the drive. If one drive fails, the other is
instantly available.
Configuring a RAID using Mac OS and Windows
To configure a RAID, use the RAID Assistant tool in Disk Utility on Mac OS. On Windows, you
can configure a RAID on the original Blackmagic MultiDock using Windows Disk
Management utility.
You’ll find the Mac OS Raid Assistant by launching applications/utilities/disk utility and selecting
‘RAID assistant’ from the file menu. Windows Disk Management can be opened by opening
the control panel, then selecting Administrative Tools/Computer Management/Storage/Disk
Management.
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