MD4 eSATA Introduction
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1.6.3 RAID 0 - Disk Striping
The drives are shown as one large single volume but the total size will depend on the drive with the
smallest capacity. This setting is used where speed is the primary objective but RAID Level 0 (also
called striping) is not redundant. This form of array splits each piece of data across the drives in
segments; since data is written without any form of parity data-checking, it allows for the fastest
data transfer of all other modes. On the downside, if one drive becomes damaged, the whole array
can become corrupted.
Æ
2-4 drives
1.6.4 RAID 1 - Disk Mirroring
Two drives show up as one volume but only 50% of the total capacity, depending on the drive with
the smallest capacity, can be used. RAID 1 creates an exact copy (or mirror) of a set of data on the
second drive. This is useful when reliability and backup take precedence over storage capacity.
Should one hard drive fail, it can be replaced and the data rebuilt automatically. When more than
two drives are installed, the remaining drives will show up as independent volumes.
Æ
2 drives
1.6.5 RAID 10 - Disk Mirroring with Striping
The drives are shown as one volume but only 50% of the total capacity, depending on the drive
with the smallest capacity, can be used. RAID 1 creates an exact copy (or mirror) of a set of data.
This is useful when reliability and backup take precedence over storage capacity. When one hard
drive fails, it can be replaced and the data rebuilt automatically.
Æ
4 drives
1.6.6 RAID 5 - Disk Striping with parity
The drives are shown as one volume but the total capacity, depending on the drive with the
smallest capacity, is the combined size minus the size of one drive. RAID 5 uses block-level
striping with parity data distributed across all member disks and therefore provides the perfect
balance between high performance and data integrity. When one hard drive fails, it can be
replaced and the data rebuilt automatically.
Æ
3 drives
Æ
4 drives
1.7 About Data Backup
To protect your files and help prevent the loss of your data, we strongly recommend that you keep
two copies of your data, one copy on your MD4 and a second copy either on your internal drive or
another storage media such as CD, DVD, Tape or an additional external drive.
Any loss or corruption of data while using the MD4 is the sole responsibility of the user, and under
no circumstances will the manufacturer be held liable for compensation or the recovery of this data.
