If a hard disk fail in RAID what happen in that time?

Asked By Amandeep Singh 0 points N/A Posted on - 09/28/2011

RAID full name is Redundant Array of Independent Disks, it is also known as Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. We can combine multiple physical hard disks into a group that works as a single logical disk, but some time a hard disk can fail in RAID.

So when a hard disk fails in RAID what happen in that time?

What is the maximum number of hard drives can fail in RAID?

 

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Answered By Matti 0 points N/A #81142

If a hard disk fail in RAID what happen in that time?

Hi,

While using RAID drives , it should be kept in mind that if there are 3 Disk drives in RAID Configuration then the data is being saved on all the drives separately i.e same data is copied to all the RAID drives.

So at  one time, one of the RAID drives serves as the Active disk drive whereas other two work as Hot stand by.  If  First drive crashes or malfunctions, 2nd take over and become Active, 3rd remains Hot Stand by. At a time 2 drives can fail, 3rd one takes over the control.

Regards,

Matti

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Answered By Patrick b 0 points N/A #81144

If a hard disk fail in RAID what happen in that time?

Hello Amandeep Singh.

You did not specify what type of RAID configuration you are referring to.  However, based on your reference to combining multiple physical hard drives into a group that works as a single logical disk, you seem to be referring to a striped set, striped volume or in other words, RAID 0.

When one of the hard disks in a RAID 0 configuration fails, you end up with corrupt data.  This is because in a RAID 0 configuration, data is distributed evenly among all physical disks.  So if one of the drives fail, the file fragments that are stored in it is lost as well.  It doesn't matter how many of the drives fail in a RAID 0, just 1 disk failing can potentially corrupt all your data.

RAID 0 is used to improve performance for example in a database server where data is frequently accessed.  It is not designed for data redundancy.

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