RAID Calculator

Calculate RAID array capacity, performance, fault tolerance, and cost

RAID Configuration

High performance, no fault tolerance

Size of each individual disk in the array

Minimum: 2 disks

$

Cost calculation for total investment and cost per usable TB

Capacity Statistics

2.00
TB
Usable Capacity
0.00
TB
Unavailable Capacity
100.0%
Efficiency
Capacity Utilization

Performance & Fault Tolerance

2.0x
Read Speed Gain
2.0x
Write Speed Gain
0
No Fault Tolerance

Fault Tolerance: No fault tolerance - any disk failure causes total data loss

Cost Analysis

$200.00
Total Disk Cost
$100.00
Cost per Usable TB

RAID Level Comparison

⚡ RAID 0 - Performance

Pros: Maximum performance

Cons: No fault tolerance

Use case: Gaming, temporary storage

🔄 RAID 1 - Reliability

Pros: High fault tolerance

Cons: 50% capacity utilization

Use case: Critical data storage

⚖️ RAID 5 - Balanced

Pros: Good balance of all factors

Cons: Slow rebuild times

Use case: General purpose servers

🛡️ RAID 6 - High Reliability

Pros: Survives 2 disk failures

Cons: Lower write performance

Use case: Large storage arrays

RAID Quick Reference

RAID 0100% / 0 tolerance
RAID 150% / High tolerance
RAID 567-87% / 1 disk
RAID 650-87% / 2 disks
RAID 1050% / High tolerance

Important Notes

⚠️

RAID is not a backup! Always maintain separate backups

🔧

Consider hot spare drives for critical systems

⏱️

Rebuild times increase with larger drives

💰

Factor in RAID controller costs

Understanding RAID Technology

What is RAID?

RAID (Redundant Array of Independent/Inexpensive Disks) is a technology that combines multiple physical disk drives into a single logical unit to provide redundancy, improve performance, or both. Different RAID levels offer various trade-offs between storage capacity, fault tolerance, and performance.

Key Benefits

  • Improved data reliability and fault tolerance
  • Enhanced read/write performance
  • Better storage utilization
  • Hot-swappable drive replacement

Capacity Calculations

RAID 0: Total = Sum of all disks

RAID 1: Usable = Smallest disk size

RAID 5: Usable = (n-1) × disk size

RAID 6: Usable = (n-2) × disk size

RAID 10: Usable = Total capacity / 2

Performance Note: Actual performance depends on workload patterns, hardware configuration, and RAID controller capabilities.

Choosing the Right RAID Level

High Performance Needs

Choose RAID 0 for maximum speed, or RAID 10 for performance with redundancy.

Balanced Requirements

RAID 5 offers good balance of capacity, performance, and fault tolerance.

Maximum Reliability

RAID 6 or RAID 10 provide the highest levels of fault tolerance.