[ The PC Guide | Systems and Components Reference Guide | Hard Disk Drives | Hard Disk Performance, Quality and Reliability | Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) | RAID Levels ]

Single RAID Levels

In this section I take a look at the "single" RAID levels--meaning, the "regular" RAID levels, as opposed to multiple or nested RAID levels. Single RAID levels are by far the most commonly used since they are simpler and less expensive to implement, and satisfy the needs of most RAID users. Generally, only very high-end or specialty applications require the use of multiple RAID levels.

There are eight "regular" RAID levels, which are used to varying degrees in the "real world" today. A few levels, especially RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 5, are extremely popular, while a couple are rarely if ever seen in modern systems. For each level, I provide a comprehensive discussion of its attributes and characteristics in the areas of capacity, performance, fault tolerance, cost and more.

Note:  For an explanation of any of the categories used in describing the RAID levels, see the section discussing technical factors differentiating RAID levels.

Next: RAID Level 0

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