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why is raid 1 not a substitute for a backup

by Euna D'Amore IV Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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RAID has well documented data protection capabilities, but it is not a fail-safe solution for data corruption. As we discussed in a previous post, RAID can actually make matters worse by replicating the damage throughout the array. Even a good backup plan may be challenged if copies of the corrupt files are made.

Full Answer

Can RAID 1 be used as a backup?

Note: All important files are encrypted and tested before and after back up. RAID 1 is not a substitute for a backup, but it can be used as a system for backing up. To make a backup, remove one of the disks and replace it with a blank disk. The disk that you removed is your back up.

What is raid and RAID 5?

RAID 5 is another very common set-up, and requires a minimum of three drives. Data is spread across three drives. Instead of mirroring the data (RAID 1), the data is broken into chunks and distributed across those drives. This is known as ‘striping’, and the advantage over RAID 1 is that it requires less data duplication.

What is the use of a raid environment?

RAID technology is often used on servers recording data backups. It is an environment usually supervised by a backup server application that uses RAID arrays as a storage unit. Personally, I consider this as a good practice, provided that a suitable RAID was chosen.

Can I use raid to recover deleted data from a user?

RAID can be a great way to mitigate risks due to hardware failures, but RAID won't help you when your users delete (accidentally or otherwise) their data. To recover data you need some archival facilities, either through local snapshots or online/offline backups.

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Why RAID 1 is not good for backup?

The problem with considering a RAID as your backup is that it doesn't help you with file deletion, corruption by applications, operating system or viruses. So if you accidentally delete a file, it will instantly be removed from both mirrored copies.

Why a RAID system is not a substitute for a backup?

RAID is not a backup mechanism; it's a redundancy mechanism, and it does a completely different job – one protects against disk failures, the other protects individual files. So you wouldn't use one instead of the other; you'd normally use RAID along with backups or snapshots.

Is RAID 1 a backup?

RAID is not a Backup RAID 1, conversely, does store at least two instances of every file distributed between two disks, thereby ensuring that the failure of one of them will inflict no damage on the other.

Is RAID replacing a backup?

Here we explain why. Although a RAID mirrors data on different disks, it must not replace data backup. The abbreviation RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks, i.e. a redundant arrangement of independent hard disks.

What RAID is best for backup?

RAID 1. This level offers the most amount of redundancy or backup also known as failover, the exact opposite of RAID 0. The minimum number of drives required are two for duplexing and gives out fifty percent capacity with the other half being used for backup.

Is RAID safe for backup?

While RAID arrays can provide enhanced data protection, their extra disks should not be considered as backups. If your main drive is a RAID array, you still need to back it up. If you have, say, 12 TB storage on a RAID array, you'll want to back it up to another device.

What is the biggest disadvantage of RAID 1?

Conversely, this means that RAID 1 storage is at least twice as expensive (when two hard drives are combined) as individual data carriers with the same storage capacity. Compared to other RAID levels that generate redundancy with the help of parity, the high-cost factor of RAID 1 is a disadvantage.

What is the main disadvantage of RAID 1?

Disadvantages of RAID 1 Uses only half of the storage capacity. More expensive (needs twice as many drivers). Requires powering down your computer to replace failed drive.

Can you recover data from RAID 1?

RAID 1 recovery generally recovers data from failed or corrupted RAID 1-based arrays. Typically, in such a scenario, RAID 1 recovery requires creating a block-level copy or image of each sector on each hard drive within the array. These images are used for restoring data on the array when required.

Does RAID 1 automatically rebuild?

Drive(s) replaced in a ServeRAID II Logical RAID 1 or RAID 5, are not rebuilt automatically. PROBLEM ISOLATION AIDS: - The system is one of the following: Netfinity server 5500, Type 8660, all models.

When should I use RAID 1?

When you want to store critical and sensitive data, RAID 1 is your best bet as it mirrors data on two disks, so even if there is a problem with the primary disk, you can always retrieve the content from the second one. In general, RAID 1 is a good choice if data redundancy is a key feature of your storage needs.

Can you replace a RAID 1 drive?

To replace a disk for a Bootable RAID 1 Configuration After confirming the channel number, shut down the system. Next, remove the disk from corresponding channel/port of the RAID Controller card and replace it with a new disk. 4. Once the disk has bene replaced, power on the system.

What is the replacement for RAID?

For this reason, erasure coding is becoming a common alternative to RAID. Erasure coding breaks the data down into fragments that can be expanded and encoded with redundant data pieces. When compared to RAID, erasure coding can reduce the time and overhead that comes with reconstructing data.

What are the two reasons to use RAID?

Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) is a term used to describe computer storage systems that spread or replicate data across multiple drives. There are two main reasons for RAID storage to work in this way: it increases data reliability and improves I/O (input/output) performance.

What are the two reasons for using RAID?

Why is RAID used? RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks, and combines multiple hard drives together in order to improve efficiency. Depending on how your RAID is configured, it can increase your computer's speed while giving you a single drive with a huge capacity. RAIDs can also increase reliability.

What are the benefits of using RAID in a backup application?

These extra wheels offer redundancy in case a tire fails. That's what RAID offers you – the ability to keep working and moving forward if one of your drive fails. That's what RAID stands for – Redundant Array of Independent Disks.

What is the advantage of RAID 1 over RAID 1?

This is known as ‘striping’, and the advantage over RAID 1 is that it requires less data duplication. Like with RAID 1, even if one drive fails, you can continue to operate.

What happens if one of the RAID disks fails?

Easy stuff. RAID is having more disks, then duplicating your data across them. If one of the disks fail, the other RAID disks sill have a copy of the data so that nothing is lost.

What are Backups?

Now let’s contrast backups. Backups are keeping completely separate copies of data in multiple places. The more copies you make, the safer your data is.

How many drives are needed for RAID 1?

RAID 1 is a very popular set-up, and requires a minimum of two drives. With RAID 1, all the data from your first drive is simply copied onto the other drives in real time. This is called ‘mirroring’, and it’s the epitome of our tire example up above.

Why do we need RAID?

Uninterrupted continuity in the event of hardware failure : As mentioned above, the main reason to use RAID is to protect your data against drive failure in real time. It gives you immediate data protection and continuity, since internal drive failures can happen at any time. That’s something backups can’t do.

What happens if someone sees your RAID drive?

Theft: If someone comes in and sees your RAID drives, they’re not going to steal just one drive they’re just going to steal the whole array.

What does RAID mean in a fire?

No corruption defense: When your OS or software causes corruption in your system, a RAID setup just means that it’s duplicated on both drives.

What is RAID?

RAID technology extends the capabilities of drives and unifies individual disks in a group (or groups). Such groups are called arrays. Thanks to the combination of disks into arrays, extra disk capabilities become available. For example, fault-tolerant disk (or disks) arrays, an increased read/write array transfer (or both) in comparison to the transfer on a single disk, or the possibility of expanding arrays to additional drives.

What is data protection in RAID?

The ‘data protection’ feature of certain types of RAID can protect the data on disks in case of a disk or disks failure, depending on which RAID type is used and the number of disks in the array. And in my view, that’s a strong point of some types of RAID – fault tolerance.

What is RAID technology?

RAID technology is often used on servers recording data backups . It is an environment usually supervised by a backup server application that uses RAID arrays as a storage unit. Personally, I consider this as a good practice, provided that a suitable RAID was chosen.

What is a RAID?

RAID — Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks — is a technology used to increase either the reliability or speed of hard-disk access, or both, by configuring multiple disks to act as a single disk drive. RAID is not a replacement for backing up, as it provides no protection for other types of hardware failure, malware (including ransomware), ...

What happens if a RAID controller fails?

The RAID controller will run in single-drive mode until the failed drive is replaced. Some RAID controllers allow this to happen without powering down at all.

What are the three drives in RAID?

A, B, and Z are each placed on separate hard drives. These three drives together are managed by the RAID controller to look like a single drive.

What is striping in RAID?

Striping spreads your data across two (or more) physical hard drives. Once again, they are combined transparently by the RAID controller to look like a single drive — perhaps your C: drive.

Why is RAID important?

RAID is an important technology to deliver potentially both speed and fault tolerance. Most higher-end servers, including the server hosting the Ask Leo! site, use some form of RAID for one or both of those purposes. But don’t confuse it with a backup. Having RAID does not impact your need for proper backups.

What does RAID stand for?

RAID is an acronym for Redundant Array of Inexpensive 1 Disks.

Can you restore a file from a RAID array?

If your system is infected with malware (such as ransomware ), you won’t be able to restore from RAID like you would a backup. If you accidentally delete a file, you won’t be able to restore it from a RAID array like you can from the most recent backup.

What is RAID?

RAID is a common technique to provide resiliency and availability to a set of data and protect against one of the most common data loss scenarios: the failure of a disk.

What are some RAID-like storage systems?

There exists a number of file and storage systems with some advanced, RAID-like features. These include ZFS, btrfs, and Ceph. On the surface, these might give you the illuson of protection, but don’t be deceived. You can still trash your whole system (or cluster, for Ceph).

How many disks are in RAID 5?

There also exist more advanced modes, the most common of which are RAID-5 and RAID-6, and consists of 3-4 or more disks with data stripped (written sequentially), along with parity information, across all disks.

What causes data corruption on disk?

Data corruption on-disk from filesystem bugs, cosmic rays, or minor hardware or firmware failures, which can and do happen all the time - you usually just don’t notice and software works around it.

Is RAID 0 a RAID level?

It’s worth noting that a pure ‘stripe’, also called RAID-0, is not really a RAID level - it increases the risk of data loss rather than decreasing it, since one disk failure destroys the whole array. It should never be used for redundancy or any critical data.

Can RAID be used for backup?

The Wikipedia page for RAID provides some helpful information about the history and benefits of the various RAID implementations. RAID is NOT a backup!

Do advanced file systems have BACKUPS?

Like RAID, ADVANCED FILESYSTEMS STILL AREN’T BACKUPS! Just make another copy of the data, okay!?

Why is RAID not good for backup?

The problem with considering a RAID as your backup is that it doesn’t help you with file deletion, corruption by applications, operating system or viruses.

What is RAID 0?

RAID 0:Its primary purpose: faster performance . RAID 0 spreads the data across multiple drives. For example, block A is on drive 1, block B is on drive 2), and this permits increased write and read speeds. This is called striping.

What is a backup drive?

A BACKUPneeds to be a complete and recoverable copy of your data that resides on a separate hard drive possibly even a RAID . Just DO NOT USE SOFTWARE THAT MIRRORS THE PRIMARY DRIVE TO THE BACKUPor you will run into the same problems as above with at RAID 1. Proper backup software will perform a full backup and then hourly or daily backups of changed files.

How many disks does RAID 5 use?

RAID 5 needs a minimum of three disks to implement. Since data is read from multiple disks, performance can improve under RAID 5. This makes RAID very good for video editing systems.

What does RAID stand for?

For those who never heard of it, RAID stands for “Redundant Array of Independent Disks” or “Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks.” And for those who use the phrase “RAID array,” thats redundant.

Can you run a raid 1 array?

The idea is not to run the system on a raid 1 array and expect that you don’t have to backup. Instead, run a raid 1 array for on another device for backups. To loose data, I need to have my mains system drive crash as well as both drives in the Raid 1 array.

Is RAID backup a backup?

But it’s awkwardly stated and could confuse some readers. While RAID is not a backup, a good backup system can use RAID. For example, a small business might use a NAS with RAID as their primary backup. Be careful though. A NAS + RAID is not a backup if it’s used for primary storage. It’s only a backup if primary data storage is elsewhere (e.g. server disks/drives) and NAS + RAID data is copy/duplicate. All good storage systems should have at least 3 instances of data: live/primary data, primary/online backup (copy 1), secondary/offline/offsite backup (copy 2).

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1.Why is raid 1 not a substitute for a backup - Tom's …

Url:https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/why-is-raid-1-not-a-substitute-for-a-backup.678600/

9 hours ago  · RAID 1 is not a substitute for a backup, but it can be used as a system for backing up. To make a backup, remove one of the disks and replace it with a blank disk. The disk that …

2.What Is RAID And Why Is It Not a Backup? | Open-E Blog

Url:https://www.open-e.com/blog/why-raid-is-not-a-backup/

32 hours ago  · I disagree with this new trend of saying that RAID is not a backup (raid1). You’ve got your data on 2 different disks, how is that not a backup? Sure, you’ll loose everything if …

3.Why is RAID not a backup? - Server Fault

Url:https://serverfault.com/questions/2888/why-is-raid-not-a-backup

4 hours ago RAID 1 isn't a substitute for backup because there are a lot of risks that it can't protect against. If you accidentally delete a file, it will instantly be removed from both mirrored copies. …

4.Should I Use RAID for Backup? - Ask Leo!

Url:https://askleo.com/raid-for-backup/

14 hours ago  · 22. The number one reason you want a backup is not because the physical media died (this is rare), but because of some error that caused the data to be lost or …

5.why use RAID 1 and not a real Backup? : r/synology

Url:https://www.reddit.com/r/synology/comments/x2qf6u/why_use_raid_1_and_not_a_real_backup/

16 hours ago  · RAID is . . . NOT a backup. You might be tempted to look at RAID 1 and say, “Hey, my data is on two drives. That’s backed up, right?” Nope. Your data is on one drive: C:. Yes, …

6.RAID is NOT a backup! · RAID is NOT a backup!

Url:https://www.raidisnotabackup.com/

17 hours ago When people say RAID is not a substitute for a backup, they're saying that if you have a RAID in your desktop PC (or server, or laptop), you still need to back that device up somewhere. …

7.NEVER Use A RAID As Your Backup System!- Pete …

Url:https://www.petemarovichimages.com/never-use-a-raid-as-your-backup-system/

8 hours ago RAID is NOT a backup! What is RAID? RAID is a common technique to provide resiliency and availability to a set of data and protect against one of the most common data loss …

8.RAID 1 mirroring for backups - Apple Community

Url:https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8279279

34 hours ago The second drive in a RAID 1 array IS NOT that different disk. When you configure the RAID 1, you will never see two drives mounted on the desktop. If one of the drives in the RAID fail, you …

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