RAID Storage Calculator
Calculate usable capacity, redundancy, and cost efficiency for your storage array configuration
RAID Level Comparison
Understanding the trade-offs between capacity, performance, and redundancy
RAID 0
Data is striped across all drives for maximum performance and capacity. No redundancy - any drive failure results in total data loss.
Best For
- Maximum performance requirements
- Non-critical temporary data
- Scratch disks and cache storage
RAID 1
Data is mirrored across drives. Highest redundancy but only 50% capacity utilization regardless of drive count.
Best For
- Critical data protection needs
- Boot and system drives
- Small arrays (2-4 drives)
RAID 5
Distributed parity across all drives. Good balance of capacity, performance, and redundancy for most business applications.
Best For
- File and application servers
- General purpose storage
- Read-heavy workloads
RAID 6
Double distributed parity. Can survive two simultaneous drive failures. Essential protection for large capacity arrays.
Best For
- Large capacity storage arrays
- Critical data with high availability needs
- Protection during long rebuild times
RAID 10
Mirrored pairs striped together. Combines RAID 1 redundancy with RAID 0 performance. Premium solution for demanding workloads.
Best For
- Database servers and OLTP systems
- High-performance applications
- When budget allows for 50% overhead
RAID 50
Multiple RAID 5 arrays striped together. Better performance than RAID 5 with improved fault tolerance across multiple drive sets.
Best For
- Large enterprise storage arrays
- High I/O workloads
- When RAID 5 performance isn't sufficient
RAID 60
Multiple RAID 6 arrays striped together. Maximum redundancy for large arrays. Can survive multiple drive failures across different sets.
Best For
- Mission-critical large storage arrays
- Maximum redundancy requirements
- Enterprise data center deployments