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I'm very new to RAID servers, in fact I'm new to any kind of server management, so please forgive me if this question is badly phrased.

I'm considering buying a RAID5 server with four 4TB drives. I was told by the salesman that while the RAID server would allow for fault tolerance, every time I remove a disk I will have to format it before reinserting it into the server. Is this always the case? Are there models I can buy where this will not be required?

Thanks!

Pal Hart
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2 Answers2

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Every time you remove a drive, and reinsert it later (or insert a new one), RAID will have to be rebuilt. The computer/controller will have to go through all data, and most probably write new data (parity, or data generated from other drivers+parity) to the new/reinserted drive. With 4TB drives, this takes alot of time.

I'd consider other options (maybe even RAID6), since rebuild causes alot of load on the drives, and there is a higher risk of failure of some other drive during rebuild, causing data loss (especially with drives with low normal use).

mulaz
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RAID configuration is written on the drive. There is a label stating "I'm drive 4 of raid array X4HKB5" where the code is a kind of GUID. This allows you to move disks on the RAID adapter (if you do it, do it only while computer is turned off).

If you insert a disk that was previously part of another RAID5 array in your server it may recognize the label and tell you there's a new corrupted volume (because other drives of X4HKB5 are not found).

If the disk you're adding is not new, it's easier to destroy all partitions on it before insertion.

bokan
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