Which RAID type utilizes four mass storage devices for its configuration?

Which RAID type utilizes four mass storage devices for its configuration?

• A. RAID 0
• B. RAID 1
• C. RAID 5
• D. RAID 10

Answer: (D)

RAID 10 combines features of both RAID 1 and RAID 0, utilizing a minimum of four disks. In this configuration, data is mirrored and striped across the drives. The mirroring (from RAID 1) provides redundancy by duplicating the same data on two or more drives, while striping (from RAID 0) enhances performance by distributing data across multiple drives, allowing simultaneous read and write operations. For four storage devices, RAID 10 can effectively manage data availability and speed, making it suitable for environments that require both performance and fault tolerance. This setup also ensures that if one of the drives fails, the data remains accessible from other drives, thus providing a built-in layer of protection. RAID 0 does not provide redundancy; it focuses solely on performance and can work with a minimum of two drives, making it unsuitable for this question. RAID 1 also requires a minimum of two drives but only focuses on mirroring without any striping. RAID 5 requires a minimum of three drives and offers both striping and parity for data recovery but does not utilize four disks in the same way RAID 10 does for redundancy and speed simultaneously.

RAID 10 combines features of both RAID 1 and RAID 0, utilizing a minimum of four disks. In this configuration, data is mirrored and striped across the drives. The mirroring (from RAID 1) provides redundancy by duplicating the same data on two or more drives, while striping (from RAID 0) enhances performance by distributing data across multiple drives, allowing simultaneous read and write operations.

For four storage devices, RAID 10 can effectively manage data availability and speed, making it suitable for environments that require both performance and fault tolerance. This setup also ensures that if one of the drives fails, the data remains accessible from other drives, thus providing a built-in layer of protection.

RAID 0 does not provide redundancy; it focuses solely on performance and can work with a minimum of two drives, making it unsuitable for this question. RAID 1 also requires a minimum of two drives but only focuses on mirroring without any striping. RAID 5 requires a minimum of three drives and offers both striping and parity for data recovery but does not utilize four disks in the same way RAID 10 does for redundancy and speed simultaneously.