The Open Source Journal

Ideally, you should never need to manage or even notice your Software RAID array. You may, of course, lose a hard disk of a RAID1 array and need to replace a drive. Or you've transplanted an array from one workstation to another and need to recover data off of it. Perhaps you're curious and just want more information on the status of your RAID array. In this second part of our 'Software RAID' series, I'll cover these topics and more.

I think at this stage in computers, RAID needs no introduction. It's a common component of servers, workstations, desktops, and even small, embedded devices. Still, there is some confusion between the different types of RAID (not to be confused with RAID levels, eg 0, 1...). So I'll begin with a comparison of these types, then move on to examples of software RAID in Linux and how it performs.