Can I use different HDD in RAID 1?

If different sized hard drives must be used, the total capacity will be bound by the disk of the smallest size in the group. In a RAID 1 configuration, the size of target disk must be greater or equal to the one of the source disk.

Do hard drives need to be the same for RAID?

Must hard drives in a RAID array be identical? No. It is perfectly valid to use hard drives from different manufacturers, model numbers, sizes, and rotational speed (spindle speed or RPM).

Can I set up RAID with different size hard drives?

You can always mix drive sizes in RAID. And in plain RAID you always get the smallest common size from all drives. So in your case, each drive use 4TB. If you added one 1TB drive, all the drives would act as 1TB drives.

How do I create a RAID 1 with existing disk?

1 Answer

First prepare the disk with gdisk since fdisk can not do a partition larger than 2TB.
Run sudo mdadm –create –verbose /dev/md0 –force –level=1 –raid-devices=1 /dev/sdb1 .
Format the newly created RAID partition and copy everything from the original disk to this partition.

How many drives do you need for RAID 1?

two drives
A minimum of two drives is required for RAID 1: one drive for the user data, and one drive for the mirrored data. If you select four or more drives, RAID 10 is automatically configured across the volume group: two drives for user data, and two drives for the mirrored data.

Do RAID 5 drives need to be identical?

Do all drives have to be the same model and capacity for a RAID 5 array? The short answer is No, the drives don’t have to be exactly the same. The longer explanation is that for compatibility reasons, we usually recommend using the same model.

Can I add RAID 1 later?

No. You need to plug both drives in, enable the RAID controller via BIOS settings, then format both drives and build an array. Once the array is built, you then install windows and go about your merry way.

Can I create a RAID 1 without losing data?

Many RAID solutions format a disk when constructing a RAID or adding a new disk. Desktop versions of Windows Windows have a built-in software RAID capability which will attempt to preserve your data during conversion. However, you should still back up your data in case something goes wrong.

Should I use RAID with SSD?

Storage systems generally do not use RAID to pool SSDs for performance purposes. Flash-based SSDs inherently offer higher performance than HDDs, and enable faster rebuilds in parity-based RAID. Rather than improve performance, vendors typically use SSD-based RAID to protect data if a drive fails.

How many drives are needed for a RAID 1 array?

Data are stored twice by writing them to both the data drive (or set of data drives) and a mirror drive (or set of drives). If a drive fails, the controller uses either the data drive or the mirror drive for data recovery and continues operation. You need at least 2 drives for a RAID 1 array.

What’s the difference between RAID 1 and backup?

The difference is simply that backup solutions are setup to facilitate you restoring data from years, months, or weeks ago while RAID 1 solutions take care of data backup that is as good as the last time the computer was turned on.

What happens if my hard drive crashes in RAID 1?

No files are lost, and there’s no downtime. But don’t confuse RAID 1 with a real backup. A hard drive crash isn’t the only disaster that can destroy your files. If a fire, burglar, Trojan, or bad mistake on your part hits one one of those drives, it will likely hit the other.

Can a 1TB SSD be used in RAID 1?

This server will have 2 VMs. One is for AD the other will be for hyper v and terminal services. I am fine on every aspect except storage. We will be using a NAS for onsite backup but I also want to have RAID 1 in the server with the main drive being a 1TB SSD and the backup drive will be a 1TB 7200rpm HDD.

Can I use different HDD in RAID 1?