How To Calculate RAID 1 Capacity
One of the easiest ways to protect your information from data loss is to duplicate it across multiple physical drives (e.g., hard drives). This way, if one drive fails, you can recover data using the other one, as it has an exact copy of the data. This is how RAID 1 works in simple terms.
In this blog post, we will go into math and learn how to calculate RAID 1 capacity.
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RAID 1 Capacity
RAID 1 is unique compared to RAID 5 and RAID 6 because it does not offer the combined storage capacity of multiple drives. Instead, RAID 1 focuses solely on data duplication. The key factor to consider when calculating the storage capacity of a RAID 1 is the size of the smallest drive.
RAID 1 Capacity Formula
The RAID 1 capacity is straightforward to calculate, as it reflects the size of a single drive in the array.
C = S
- S — Size of the smallest disk
The capacity of RAID 1 is equal to the size of the smallest drive, as each drive contains an exact copy of the data.
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RAID 1 Capacity Calculation Example
Let’s consider a practical example to illustrate the RAID 1 capacity calculation.
Suppose we have a RAID 1 array with two drives, and each drive has a capacity of 1 TB.
C = 1 TB
In this example, the total storage capacity of the RAID 1 array remains one terabyte despite using two 1 TB drives. This is because each drive mirrors the data from the other, providing data redundancy rather than increasing the overall capacity.
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