RAID LEVEL 1: Mirroring

Server
Mirroring
Disk 0
Disk 1
A
B
C
A
B
C
Raid Controller

Click on the diagram to see Raid 1 in action

RAID 1 stores extra copy (or mirror) of a set of data across two or more disks.
RAID 1 requires at least 2 drives to implement.

Characteristics & Advantages

  • Very high Read data transfer rate
  • Very high Write data transfer rate
  • Disk failure has an insignificant impact on throughput
  • In case of drive failure, data just has to be copied to the replacement drive
  • Simplest RAID storage system

Disadvantages

  • The effective storage capacity is only half of the total drive capacity because all data get written twice
  • May not support Hot Swap of failed disk. In this case, the failed drive can only be replaced after powering down the attached computer.
  • Hardware implementation strongly recommended for throughput at high activity level.

Recommended Applications

  • Accounting Systems
  • Financial Applications
  • Applications that require higher reliability, than performance or data storage capacity