Slow Response Prevention after Drive Failure in RAID 5 Array

Preventing Slow Response after Drive Failure in RAID 5 Array

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Question

A number of users are indicating that access to a network file server is responding very slowly when reading or writing to the share.

The server administrator notes that a drive has failed in a four-disk RAID 5 array.

The array is running in a degraded state because no hot spare was configured.

After replacing the failed disk, which of the following steps would be BEST to take to prevent slow response after a drive failure?

Answers

Explanations

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A. B. C. D.

B.

In a RAID 5 array, data is spread across all drives in the array with parity information being written across all drives as well. This allows for data to be recovered in the event of a drive failure. However, when a drive fails and is not replaced, the array will continue to function but in a degraded state, which can lead to slower response times.

To prevent slow response times after a drive failure, the failed drive should be replaced as soon as possible. In this case, the drive has already been replaced, so the next step is to consider the options for improving the reliability and performance of the array.

Option A suggests adding a drive to the array but not configuring it as a hot spare. This option would provide additional storage space but would not improve the reliability of the array in the event of another drive failure.

Option B suggests adding an additional hard drive and converting the volume to a RAID 6 configuration. RAID 6 provides additional redundancy over RAID 5 by writing two sets of parity information across all drives in the array, which means that two drives can fail without data loss. This option would improve the reliability of the array but would require additional hardware and reconfiguration of the array.

Option C suggests adding an additional hard drive and converting the volume to a RAID 10 configuration. RAID 10 combines the performance benefits of RAID 0 with the redundancy of RAID 1 by striping data across multiple sets of mirrored drives. This option would provide excellent performance and redundancy but would require additional hardware and reconfiguration of the array.

Option D suggests adding a drive to the array and configuring it as a cold spare. A cold spare is a drive that is not actively used in the array but is available to replace a failed drive when needed. This option would improve the reliability of the array but would not provide any additional storage space or performance benefits.

Overall, the best option for preventing slow response times after a drive failure would depend on the specific needs and resources of the organization. Option B or C would provide the most reliable and high-performance solutions but would require additional hardware and reconfiguration of the array. Option D would provide additional redundancy without requiring significant hardware or configuration changes, while Option A would provide additional storage space but no additional reliability or performance benefits.