Two RAID arrays are created from eight disks.
One is created using RAID 6, the other is created using RAID 5 with a hot spare.
Which of the following is the operational difference between these configurations?
Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer
A. B. C. D.A.
The main difference between RAID 5 and RAID 6 is the level of fault tolerance and the number of disk failures that can be handled.
RAID 5 uses block-level striping with distributed parity, which means that the data is distributed across multiple disks, and the parity information is also distributed across all the disks in the array. In a RAID 5 array with a hot spare, one disk is kept in reserve, ready to take over if any of the active disks fail. RAID 5 can handle a single disk failure without data loss, but if a second disk fails before the first one is replaced and rebuilt, data loss can occur.
RAID 6, on the other hand, uses block-level striping with double distributed parity. This means that not only is parity information distributed across all the disks, but it is also duplicated on another set of disks. This provides additional fault tolerance, allowing RAID 6 to handle up to two disk failures without data loss. RAID 6 can also rebuild the array faster than RAID 5 because it can rebuild data using the second set of parity information.
Regarding the provided answer options: A. RAID 6 has the ability to recover from two disks simultaneously failing - This statement is true. RAID 6 has a higher level of fault tolerance and can recover from two disk failures without data loss. B. The RAID 5 array will be significantly faster than the RAID 6 array - This statement is false. RAID 6 may take slightly longer to write data due to the additional parity information, but it can rebuild the array faster than RAID 5. C. The RAID 6 array will be significantly faster than the RAID 5 array - This statement is false. RAID 6 may take slightly longer to write data due to the additional parity information, but it can rebuild the array faster than RAID 5. D. RAID 6 has a higher storage capacity than RAID 5 - This statement is false. Both RAID 5 and RAID 6 use the same amount of storage capacity for parity information. However, RAID 6 uses an additional set of parity disks, which reduces the available storage space compared to RAID 5.