Dell Inspiron 530 - Manual (Page 47)

Setting Up and Using Your Computer
47
About RAID Configurations
NOTE:
RAID is not supported on Inspiron 530b/530d.
This section provides an overview of the redundant array of independent disks
(RAID) configuration you may have selected when you purchased your
computer. Your computer supports RAID level 1. A RAID level 1 configuration
is recommended for the data integrity requirements of digital photography
and audio.
The Intel RAID controller on your computer can only create a RAID volume
using two physical drives. If a third drive is present, then that drive cannot be
made part of a RAID volume using the Intel RAID configuration program,
although it can be used as a spare drive in a RAID 1 configuration. However, if four
drives are present in your computer, then each pair of drives can be made into
a RAID level 1 volume. The drives should be the same size in order to ensure
that the larger drive does not contain unallocated (and therefore unusable) space.
RAID Level 1 Configuration
RAID level 1 uses a data-redundancy storage technique known as "mirroring."
When data is written to the primary drive, it is then duplicated, or mirrored,
on the other drive. A RAID level 1 configuration sacrifices high data access
rates for its data redundancy advantages.
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