Recovery Enviroment Boot

If you have spent the time to increase your computer’s

performance by setting up a hardware RAID array, you owe it to

yourself to invest a little extra time and effort in maintaining

the hard disks in your setup. Following these tips will help

limit the need for data disaster recovery in the future.

1. If you are copying information from an old harddrive onto

those being used in your array, be sure to keep the old disk

around for a while. That way, if you discover any faults or

errors in your raid array, you will still have your original

data to work with.

2. Make sure you choose the raid level that works best for your

needs. If you are just in need of faster reads and basic

redundancy, RAID Level 1 may be your ticket. This basic level

Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks ensures against data loss

by incorporating 2 drives – one mirroring the other. Although

the cost per megabyte is higher, the increase in speed and

protection against data loss are well worth it.

3. If you are setting up a multi-user enviroment, creating a 3

or 5 drive RAID-5 array may be your best choice for speed and

data protection. Keep in mind though, if your requirements are

write performance sensitive, there are better alternatives.

4. If you are trying to decide between a software based or

hardware based RAID array, remember, hardware based arrays do

not require software to boot, have the logic within them and as

such are much more fault tolerant. Stick with a hardware array

if you are concerned about disaster recovery planning!

5. Despite the increase in speed and performance using RAID

arrays, files can still become disorganized and corrupted. Be

sure to run your preferred software for scanning and checking

your disks on a regular basis.

If you think taking the extra time to follow these tips and

care for your RAID array sounds tedious, take a few moments to

check out the cost of raid data disaster recovery. That alone

should make you realize that your efforts are not in vain!

James B. Allen blogs regularly about disaster recovery planning. To learn more about data recovery and other aspects of disaster recovery, visit James at: DisasterRecoveryData.com