When setting up your ggRock system, choosing the right RAID type is crucial for balancing data protection, performance, and storage capacity. Below is a ranked list of popular RAID types, sorted by how well they protect your data – complete with ⭐ star ratings for quick reference!

🥇 RAID 10 – Mirrored + Striped

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Data Security

• Minimum Disks: 4 (even number)
• Striping: ✅ Yes (for performance)
• Mirroring: ✅ Yes (for redundancy)
• Fault Tolerance: Can survive multiple disk failures (if not from the same mirrored pair)
• Capacity: 50% of total disk space
• Best For: Critical systems needing top-tier performance and redundancy

💡 Choose RAID 10 for the best of both worlds—performance and protection.

🥈 RAID 7 / RAID-Z3 – Triple Parity

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Data Security

• Minimum Disks: 4
• Striping: ✅ Yes
• Parity: Triple distributed
• Fault Tolerance: Survives 3 disk failures
• Capacity: Total disks - 3
• Best For: Ultra-secure storage with room for multiple failures

💡 Choose RAID 7 if your data is extremely important and uptime is everything.

🥉 RAID 6 / RAID-Z2 – Double Parity

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Data Security

• Minimum Disks: 3
• Striping: ✅ Yes
• Parity: Double distributed
• Fault Tolerance: Survives 2 disk failures
• Capacity: Total disks - 2
• Best For: Strong data security with decent space efficiency

💡 Choose RAID 6 if your data is very important and needs solid protection.

RAID 5 / RAID-Z – Single Parity

⭐⭐⭐ Data Security

• Minimum Disks: 3
• Striping: ✅ Yes
• Parity: Single distributed
• Fault Tolerance: Survives 1 disk failure
• Capacity: Total disks - 1
• Best For: Balanced setup between space and protection

💡 Choose RAID 5 if your data is important but you want more usable capacity than mirrored solutions.

RAID 1 – Mirrored

⭐⭐⭐ Data Security

• Minimum Disks: 2+
• Striping: ❌ No
• Mirroring: ✅ Yes (full duplication)
• Fault Tolerance: Survives all but one disk failing
• Capacity: Equal to the smallest disk in the array
• Best For: High redundancy for small arrays

💡 Choose RAID 1 if you're storing important data and want simple, solid protection.

RAID 0 / SingleDrive – No Redundancy

⭐ Data Security

• Minimum Disks: 1
• Striping: ❌ No
• Parity: ❌ None
• Fault Tolerance: None — single disk failure = total data loss
• Capacity: 100% of available space
• Best For: Speed or testing, not safety

⚠️ Choose RAID 0 or SingleDrive only if your data is disposable or frequently backed up elsewhere.

⚙️ ggRock RAID Configuration

In ggRock, all drives are unified into a storage pool. This allows maximum performance and efficient use of installed drives. The selected RAID level determines how data is stored and protected inside this pool.

📘 For step-by-step setup, see the "Configure ggRock Array" section in the ggRock Installation Manual.

Updated on: 24/12/2025