To understand RAID 1, you have to comprehend exactly what RAID means. The letters stand for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. Basically, when it comes to RAID 1 and partitions or RAID 1 partitionieren (as they say in Germany), you have a single computer system that several hard disk drives. You may find RAID 1 on higher end IT stuff, even though some of it may be redundant.

The reason why RAID 1 would be used is because it incorporates a “mirroring” technique for backing up data. Here’s how it works when installing a RAID 1. When you save data via the RAID 1 instructions, it will be saved on one hard drive while the same data is “mirrored” or copied onto another drive. That way, should your initial drive fail in some way, you still have your mirrored backup. Just be sure that when a hard drive fails, you replace it as soon as possible. You can easily add a hard drive to a RAID 1 array.

For the most part, you should see no discernable difference in speed in regards to your RAIS 1 performance. It is only during those times when you are really conducting resource hogging applications that you may notice a difference. Such times can include a RAID 1 read virus scan and upgrading a disk on RAID 1. However, if you get a RAID controller card with multi-channels that lag time is almost eliminated.

Almost anyone can install RAID 1 on an existing system. If you don’t trust ordinary backups, then RAID 1 can definitely save the day should you experience any disk failures or potential loss of data. You can get RAID 1 software for Windows fairly easily. The software works a little differently than if you were working with a hardware based RAID system. For many computers, you would need to install the operating system first before getting to configure your RAID 1 software for Windows XP Pro, RAID 1 for Windows XP or whatever you decide. Then you can go through the Windows disk management tools to set up your RAID 1 for Windows attributes and settings.

Of course, if you had heavy duty equipment like web servers, then you might be better off to install freebsd hardware for your RAID 1 array. This hardware is for specifically for UNIX operating system based servers and equipment. As mentioned above, this RAID 1 array for backups may be a bit redundant. However, it is a safe method of maintaining data backups