Skip to content

Explain like I’m five: explain RAID drives

Here’s a memory aid for recalling the common RAID drives:

To help you remember the different RAID levels and their features, let’s use some memory aids:

  1. RAID 0 (Striping):
  • Think of “0” as speed. Zero added protection, just speed.
  • Imagine race cars on a track; faster (because they’re stripped down) but if one crashes (fails), the race (data) is over.
  1. RAID 1 (Mirroring):
  • Think of “1” as a mirror. One copy of your data.
  • Picture looking in a mirror and seeing an exact reflection (duplicate) of yourself.
  1. RAID 5 (Striping with Parity):
  • Think of “5” fingers on your hand. Hold up 3 fingers (3 drives minimum) and tuck one in (parity) as a safety net.
  • Imagine dancers moving in sync (striping), with one dancer (the parity) always watching in case someone trips.
  1. RAID 6 (Striping with Double Parity):
  • Think of “6” as a stronger hand (like 5 but stronger). Two fingers tucked in as a double safety net.
  • It’s like RAID 5 but with an extra backup dancer.
  1. RAID 10 (or 1+0):
  • Combine the visuals of 1 and 0. A mirrored race car or two race cars reflecting each other.
  • Picture two race cars (speed from RAID 0) driving side by side, reflecting each other (mirroring from RAID 1).

Additionally, creating a story or scenario that includes all RAID levels can also help in retention. The act of visualization and association is a powerful tool in memory recall. Over time, and with a little repetition, these RAID concepts will solidify in your memory.