Share This [+]
March 24th, 2009 by Chris G.
There are many RAID levels to choose from, and it can be helpful to know how the levels differ. While RAID-1 and RAID-5 are probably the most well-known, other common levels include: RAID-0, RAID-6, and RAID-10. Here’s a rundown of these levels and what they offer:
RAID-0 combines two or more disks to increase performance and capacity, but there is no fault tolerance. A single disk failure will result in the loss of all data on the array. RAID-0 can be useful when fault tolerance is not necessary and a high value cost/performance balance is required.
RAID-1 is most often deployed with two disks. The disks are mirrored – providing fault tolerance. Read performance is increased while write performance will be similar to a single disk – if not less. A single disk failure can be sustained without data loss. RAID-1 is often used when fault tolerance is key and there isn’t an exceptional space or performance requirement.
RAID-5 provides fault tolerance and increased read performance – though write performance often suffers. A minimum of 3 disks are required. RAID-5 can sustain the loss of a single disk. In the event of a disk failure, the data from the failed disk is reconstructed from parity striped across the remaining disks. Due to this, both read and write performance is severely impacted while a RAID-5 array is in a degraded state. RAID-5 is ideal when space and cost more important than performance.
Read the full post »
Tags: business continuity, fault tolerance, RAID, server hardware
Share This [+]
March 19th, 2009 by Jason B.
When choosing a datacenter to host your company’s environment, it’s important to consider all the variables that will come into play. Many times, a site tour of your potential datacenter will show you a limited picture of the center’s inner workings. If you don’t arm yourself with the proper questions to ask or the right things to look for during a tour, you could potentially choose the wrong datacenter. Some typical datacenter security questions include “Is there an authentication system to get into the datacenter?” and “do you have camera systems throughout the datacenter?” Although these are excellent questions, they don’t begin to scratch the surface of what you need to know.
Here are the top 10 things to consider when choosing and/or determining the security posture of a datacenter:
1. “Do all datacenter walls extend to the roof?”
This is very important. If the walls don’t extend to the roof, an intruder needs only to push a couple ceiling tiles out to bypass the physical security and enter the datacenter.
2. “Does the datacenter/building require 2-factor authentication for access?”
These days, single factor authentication just doesn’t cut it when it comes to security. We all know how easy it is for an employee to lose their FOB or badge somewhere, and that means a potential bad guy can find it and let himself in.
Read the full post »
Tags: business continuity, datacenter, list, security
![[]](/imagesb/reflection02.gif)