RAID is nothing but a storage scheme. There are various schemes under it, termed as RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, etc. This article will provide you with the RAID 5 vs. RAID 10 comparison.
There is often a comparison between these two schemes, and a debate on the difference between RAID 5 and RAID 10. Both of them have their own set of advantages and disadvantages, on the basis of which they are accordingly used in the respective applications. Before you start with the RAID 5 vs. RAID 10 comparison, you need to know certain underlying concepts.
Basics
RAID is the acronym for Redundant Array of Independent Disks. It was previously known as Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. The words were changed, as the word ‘inexpensive’ probably pushed the fact into the mind of users that the hard drives were cheap. This probably prompted the data storage device manufacturers to change the name. Level 5 and level 10 of this technology are storage schemes that are mainly used in servers.
Differentiation
| Category | RAID 5 | RAID 10 |
| Data Loss and Data Recovery | Here, if there are 5 disks in the storage system, then data is distributed in 4 of the disks, and the last one is used to store parity. If one of the disks in the array fails, then the data can be recovered, but in the event of a second disk failure, the recovery is not possible, as it is impossible to recreate two data blocks with just one parity disk. | This is a combination of RAID 0 and 1. Here, an even number of disks is required. Each disk array has a disk array, which is a mirrored set of the former. The data recovery of all but one disk can be performed. In the case of a disk failure, all the remaining disks can be used effectively without any impact on the storage scheme. |
| Performance | Its performance in the read operations is quite appreciative. Its write operation is quite slow, comparatively. | Its write operation is very fast, and so, it is used for systems, which require high write performance. It is also used for heavy databases, which require high speed write performance. |
| Redundancy | They are less data redundant. | They are more data redundant, and this makes them an ideal option for the cases where high data redundancy is required. |
| Architectural Flexibility | It provides less architectural flexibility. | It provides more architectural flexibility in comparison, and the amount of free space is also minimized. |
| Controller Requirement | It demands a high-end card for the data storage performance. If the purpose is being solved by the operating system, then it will result in the slowing down of the performance of the computer. | Any hardware controller can be used. |
| Applications | They are primarily used in the processes that require transactions. Relational databases are among the other fields that run very well under this storage scheme. | They have a wide variety of applications. They often replace systems with RAID 0, 1 or 5. |
With this comparison, I hope you have understood the difference between RAID 5 and RAID 10.