RAID Performance Calculator

Estimate read and write performance for different RAID configurations based on disk specifications.

Select the RAID level for your configuration

Enter the number of disks in your RAID array

Enter the read/write speed of a single disk in MB/s

RAID Performance Characteristics

RAID 0

Maximum performance with no redundancy. Read and write speeds scale with the number of disks.

RAID 1

Good read performance with write performance similar to a single disk. Provides redundancy.

RAID 5/6

Good read performance with moderate write performance. Provides redundancy with parity.

Quick Examples

RAID 0 with 4 Disks

  • Disk Speed: 200 MB/s
  • Read Speed: 800 MB/s
  • Write Speed: 800 MB/s

RAID 5 with 6 Disks

  • Disk Speed: 200 MB/s
  • Read Speed: 1000 MB/s
  • Write Speed: 400 MB/s

About This Tool

The RAID Performance Calculator is a powerful tool for optimizing storage system performance. It provides accurate estimates for read and write speeds across different RAID configurations, helping you make informed decisions about your storage architecture.

Key Features:

  • Real-time performance calculations for all major RAID levels
  • Support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, and 10 configurations
  • Scalable calculations based on disk count and specifications
  • Performance optimization recommendations

Perfect for: System administrators designing storage solutions, IT professionals planning RAID deployments, hardware enthusiasts optimizing performance, and businesses evaluating storage options.

How it helps you:

  • Performance Planning: Predict throughput before purchasing hardware
  • Configuration Comparison: Compare different RAID levels side-by-side
  • Capacity Planning: Determine optimal disk count for target performance
  • Cost Analysis: Balance performance needs with budget constraints
  • Bottleneck Identification: Identify performance limitations early
  • Upgrade Planning: Evaluate performance gains from hardware upgrades

Technical Considerations:

Our calculator uses industry-standard RAID performance formulas accounting for striping, mirroring, and parity overhead. Results represent theoretical maximums under optimal conditions and may vary based on controller quality, cache configuration, and workload patterns.

Frequently Asked Questions

What factors affect RAID performance?

RAID level, disk count, individual disk speed, controller quality, and workload type all impact performance.

Which RAID level is fastest?

RAID 0 offers highest performance with no redundancy. RAID 10 provides excellent performance with fault tolerance.

How does RAID affect read vs write?

Read performance scales well with most RAID levels. Write performance varies: RAID 0 scales linearly, RAID 5/6 have parity overhead.

Why differ from real performance?

Controller efficiency, cache algorithms, fragmentation, and system load affect real-world performance.

RAID 5 vs RAID 6 difference?

RAID 5 uses single parity (1 disk failure). RAID 6 uses double parity (2 disk failures) with slightly lower write performance.

Minimum disks required?

RAID 0/1: 2 disks minimum. RAID 5: 3 disks. RAID 6: 4 disks. RAID 10: 4 disks (even numbers preferred).