RAID allows you to manage separate storage drives as a unified device with better performance or redundancy properties. In this series, we’ll walk through RAID concepts and terminology, create software RAID arrays using Linux’s mdadm utility, and learn how to manage and administer arrays to keep your storage infrastructure running smoothly.

This article introduces some fundamental concepts related to arranging storage devices in RAID arrays. RAID can be used to improve the redundancy or performance characteristics of your storage infrastructure. This guide discusses some key terminology you might come across, introduces how implementation details affect your arrays, and covers some of the pros and cons of various RAID levels.

The mdadm utility can be used to create and manage storage arrays using Linux’s software RAID capabilities. Administrators have great flexibility in coordinating their individual storage devices and creating logical storage devices that have greater performance or…

In this guide, we discuss how to use Linux’s mdadm utility to manage RAID arrays and perform day-to-day administrative tasks. We cover how to start, stop, or remove RAID arrays, how to find information about both the RAID device and the underlying storage components, and how to adjust the RAID size and add spares to existing arrays.