存储系统架构.ppt

A key element in RAID arrays is redundancy to improve fault tolerance. Mirroring uses multiple drives that hold identical copies of the data (usually 2 drives). Every write to a data disk is also a write to the mirror disk(s), meaning that all drives contain the same data. This is transparent to the attached host. If a disk fails, the RAID controller uses the mirror drive for data recovery and continuous operation. Data on a replaced drive is rebuilt from the mirrored drive. Benefits - fast recovery from a failure and improved read performance Drawbacks: Degrades write performance because each block of host data is written to multiple disks High cost of data protection due to the need for multiple disks Parity is a redundancy check that ensures that the data is protected without having to have a full set of duplicate drives. If a single disk in the array fails, the other disks have enough redundant data so that the data from the failed disk can be recovered Like striping, parity is generally a function of the RAID controller and is transparent to the host . Parity information can either be: Stored on a separate, dedicated drive Distributed with the data across all the drives in the array This example uses arithmetic operations to demonstrate how parity works. It illustrates the concept, but not the actual mechanism. Think of parity as the sum of the data on the other disks in the RAID set. Each time data is updated, the parity will be updated as well, so that it always reflects the current sum of the data on the other disks. Note: While parity is calculated on a per stripe basis, the diagram omits this detail for the sake of simplification. If a disk fails, the value of its data is calculated by using the parity information and the data on the surviving disks. If the parity disk fails, the value of its data is calculated by using the data disks. Parity will only need to be recalculated, and saved, when the failed disk is replaced with a new disk. In the even