RAID 10 combines the benefits of RAID 1 and RAID 0, providing the user with redundancy. But what exactly do we mean by the term "redundant", and is your totally completely safe and protected with RAID 10?.

Sometimes referred to as RAID 1+0, RAID 10 offers the user data striping (RAID 0) and data mirroring (RAID 1). Mirroring is the replication of data to two or more disks, meaning not only do you have multiple copies of the same data, read speeds are faster as multiple sets of heads are in use; on the other hand, write operations are slower.

There are around ten commonly-used RAID configurations, and each one will require a specific controller. RAID controllers can be hardware-based or software-based. Generally, simpler RAID configurations, such as RAID 0 and RAID 1, can use either. However, more complex RAID configurations, for example RAID 5 and 6, may require a hardware-based RAID controller.A hardware-based RAID controller uses a physical RAID controller card, which may take the form of a PCI or PCIe card, although some RAID controllers may be integrated with the motherboard. Software-based RAID uses the processing power of the operating system, which is cheaper as no dedicated hardware needs to be purchased, but slower due to processing power being taken up by the software.

Another key advantage of mirroring is that it can be a lifesaver in disaster recovery scenarios, as data can be immediately read from the remaining drive(s) in the array. This form of protection, redundancy, is where RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) gets its name from. Put simply, redundancy simply means that data is stored in multiple locations and protection is offered in the event of one drive failing. RAID 10 combines RAID 1 with RAID 0, which is also known as striping. It's debatable as to whether RAID 0 on its own counts as RAID at all, as there is no redundancy. Because data is striped across both or all disks in the array, the user gets a single driver with faster speeds and a higher storage capacity - but no redundancy. If one drive fails in a RAID 0 array, a professional RAID recovery specialist will need to be called in.

However, by combining RAID 0 with RAID 1 to form RAD 10, you get higher speeds due to the RAID 0 element, and data redundancy due to the mirroring from the RAID 1 element. For RAID 10, you need at least four hard drives. But does RAID 10 completely protect your data? Because RAID typically uses identical disks to maintain disk geometry, it is possible that all drives in the array fail at the same time. It is important to remember that RAID is no substitute for a true backup, and despite the benefits of redundancy with RAID 10, your data still isn't 100% safe. p>