Raid 5, Raid 1+0 & Raid 0+1

RAID 5
  • The minimum number of disks in a RAID 5 set is three (two for data and one for parity). 
  • The maximum number of drives in a RAID 5 set is in theory unlimited, although your storage array is likely to have built-in limits. 
  • However, RAID 5 only protects against a single drive failure.


Cited From : http://www.computerweekly.com/answer/RAID-5-recovery-What-is-the-maximum-number-of-physical-drives-in-a-RAID-5-configuration



RAID 0+1  vs  RAID 1+0

Got a bit of difficulty of understanding and interpreting this ?

Start with the last number it will be easier

RAID 0+1  : Mirror of Stripes (Raid 0)

RAID 0+1 means arrays implemented as RAID 1, whose elements are RAID 0 arrays.


RAID 1+0  : Stripes of Mirrors (Raid 1)

A RAID 1+0 array is implemented as RAID 0, whose elements are RAID 1

You can read more on this here : http://blog.open-e.com/what-are-raid-1-raid-10-and-raid-01/