Module Two Part One

SATA

Serial Advanced Technology Attachment - a hard drive interface that enables faster transfer times, more flexible cabling, and easier plug-and-play connections by transferring data in serial bursts instead of parallel.

NAS

Network Attached Storage - used to provide specialized fault-tolerant centralized data storage not directly attached to servers, operates as a separate device on a LAN with its own IP address, and allows multiple clients on the network to access the same files.

SAN

Storage Area Network - a specialized high-speed network of storage devices connected to servers with built-in fault tolerance, using fibre channel transmission media, and best suited for huge data quantities, high availability requirements, and large enterprises.

RAID

Redundant Array of Independent Disks - increases data storage and retrieval capability, limits data loss due to hardware failure, and offers fault tolerance through different RAID levels such as 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, etc.

Hardware RAID

RAID implemented with a set of disks and a separate disk controller managing the disks exclusively through its interface.

Software RAID

RAID implemented virtually through software without requiring special hardware, offering a cheaper alternative.

RAID 0

Disk Striping - splits data evenly across multiple disks to improve read & write speeds, but is not fault-tolerant; if a drive fails, all data is lost.

RAID 1

Disk Mirroring - copies data from one disk to another for fault tolerance, ensuring data availability if one drive fails, and enhancing read and write performance.

RAID 5

Disk Striping with Distributed Parity - a popular technique requiring a minimum of three drives, distributing parity to enhance capacity and cost efficiency, but not efficient with large data transfers.

RAID 6

Disk Striping with Dual Distributed Parity - an extension of RAID 5 with two parity blocks to prevent data loss in case of concurrent disk failures, suitable for large data transfers with high read performance but lower write performance.

RAID 0+1/1+0/RAID 10

Combined Striping and Mirroring - provides fault tolerance and performance by combining striping and mirroring in a two-stage virtualization setup.