1 · Choose a RAID level
Striping only — any one drive failure loses the whole array.
2 · Configure drives
3 · Drive class
6G SATA SSD — indicative figures.
Advanced — read/write mix, URE rate
Calculated for planning. We don't publish prices — a 24-year UK reseller, Servnet confirms the exact drives, array and pricing on quote. IOPS, throughput & rebuild are indicative estimates.
What RAID 0 is
RAID 0 stripes data across every drive with no parity and no mirror, so 100% of raw capacity is usable and both read and write performance scale with the drive count. It is the only common RAID level with no redundancy whatsoever.
Because a stripe spans all members, the failure of any single drive destroys the entire array — and that risk grows with every drive you add. RAID 0 belongs only on scratch, cache or fully reproducible data that is protected elsewhere.
Four 8 TB drives in RAID 0 give the full 32 TB usable and the fastest throughput, but a single drive failure loses all 32 TB — so this only makes sense for disposable or separately-protected data.
Advantages
- 100% of raw capacity is usable
- Best raw read and write throughput of any level
- Simple, no parity-calculation overhead
- No write penalty (×1)
Trade-offs
- Zero fault tolerance — one drive lost = all data lost
- Failure risk increases with each added drive
- No rebuild is possible
- Unsuitable for any data of business value
Best for
- Scratch / temp space and render caches
- Read caches in front of protected storage
- Fully reproducible datasets
- Benchmarks and lab work
Consider another level when
- Anything you cannot instantly recreate
- Production VMs, databases or file shares
- Single source of truth for any data
RAID 0 — common questions
How much capacity does RAID 0 give?
All of it — usable capacity equals the number of drives times the drive size. Four 8 TB drives give 32 TB usable. There is no parity or mirror overhead.
Can RAID 0 survive a drive failure?
No. RAID 0 has no redundancy; losing any single drive loses the whole array, and there is no rebuild. Always keep RAID 0 data protected by a separate backup or a redundant tier.
Is RAID 0 faster than a single drive?
Yes — sequential throughput scales roughly with the number of drives because reads and writes are striped across all of them. That speed is why it suits scratch and cache workloads where the data is disposable.