What are RAID 0 and RAID 1 used for, and what is the minimum number of disks required?

RAID 0 is a configuration that combines at least two disks into a single array with data striping. The main goal is to increase read and write speeds, as data is written in parallel across all disks. However, if one disk fails, all data is lost because parts of the data are distributed across all disks without redundancy.

• Minimum disks: 2
• Usage: when speed is important and data loss is not critical (e.g., temporary data).

RAID 1 is data mirroring between two disks. All data is duplicated on both disks, providing high fault tolerance: if one disk fails, data remains on the other.

• Minimum disks: 2
• Usage: when reliability and data integrity are important, but the available space is equal to the size of one disk.

Thus, RAID 0 is for speed without redundancy, RAID 1 is for reliability with data duplication.