Q. Can I use RAID as the only backup solution under Linux? Is RAID is reliable backup solution for server?
A. Short answer – NO.
Long answer – RAID is good for improving performance. RAID also offers fault tolerance. However, I’ve seen 100% data loss under RAID 5 and RAID 10. It is recommended that you use minimum RAID 6 for mission critical applications and data. RAID 6 is extension to RAID 5. It provides protection against double disk failure. RAID 6 protects against multiple bad block failures while non-degraded mode. RAID 6 protects against a single bad block failure while operating in a degraded mode.
For 100% peace of mind and data safety, perform regular scheduled backup outside Window / UNIX / Linux server using any one of the following solution (or combination of all):
- NAS / SAN Storage
- Backup to 2nd server
- Tape backup
- Create 2nd disaster recovery site
- Always move data offsite
- Virtualization can be used to create quick recovery plan
Checkout all our backup related articles here and here. I also recommend following books:
- Backup & Recovery [ILLUSTRATED]
- The Backup Book: Disaster Recovery from Desktop to Data Center
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Great points in the article/response. To further some of the thoughts….
The backup concept should be considered as a method to restore data to secondary computing devices or to restore the data based on the fault of a device or user error.
RAID 5 is graceful for tolerance against a single point of failure (the article/response covers this) and allows admins to recover a system when a single drive requires replacement. This should mean hot-swappable drives – power and data connections.
In the event the DATA CENTER is compromised, RAID don’t mean a thing if you can’t take it with you. The article/response starts down this path of “moving data off site”. There will be times when off site is the only option.
Also, a RAID device is not going to allow an admin to recover files deleted by a user.