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Tag: linux

All the articles with the tag "linux".

Btrfs RAID 5/6: Still Don't

Btrfs RAID 5/6: Still Don't

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The kernel docs still warn about it. The Btrfs wiki still warns about it. People still build it and lose data. Here's the write hole, why RAID 1/10 are fine, and what to use instead.

SnapRAID: Parity Without Real-Time RAID

SnapRAID: Parity Without Real-Time RAID

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SnapRAID calculates parity on a schedule instead of in real time, so it mixes drive sizes and pairs with MergerFS. Best fit for media that rarely changes.

mdadm Day-2: Grow, Replace, Scrub

mdadm Day-2: Grow, Replace, Scrub

Creating a RAID array is the easy part. The drama starts six months later when one drive starts dying. Here's the survival guide for everything that happens after mdadm --create.

Hardware RAID vs Software RAID in 2026

Hardware RAID vs Software RAID in 2026

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Hardware RAID controllers used to be necessary. Now they're often a liability. Here's when to flash that LSI card to IT mode, when to keep it, and why ZFS specifically refuses to share.

RAID-Z and dRAID: ZFS Parity Explained

RAID-Z and dRAID: ZFS Parity Explained

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RAID-Z isn't just RAID 5 with a new name. Variable stripe widths, no write hole, and dRAID's distributed spares change the rebuild math entirely.

RAID 50/60: Nested Parity Done Right

RAID 50/60: Nested Parity Done Right

RAID 5 and 6 don't scale gracefully past 8 drives. RAID 50 and RAID 60 stripe across multiple parity sub-arrays so rebuilds only stress one group. Here's when nesting actually pays off.