1. What is a RAIDZ Speed Calculator?

Definition: This calculator estimates the read speed of a RAIDZ array based on the number of drives and the speed of a single drive.

Purpose: It helps IT professionals and system administrators predict the performance of their RAIDZ storage configurations.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the formula:

Where:

• \( \text{ReadSpeed} \) — Theoretical maximum read speed (MB/s)
• \( N \) — Number of drives in the RAIDZ array
• \( \text{SingleSpeed} \) — Read speed of a single drive (MB/s)

Explanation: RAIDZ provides parallel read operations across multiple drives, allowing the read speed to scale nearly linearly with the number of drives.

3. Importance of RAIDZ Speed Calculation

Details: Proper speed estimation helps in storage system design, performance tuning, and bottleneck identification.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter the number of drives in your RAIDZ array and the read speed of a single drive. All values must be > 0.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Does this calculate write speed?
A: No, this calculates theoretical read speed only. Write speed is typically slower due to parity calculations.

Q2: What about RAIDZ1 vs RAIDZ2?
A: The read speed calculation is similar, though RAIDZ2 has slightly more overhead due to additional parity.

Q3: Is this the actual speed I'll get?
A: This is the theoretical maximum. Real-world speeds may be lower due to controller limitations, system overhead, etc.

Q4: How do I find my single drive speed?
A: Check manufacturer specifications or use tools like 'hdparm -t' on Linux or CrystalDiskMark on Windows.

Q5: Does drive size affect speed?
A: Not directly, though larger drives often have higher performance specs.