RAID 0/1/5/6/10 Capacity Calculator
Calculate usable storage, parity loss, disk efficiency, and fault tolerance across RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60 configurations.
Input Parameters
Calculation Results
- Total Number of Disks
- 4 Disks
- Capacity per Disk
- 2
- Capacity Unit
- TB
- RAID Configuration Level
- RAID5
- Hot Spare Disks
- 0 Disks
- Total Raw Capacity (Decimal)
- 8 TB
- Total Raw Capacity (Binary)
- 7.28 TiB
- Net Usable Capacity (Decimal)
- 6 TB
- Net Usable Capacity (Binary)
- 5.46 TiB
- Parity / Redundancy Capacity (TB)
- 2 TB
- Parity / Redundancy Capacity (TiB)
- 1.82 TiB
- Storage Space Efficiency
- 75 %
- Disk Fault Tolerance
- 1 drive bersamaan
- Estimated Read Performance Gain
- 3×
- Estimated Write Performance Gain
- 1× (Parity write penalty)
For Proxmox ZFS, always use IT-Mode HBA controllers instead of hardware RAID cards, paired with Pure Sinewave UPS.
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- 1U–4U (Bottom): Heavy UPS & VRLA Battery Banks mounted at the bottom to lower center of gravity.
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Technical Accuracy Note: Calculation results are engineering estimates based on standard RFC/IEEE/ITU-T models. Actual field performance may vary due to protocol overhead, hardware specifications, and environmental factors.
How to Use This Tool
- Select your target RAID level (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10, RAID 50, or RAID 60).
- Enter the number of physical disk drives, individual disk capacity (TB or GB), and any dedicated Hot Spare drives.
- Review the net usable capacity in TB and TiB, storage efficiency percentage, parity overhead, and hardware fault tolerance limits.
Worked Example: Standard Server RAID 5 (4 × 2 TB)
Computed example: An array of 4 drives × 2 TB (8 TB / 7.28 TiB raw) in RAID5 provides 6 TB (5.46 TiB) net usable storage with 75% storage efficiency, 2 TB parity overhead, and 1 drive bersamaan fault tolerance.
- Total Physical Drives
- 4 Disks
- Capacity per Drive
- 2
- Capacity Unit
- TB (Decimal Terabyte 10^12)
- RAID Level
- RAID 5 (Single Distributed Parity)
- Dedicated Hot Spare Drives
- 0 Disks
- Total Number of Disks
- 4 Disks
- Capacity per Disk
- 2
- Capacity Unit
- TB
- RAID Configuration Level
- RAID5
- Hot Spare Disks
- 0 Disks
- Total Raw Capacity (Decimal)
- 8 TB
- Total Raw Capacity (Binary)
- 7.28 TiB
- Net Usable Capacity (Decimal)
- 6 TB
- Net Usable Capacity (Binary)
- 5.46 TiB
- Parity / Redundancy Capacity (TB)
- 2 TB
- Parity / Redundancy Capacity (TiB)
- 1.82 TiB
- Storage Space Efficiency
- 75 %
- Disk Fault Tolerance
- 1 drive bersamaan
- Estimated Read Performance Gain
- 3×
- Estimated Write Performance Gain
- 1× (Parity write penalty)
Core Concept & Engineering Notes
How It Was Calculated (Formulas & Steps)
Mathematical Formulas
- RAID 0 Usable = N × Size (100% Efficiency)
- RAID 1 Usable = 1 × Size (50% Efficiency for 2 drives)
- RAID 5 Usable = (N − 1 − HotSpare) × Size
- RAID 6 Usable = (N − 2 − HotSpare) × Size
- RAID 10 Usable = floor((N − HotSpare) ÷ 2) × Size
- RAID 50 Usable = (N − 2 − HotSpare) × Size (2 sub-arrays)
- RAID 60 Usable = (N − 4 − HotSpare) × Size (2 sub-arrays)
- Binary TiB = Decimal TB × 0.9094947
Step-by-Step Calculation
- Total raw array capacity: 4 drives × 2 TB = 8 TB (7.28 TiB)
- RAID5 allocation: 3 effective data drives, 1 parity/mirror/spare drives
- Net usable capacity: 6 TB (5.46 TiB) with 75% storage efficiency
- Fault tolerance: 1 drive bersamaan; Read gain: 3×, Write gain: 1× (Parity write penalty)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why is the hard drive capacity reported by the operating system smaller than the manufacturer label?
Drive manufacturers measure capacity using decimal SI units (1 TB = 10^12 bytes), whereas operating systems like Windows calculate storage in binary IEC units (1 TiB = 2^40 = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes). A physical 1 TB drive displays as approximately 0.91 TiB in system properties.
Why is RAID 5 discouraged for modern large-capacity drives (above 4 TB)?
When a failed drive is replaced, the rebuild process must read every sector across remaining drives over many hours or days. The statistical probability of encountering an Unrecoverable Read Error (URE) during this stressful rebuild is significant, causing complete RAID 5 array failure. RAID 6 or RAID 10 is strongly recommended.
When should I choose RAID 10 over RAID 6?
Choose RAID 10 for high-volume random write workloads (such as OLTP transactional databases and VM hypervisors) where you need fast rebuilds and zero parity calculation penalties. Choose RAID 6 for bulk storage, archiving, or video where cost per usable terabyte is the primary factor.
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References & Notes
- SNIA (Storage Networking Industry Association) — RAID Architecture Standards
- OpenZFS & Hardware RAID Comparison Whitepaper
Note: Results above are mathematical estimates based on standard formulas. Always verify against official vendor documentation and site conditions before production deployment.
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Engineering Sensitivity Analysis, Response Curve & Technical Citation
1. 1. 3-Point Engineering Sensitivity & Tolerance Envelope
Comparative evaluation across theoretical laboratory bounds (0% loss), current nominal operating point, and conservative field safety bounds (±15% thermal/aging derating).
| Evaluated Parameter | Ideal Theoretical Bound | Nominal Operating Point | Conservative Safety Bound (±15%) | Engineering Derating Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Number of Disks | 3.6 | 4 | 4.6 | Engineering Safety Margin (+15% Overhead) |
| Capacity per Disk | 1.8 | 2 | 2.3 | Engineering Safety Margin (+15% Overhead) |
| Total Raw Capacity (Decimal) | 7.2 | 8 | 9.2 | Engineering Safety Margin (+15% Overhead) |
| Total Raw Capacity (Binary) | 6.55 | 7.28 | 8.37 | Engineering Safety Margin (+15% Overhead) |
| Net Usable Capacity (Decimal) | 6.48 | 6 | 5.1 | Thermal & Aging Derating (-15% Worst-Case) |
2. 2. Mathematical Function Curve & Operating Coordinate (x₀, y₀)
3. 3. Physical Constants & Normative Standard Clauses
Decimal Terabyte (SI) to Binary Tebibyte (IEC) Conversion Ratio
Clause 4 — Binary Prefixes — 1 TB = 10¹² Bytes; 1 TiB = 2⁴⁰ Bytes = 1,099,511,627,776 Bytes.
Temperature Coefficient of Resistance for Copper
International Annealed Copper Standard — Used in thermal derating equation: R(T) = R_20 × [1 + 0.00393 × (T - 20)].
4. 4. Independent Technical & Academic Citation (IEEE / APA 7th / BibTeX / LaTeX)
Use the standard citation formats below to reference this computational methodology in engineering specifications, audit reports, or academic papers.
[IEEE] KalkuNet Engineering Team, "RAID 0/1/5/6/10 Capacity Calculator — Standard Engineering Computational Instrument," KalkuNet Technical Suite, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://kalkunet.com/en/tools/raid-calculator. [Accessed: 2026-11-08].
[APA 7th] KalkuNet Engineering Team. (2026). RAID 0/1/5/6/10 Capacity Calculator (Production release 2026-11-08) [Engineering computational software]. KalkuNet. https://kalkunet.com/en/tools/raid-calculator
@software{kalkunet_raid_calculator_2026,
author = {{KalkuNet Engineering Team}},
title = {{RAID 0/1/5/6/10 Capacity Calculator --- KalkuNet Engineering Suite}},
year = {2026},
publisher = {KalkuNet.com},
url = {https://kalkunet.com/en/tools/raid-calculator},
urldate = {2026-11-08}
}
% LaTeX Engineering Derivation — Generated via https://kalkunet.com/en/tools/raid-calculator
\begin{equation}
\text{Model: } RAID 0 Usable = N × Size (100% Efficiency)
\end{equation}
% Parameter Input Terukur: drives = 4, \; driveSize = 2, \; unit = TB, \; raidType = raid5
% Hasil Evaluasi Numerik : drives = \mathbf{4}, \; driveSize = \mathbf{2}, \; unit = \mathbf{TB}