RAID protection for third-party storage

Third-party storage arrays provide the RAID protection for the array LUNs they make available to systems running Data ONTAP.

Data ONTAP supports a variety of RAID types used by storage arrays, but imposes restrictions on storage arrays using RAID0 for the LUNs that they make available to Data ONTAP. Data ONTAP uses RAID0 to stripe across the array LUNs, which splits data evenly across two or more array LUNs. Performance is maximized because more disk spindles are used.

RAID0 provides no data protection. Therefore, when creating "RAID groups" on storage arrays, follow the best practices of the storage array vendor to ensure that there is an adequate level of protection on the storage array so that disk failure does not result in loss of data or loss of access to data.

Note: A "RAID group" on a storage array is the arrangement of disks that together form the defined RAID level. Each RAID group supports only one RAID type. The number of disks that you select for a RAID group determines the RAID type that a particular RAID group supports. Different storage array vendors use different terms to describe this entity—RAID groups, parity groups, disk groups, Parity RAID groups, and other terms.

V-Series systems support native disk shelves as well as third-party storage. Data ONTAP supports RAID4 and RAID-DP on the native disk shelves connected to a V-Series system but does not support RAID4 and RAID-DP with array LUNs.

See the V-Series implementation guide for your vendor to determine whether there are specific requirements or limitations about RAID types in configurations with storage systems running Data ONTAP.