The Art of SQL Server FILESTREAM - Red Gate Software

Chapter 12: Planning, Configuration and Best PracticesConfiguring the disks with the correct RAID levelConfiguring the correct RAID level is a complex subject, and a detailed discussion isbeyond the scope of this chapter. Depending upon the environment, type of applications,and policies, the DBA team and storage administrators need to work together to identifythe correct RAID level for the given environment and the performance objectives.A detailed discussion of the RAID configuration is beyond the remit of this book. Below,however, are some general guidelines.1. RAID 5 + striping (also referred to as RAID 50) is one of the best options, and givesvery good read and write performance as well as good fault tolerance. However, this isone of the most expensive options because it requires the most disks to implement.2. RAID 0 gives very good read and write performance, is cheaper thanRAID 5 + striping, but provides no fault tolerance.3. RAID 5 gives very good fault tolerance, but read and write operations are notas fast as with the other options.Just like the other configuration parameters, correct planning before implementingFILESTREAM is crucial for ensuring optimum performance.More on RAID configurationsFor a more detailed discussion of the different RAID configurations, see the Wikipedia articles on RAID athttp://brurl.com/fs19, and http://brurl.com/fs20.448