RAID Data Recovery Process | Hard Drive Data Recovery

RAID Data Recovery Proccess

A redundant array of independent drives ("RAID") recovery is much more difficult than a single hard drive recovery and should only be attempted by a qualified specialist, like the experts in the Data Recovery Service unit of ACE Data Group. RAID manufacturers set up the internal controls of their arrays in different configurations. Since the RAID configuration is most likely proprietary, it is almost never disclosed to or shared with other data recovery companies. That's why RAID data recovery engineers must have years of experience and be able to write recovery programs for each separate RAID data recovery operation.

The first step in the data recovery process is to get the RAID drives' data copied on to a server or other hard drive so that the data set can be re-assembled.
Each recovery procedure is unique to a particular RAID array. For example, a level 0 RAID (also known as a RAID 0 ) is the most challenging type of recovery because there is no fault tolerance and thus, no margin for error. A RAID 0  is made up of two drives, with the data striped in small sets across one or both of them. Since there is no parity in a RAID 0, the information that was saved on a failed drive is not replicated elsewhere, meaning that it will be difficult or impossible to recover.
On the other hand, a RAID 5  is made up of three or more drives and does offer parity data, so when one drive fails, a replacement drive can be used for recovery and the array can be rebuilt. However, if two drives of a RAID 5  fail, the recovery process becomes more difficult. If enough data can be saved from the malfunctioning drives, an experienced RAID data recovery engineer can usually succeed, because the RAID parity is still available.

Each RAID data recovery is unique, because manufacturers set up their internal arrays differently. A RAID recovery engineer must be able to determine the arrangement of data and the parity cycle to recover the data and rebuild the RAID . The data is accessed on a file system level instead of on a controller level. Normally, an NTFS file system is used in this type of recovery, because the logical drives will be providing the basis for working on a RAID image. This allows the RAID recovery engineer to assemble bits and bytes after a successful recovery using propriety software developed by ACE Data Group.

RAID data recovery is certainly not recommended for amateurs, nor for the weak of heart. ACE Data Recovery Services has successfully recovered data from RAIDs as well as all popular types of storage media since 1981.