Poll: What does RAID stand for?

[Pakman]

Now, I've seen many sites and read many books on this topic. But the thing that alot of them disagree on is what the "I" stands for. Some say it's Inexpensive. Others think it's Independent. And still a few think it's Inline. So which is it? I think it's Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks

 

[arod324]

It is inexpensive.

 

[sharkeeper]

Ridiculous Arraignment of Inordinate Delinquents.

Cheers!

 

[Noriaki]

It was inexpensive.

At the time a large hard drive was very expensive, so they would link up multiple smaller "inexpensive" drives to make one larger drive. Or it was something like that...anyhow using a Redundant array of Inexpensive disks worked out be safer for the data and cheaper than using a few larger expensive disks.

Now it can be whatever you want, all hard drives are fairly inexepnsive now.

Independant wouldn't make a lot of sense. Inline maybe...but that word just means "In-A-Line" so I guess if you have your disks (ducks?) in a row..they could be an Inline.

Edit: Yeah it's bugspray! Kick ass

 

[Diesel21]

Here ya go:

redundant array of independent disks

 

[DaddyG]

Its Inexpensive for sure. I used to work with one of the original RAID team. As posted, at the time of RAID development, mainframe and mini disk subsystems were extremely expensive. The Redundant part maintained data integrety because the 'inexpensive' drives did not have the high MTBF of the traditional disk sub-systems.

 

[CQuinn]

From the storagereview reference guide

"This technique is called Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks or RAID. ("Inexpensive" is sometimes replaced with "Independent", but the former term is the one that was used when the term "RAID" was first coined by the researchers at the University of California at Berkeley, who first investigated the use of multiple-drive arrays in 1987.)"

 

[SloppyB]

Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks

 

[Oyeve]

Its independant. There was no such thing as an inexspensive drive when RAID was formed.

 

[Whitedog]

SloppyB, fix your Sloppy Link... too many http's in it

 

[Zach]

"There was no such thing as an inexspensive drive when RAID was formed."

They were inexpensive, comparitively, at the time. That's the point.

 

[techwanabe]

Well, I just earned my MCSE and in my one of my classes, the old hand teacher insisted it was "inexpensive" NOT "independent". He emphasized this several times even tho he said it seems nonsensical.

Some books I have say "Independent" but they were written more recently. I've seen both, but Inexpensive more often and supposely it preceeded any occurance of Independent

INEXPENSIVE

 

[Bleep]

Look Here>What does RAID mean?
Bleep

 

[Workin']

I thought RAID was bug killer....

But in reality the "I" stands for "Inexpensive". That is a FACT.

 

[mikef208]

It started out as inexpensive, but then people just started saying independant, so as of now it stands for both, but was originally inexpensive.

 

Should have been ineffective :Q

 

[A2KLAU]

I KNOW that Raid is a bug killing company! Or also commonly know as in the computer world as Really Aiding Idiots to Depression!!! lol!!!

Seriously it means Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks!

Albert.

 

[mdcrab]

Here's link for CQinn's reply:
Storage Review Guide RAID

Redundant Array of Inexpensive Drives
RAID "KILLS - BUGS - DEAD!"

 

[Qman71]

I'm pretty sure it was originally "inexpensive" but "independent" seems to be popular now.

 

[Pariah]

The original term was inexpensive, but it later changed to independant because inexpensive was redundant based on the state of the market.

Adaptec

ATTO

Mylex

Promise

Maxtor

Take a guess what all these companies use? I'll give you a hint, it isn't inexpensive.

 

[GD695372]

Give me enough money to buy a SCSI RAID array(or an array), and I'll write an essay on RAID for you.

 

[Namuna]

Well, let's see...You look up RAID basically ANYWHERE (Microsoft Site, all those site Pariah listed, the SCSIfaq site, Webster Dictionary) and guess what...

They ALL say Independent.

I suppose it also depends on what angle you look at it. From the angle of what it's SUPPOSED to be, then 'Inexpensive' (You'd like to build a Redundant Array of Inexpensive drives). From the angle of what it ACTUALLY is, then 'Independent' (A RAID setup is 2, or more, independent hard drives configured together in a redundant array to act as 1, fast/secure hard drive)

To so BOLDLY say that it's 'Inexpensive' is just plain IGNORANT. I work for a Banking/Securites Firm and every Server uses a Multiple 18Gb Ultra160 10k drive RAID Array. The company probably paid ~$400 for each drive. Hmmm, that doesn't seem so 'Inexpensive' to me.

 

[Workin']

<< To so BOLDLY say that it's 'Inexpensive' is just plain IGNORANT. I work for a Banking/Securites Firm and every Server uses a Multiple 18Gb Ultra160 10k drive RAID Array. The company probably paid ~$400 for each drive. Hmmm, that doesn't seem so 'Inexpensive' to me. >>

Well, there was an article a few weeks ago in &quot;InformationWeek&quot; magazine or &quot;Storage Review&quot; written by one of the guys who invented SCSI and founded Adaptec, and I believe he said &quot;inexpensive&quot;. But since you work in Banking and Securities you probably know better.

And obviously you haven't been around computers for very long, if you think $400 for a 18GB SCSI drive isn't &quot;inexpensive&quot;. Barely 15 years ago an array that could hold 1GB - yes, ONE gigabyte - cost over $10,000!!!! And not much longer ago than that, there was no such thing as SCSI, let alone IDE, and each drive manufacturer made their own proprietary drive controllers. If you think that was inexpensive, you'd better think again! So, with the invention of the SCSI interface standard and the technology to assemble these newfangled and yes, INEXPENSIVE disks together in an array, well that was quite a thing to behold.

So at least in your case, Namuna, maybe RAID means Really Annoying Inexperienced Dumbass

 

[Mltsao]

ok.... im confused. does it really matter what it really means?