Erasure coding and RAID are both data protection technologies that are used to improve the reliability and performance of storage systems. While erasure coding is sometimes seen as a more advanced technology than RAID, it is important to understand that they are actually two sides of the same coin.
In this blog post, we will take a closer look at erasure coding and RAID, and we will show you how they are related.
What is Erasure Coding?
Erasure coding is a data protection technique that breaks data into fragments and then encodes the fragments with redundant information. This redundancy allows the data to be reconstructed even if some of the fragments are lost or damaged.
Erasure coding was invented in 1960 by Irving Reed and Gustave Solomon. They developed a new type of error correction code, called the Reed-Solomon code, which was more efficient and reliable than previous codes. Reed-Solomon codes are now widely used in a variety of applications, including distributed storage systems, communication systems, and aerospace systems.
Erasure coding is often used in storage systems to protect against disk failures. For example, a system with four disks might use erasure coding to break the data into 6 fragments, and then store 3 fragments on each disk. This way, if one disk fails, the data can still be reconstructed from the fragments stored on the other disks.
There are many different erasure coding schemes, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Some of the most common schemes include:
- Reed-Solomon coding: This is a simple and efficient erasure coding scheme that is well-suited for a wide range of applications.
- Low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes: These codes are more complex than Reed-Solomon codes, but they can offer better performance in some cases.
- Turbo codes: These codes are even more complex than LDPC codes, but they can offer the best performance in terms of data protection and efficiency.
The choice of erasure coding scheme depends on the specific application. For example, a system that needs to protect against a small number of disk failures might use a simple scheme like Reed-Solomon coding. A system that needs to protect against a large number of disk failures might use a more complex scheme like LDPC or Turbo codes.
Comparing Erasure Coding to RAID
RAID, a technology that originated in the 1980s, has essentially evolved into a form of erasure code technology in a broad sense. In simpler terms, RAID can be thought of as an example of erasure coding because it employs a specific kind of erasure code.
For example, take parity coding. Parity coding is a straightforward erasure code that can handle the failure of one or more drives. For instance, in a RAID 5 setup over 4 drives, data is spread across 3 drives, and parity information is computed and stored on the forth drive. If one drive fails, the lost data can be reconstructed from the remaining 3 drives using the parity information. Other RAID configurations, such as RAID 6, and RAID 7.3, also fall under the category of erasure coding.
Erasure coding, in its narrower sense, has seen widespread use over the past two decades. This is because it has gained popularity in recent years, thanks to the growth of cloud computing and distributed storage systems. Erasure coding began being utilized to optimize storage in the early 2000s. One of the earliest commercial storage products to adopt erasure coding was Amazon S3, the cloud storage service introduced in 2006.
However, its fundamental principles are quite similar to those used in advanced RAID setups like RAID N+M. For instance, RAID N+M divides data blocks across N drives while also distributing M parity blocks. Typically, M involves 32 drives or fewer, but theoretically, this number can be unlimited. This approach allows users to independently choose the number of drives dedicated to storing checksums, which enables the system to recover data even in the event of a significant failure involving up to M drives, depending on the specific checksum distribution strategy.
As a result, it's becoming increasingly clear that the distinction between erasure coding and RAID is quite nuanced. The foundation of advanced RAID configurations, which is based on mathematical principles similar to erasure coding, underscores the interconnected nature of these technologies. This perspective reinforces the idea that, fundamentally, both erasure coding and RAID serve as synonymous embodiments of data protection and storage efficiency.
Erasure Coding or RAID: What to Choose?
Concluding our exploration of erasure coding versus RAID, we acknowledge that RAID is a natural progression of erasure coding technology. This prompts a vital question: how to choose the right RAID configuration? We've dedicated a separate blog post to this topic, offering a comprehensive breakdown of available RAID setups, their advantages, and practical guidance to align them with your needs.
If you are using a RAID system, you can improve its performance by using a software RAID engine, such as xiRAID. xiRAID is a universal tool compatible with all RAID levels, and it can significantly improve the performance of your RAID system.
We are here to help you choose the best solution for your business needs. For further enquiries and details, please contact us at request@xinnor.io.
