RAIDohjaimesta

RAIDohjain is a Finnish term that translates to "RAID controller" in English. A RAID controller is a hardware device or software program that manages the operation of Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) technology. RAID is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical disk drives into one or more logical units for the purposes of data redundancy, performance improvement, or both.

A hardware RAID controller is a dedicated circuit board installed in a computer's expansion slot. It has its own processor and memory, allowing it to handle RAID calculations independently of the main CPU. This offloads processing from the system, potentially improving performance, especially for demanding RAID levels. These controllers often offer advanced features like battery backup for write caches to prevent data loss during power outages.

Software RAID, on the other hand, uses the computer's operating system and CPU to manage the RAID array. The operating system's built-in RAID drivers handle the striping, mirroring, or parity calculations. While generally less expensive and easier to implement, software RAID can consume more system resources and may not offer the same level of performance or features as hardware solutions.

The primary functions of a RAIDohjain, whether hardware or software, include managing disk pooling, implementing specific RAID levels (such as RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, or 10), monitoring disk health, and facilitating rebuilds in case of drive failure. By abstracting the complexity of multiple physical drives, the RAIDohjain presents them to the operating system as a single logical volume, simplifying storage management and enhancing data reliability and access speeds.