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The most reliable RAID levels and what to do in case of failure
There are five different RAID levels available. Which one is right for you?
- How do you configure data for fast performance and maximum stability?
- RAID is a data storage model that utilizes several physical disk drives simultaneously.
- Learn which RAID configuration is the best for your needs.
The 5 RAID levels
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTI2MjA2Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MjgxOTc2MH0.1r4G6igQhbcaGs3MCk5JWd1PmlIN34LU7E8Behhw_U4/img.jpg?width=980" id="0e3aa" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="adca3ced1694d29670ca8b043e5b4f48" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="2000" data-height="1125" />Credit: Adobe Stock
<p>There are five different RAID levels available. The one you choose will depend on your situation and what you need the RAID configuration to accomplish. You have to decide whether you want your RAID to offer fault tolerance, performance, or both.</p><p>Fault tolerance is what allows your computer system to continue to operate after it has a failed component or storage drive. You won't experience as many interruptions in the performance of your computer if your RAID level setup is fault tolerance friendly. Not only that, but you likely won't experience as much <a href="https://www.r-studio.com/RAID_Recovery_Presentation.shtml" target="_blank">data loss</a> either.</p><p>Therefore, the most reliable RAID levels will need to have a fault tolerance configuration. But you cannot just choose any RAID level because the number of storage drives will influence it too. That is why you need to pay attention to the number of drives available before ultimately deciding on a RAID level to configure.</p><p>Let's discuss the top three RAID level configuration options below. </p>RAID 0
<p>The RAID 0 level writes data onto several disks. In other words, your computer uses multiple disk drives to write and read data to increase its performance. You need at least two disk drives to use RAID 0. If you want to see a better performance from your computer system, then RAID 0 is the right choice.</p><p>However, there is no fault tolerance with RAID 0. That means if one of your disks were to fail, then you would likely lose the data that was on it. Keep that in mind before you choose the RAID 0 configuration.</p>RAID 1
<p>RAID 1 is one of the best levels for fault tolerance. Instead of stripping data and writing it across multiple disks, RAID 1 copies all of the data from one disk and puts it on another disk. It creates a replica of the data that gets stored onto a disk. That way, if your storage disk malfunctions and stops working, you'll have a backup of all the data that was on it.</p><p>So, why doesn't everyone use RAID 1? Well, unfortunately, RAID 1 will slow down the performance of your computer system tremendously. Also, you cannot increase the storage capacity of your computer with multiple disk drives. For example, if you have two 500GB disk drives with a RAID 1 configuration, you will still have a storage capacity of 500GB because each disk drive will contain the same data. </p>RAID 5
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P8ZecG9iOI" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">RAID 5</a> is like a hybrid level in terms of performance and fault tolerance. You will need at least three disk drives for this particular setup because the configuration is more complicated. If one disk drive fails, then you will still have a backup of the lost data. RAID 5 utilizes parity data on all the storage drives to retrieve lost data. Although writing data onto the drives is much slower, it can be read fast.</p><p>Most people would say that RAID 5 is the most reliable level because data is retrievable without jeopardizing the performance of the system. But again, the setup is somewhat complicated, and it requires you to understand more about hardware controllers and how to increase their cache memory. It is recommended that you use a professional computer technician to set up RAID 5 rather than rely on the automatic configuration of the software.</p>‘Designer baby’ book trilogy explores the moral dilemmas humans may soon create
How would the ability to genetically customize children change society? Sci-fi author Eugene Clark explores the future on our horizon in Volume I of the "Genetic Pressure" series.
- A new sci-fi book series called "Genetic Pressure" explores the scientific and moral implications of a world with a burgeoning designer baby industry.
- It's currently illegal to implant genetically edited human embryos in most nations, but designer babies may someday become widespread.
- While gene-editing technology could help humans eliminate genetic diseases, some in the scientific community fear it may also usher in a new era of eugenics.
Tribalism and discrimination
<p>One question the "Genetic Pressure" series explores: What would tribalism and discrimination look like in a world with designer babies? As designer babies grow up, they could be noticeably different from other people, potentially being smarter, more attractive and healthier. This could breed resentment between the groups—as it does in the series.</p><p>"[Designer babies] slowly find that 'everyone else,' and even their own parents, becomes less and less tolerable," author Eugene Clark told Big Think. "Meanwhile, everyone else slowly feels threatened by the designer babies."</p><p>For example, one character in the series who was born a designer baby faces discrimination and harassment from "normal people"—they call her "soulless" and say she was "made in a factory," a "consumer product." </p><p>Would such divisions emerge in the real world? The answer may depend on who's able to afford designer baby services. If it's only the ultra-wealthy, then it's easy to imagine how being a designer baby could be seen by society as a kind of hyper-privilege, which designer babies would have to reckon with. </p><p>Even if people from all socioeconomic backgrounds can someday afford designer babies, people born designer babies may struggle with tough existential questions: Can they ever take full credit for things they achieve, or were they born with an unfair advantage? To what extent should they spend their lives helping the less fortunate? </p>Sexuality dilemmas
<p>Sexuality presents another set of thorny questions. If a designer baby industry someday allows people to optimize humans for attractiveness, designer babies could grow up to find themselves surrounded by ultra-attractive people. That may not sound like a big problem.</p><p>But consider that, if designer babies someday become the standard way to have children, there'd necessarily be a years-long gap in which only some people are having designer babies. Meanwhile, the rest of society would be having children the old-fashioned way. So, in terms of attractiveness, society could see increasingly apparent disparities in physical appearances between the two groups. "Normal people" could begin to seem increasingly ugly.</p><p>But ultra-attractive people who were born designer babies could face problems, too. One could be the loss of body image. </p><p>When designer babies grow up in the "Genetic Pressure" series, men look like all the other men, and women look like all the other women. This homogeneity of physical appearance occurs because parents of designer babies start following trends, all choosing similar traits for their children: tall, athletic build, olive skin, etc. </p><p>Sure, facial traits remain relatively unique, but everyone's more or less equally attractive. And this causes strange changes to sexual preferences.</p><p>"In a society of sexual equals, they start looking for other differentiators," he said, noting that violet-colored eyes become a rare trait that genetically engineered humans find especially attractive in the series.</p><p>But what about sexual relationships between genetically engineered humans and "normal" people? In the "Genetic Pressure" series, many "normal" people want to have kids with (or at least have sex with) genetically engineered humans. But a minority of engineered humans oppose breeding with "normal" people, and this leads to an ideology that considers engineered humans to be racially supreme. </p>Regulating designer babies
<p>On a policy level, there are many open questions about how governments might legislate a world with designer babies. But it's not totally new territory, considering the West's dark history of eugenics experiments.</p><p>In the 20th century, the U.S. conducted multiple eugenics programs, including immigration restrictions based on genetic inferiority and forced sterilizations. In 1927, for example, the Supreme Court ruled that forcibly sterilizing the mentally handicapped didn't violate the Constitution. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes wrote, "… three generations of imbeciles are enough." </p><p>After the Holocaust, eugenics programs became increasingly taboo and regulated in the U.S. (though some states continued forced sterilizations <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/~lkaelber/eugenics/" target="_blank">into the 1970s</a>). In recent years, some policymakers and scientists have expressed concerns about how gene-editing technologies could reanimate the eugenics nightmares of the 20th century. </p><p>Currently, the U.S. doesn't explicitly ban human germline genetic editing on the federal level, but a combination of laws effectively render it <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jlb/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jlb/lsaa006/5841599#204481018" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">illegal to implant a genetically modified embryo</a>. Part of the reason is that scientists still aren't sure of the unintended consequences of new gene-editing technologies. </p><p>But there are also concerns that these technologies could usher in a new era of eugenics. After all, the function of a designer baby industry, like the one in the "Genetic Pressure" series, wouldn't necessarily be limited to eliminating genetic diseases; it could also work to increase the occurrence of "desirable" traits. </p><p>If the industry did that, it'd effectively signal that the <em>opposites of those traits are undesirable. </em>As the International Bioethics Committee <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jlb/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jlb/lsaa006/5841599#204481018" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wrote</a>, this would "jeopardize the inherent and therefore equal dignity of all human beings and renew eugenics, disguised as the fulfillment of the wish for a better, improved life."</p><p><em>"Genetic Pressure Volume I: Baby Steps"</em><em> by Eugene Clark is <a href="http://bigth.ink/38VhJn3" target="_blank">available now.</a></em></p>The 10 best science and technology books of 2020
Perspective twisting books on biology, social science, medical science, cosmology, and tech.
- The best science books push us to think, feel, and behave differently.
- This list includes new releases by authors Merlin Sheldrake, Isabel Wilkerson, James Nestor, David Attenborough, and others.
- Besides making us more knowledgeable, these books inspire curiosity, passion, and empathy for the universe in and around us.
Notable mentions
<p>There were so many brilliant books released in 2020, and these picks are just the tip of the iceberg. Here are several other books that almost made our top ten list.</p><ul><li>"<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593237064?tag=bigthink00-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1" target="_blank">All We Can Save</a>" edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson</li><li><i>"</i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0374228485?tag=bigthink00-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1" target="_blank">Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl</a>" by Jonathan C. Slaght</li><li>"<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0241409608?tag=bigthink00-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1" target="_blank">Explaining Humans</a>" by Dr. Camilla Pang </li><li>"<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0465096980?tag=bigthink00-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1" target="_blank">Children of Ash and Elm: A History of Vikings</a>" by Neil Price</li></ul>13 books everyone should read and why—as voted by you
Add these great titles to your wish list or secure copies for yourself.
- We asked BigThink's readers and staff for their recommendations on books everyone should read.
- A collection of fiction and non-fiction works from around the world spanning millennia, these books will expand your horizons.
- Many of these books are long out of copyright, and can be read for free.
"Clean meat" approved for sale in Singapore
Singapore has approved the sale of a lab-grown meat product in an effort to secure its food supplies against disease and climate change.
Approve for your dining pleasure
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dd3f57f8baf14e654812d30a309d1f17"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/307gysA18_E?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p><a href="https://www.ju.st/en-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Eat Just</a>, a company that produces animal-alternative food products, announced the news earlier this week. In what the company is calling a world first, Singapore has given it permission for a small-scale commercial launch of their GOOD Meat brand product line. For the initial run, the cultured chicken meat will be sold as an ingredient in "chicken bites."</p><p>"Singapore has long been a leader in innovation of all kinds, from information technology to biologics to now leading the world in building a healthier, safer food system. I'm sure that our regulatory approval for cultured meat will be the first of many in Singapore and in countries around the globe," Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of Eat Just, <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201201006251/en/Eat-Just-Granted-World%E2%80%99s-First-Regulatory-Approval-for-Cultured-Meat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said in a release</a>.</p><p>According to the release, Eat Just underwent an extensive safety review by the Singapore Food Agency. It provided officials "details on the purity, identity and stability of chicken cells during the manufacturing process, as well as a detailed description of the manufacturing process which demonstrated that harvested cultured chicken met quality controls and a rigorous food safety monitoring system." It also demonstrated the consistency of its production by running more than 20 cycles in its 1,200-liter bioreactors.</p><p>While Eat Just did not offer details on its propriety process, it likely follows <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24032080-400-accelerating-the-cultured-meat-revolution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">one similar to other lab-grown meats</a>. It starts with muscle cell samples drawn from a living animal. Technicians then isolate stem cells from the sample and culture them <em>in vitro</em>. These cultured stem cells are then placed in a bioreactor, essentially a fermenter for fleshy cells. The bioreactor contains scaffolding materials to keep the growing tissue from falling apart as well as a growth material—the sugars, salts, and other nutrients the tissue needs to grow. As the cells grow, they begin to differentiate into the muscle, fat, and other cells of meat tissue. Once grown, the tissues are formed into a meat product to be shipped to restaurants and supermarkets.</p>An abattoir abatement?
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDg2Mjg5OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyODg1NDI3N30.AYmFJfWQbPjK-o1IatyFHL-OLjcfXBMmQKYyvz4oT3s/img.jpg?width=980" id="8a82d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="93f824fe4c6f397ab2b65e4665847e71" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="913" data-height="420" />A graph showing the number of animals slaughtered in the United States per year from 1961–2018.
Credit: Our World in Data
<p>Singapore's approval is an important step in support for clean meats—so-called because they don't require animal slaughter and would likely leave a reduced carbon footprint—but hurdles remain before widespread adoption is possible.</p><p>The most glaring is the price. The first lab-grown hamburger was eaten in London in 2013. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-23576143" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">It cost roughly $330,000</a>. As with any new technology, investment, iteration, and improved manufacturing will see the price drop substantially and quickly. For comparison, Eat Just's chicken will be priced equivalent to premium chicken.</p><p>Other hurdles include up-scaling production, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00373-w" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the need for further research</a>, and developing techniques to reliably produce in-demand meats such as fish and beef. Finally, not all countries may be as receptive as Singapore. Countries with large, entrenched meat industries may protect this legacy industry through a protracted and difficult regulatory process. Though, the meat industry itself is investing in lab-grown meat. Tyson Foods, for example, has <a href="https://euromeatnews.com/Article-Tyson-Foods-announces-investment-in-clean-meat/697" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">invested in the food-tech startup Memphis Meats</a>, the company that debuted the world's first beef meatball.</p><p>"I would imagine what will happen is the U.S., Western Europe and others will see what Singapore has been able to do, the rigours of the framework that they put together. And I would imagine that they will try to use it as a template to put their own framework together," <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eat-just-singapore/singapore-approves-sale-of-lab-grown-meat-in-world-first-idUSKBN28C06Z" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tetrick told Reuter's during an interview</a>.</p><p>Regardless of the challenges, the demand for meat substitutes is present and growing. In 2020, plant-based substitutes like Beyond Meat and Impossible foods <a href="https://bigthink.com/coronavirus/plant-based-meat" target="_self">gained a significant foothold in supermarkets</a> as meat-packing factories became coronavirus hotspots. The looming threat of climate change has also turned people away from meat as animal products. Livestock production is environmentally taxing and leaves <a href="http://css.umich.edu/factsheets/carbon-footprint-factsheet" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a much larger carbon footprint</a> than grain and vegetable production. </p><p>Then there's the moral concern of animal cruelty. In 2018 alone, 302 million cows, 656 million turkeys, 1.48 billion pigs, and a gob-smacking 68 billion chickens were <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/animals-slaughtered-for-meat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">slaughtered for meat worldwide</a>. And those figures do not include chickens killed in dairy or egg production.</p><p>If brought to scale and widely available, clean meats could become serious competitors to traditional meat. <a href="https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/meat-alternatives" target="_self">One report has even predicted</a> that 60 percent of the meat people eat by 2040 won't come from slaughtered animals. It could be just the thing for people looking for a meat substitute but who find tofurkey as distasteful as, well tofurkey.</p>Become fluent in another language with 50% off a lifetime Babbel subscription
The top-grossing language-learning app on the market just got a major discount.
- After just one month of learning, many Babbel users became conversational in a new language.
- A lifetime subscription to Babbel provides users with the ability to learn 14 different languages whenever they want.
- Babbel is the top-grossing language-learning app on the market.
Help your kid grow their STEM skills with this hands-on kit
Looking for fun STEM activities to try at home with your kids? Check out this DIY kit packed with 50 projects.
- Encouraging an early interest in STEM can build a strong foundation for your child's math and science skills in the future.
- The best way to teach them is with hands-on projects that are enjoyable to them.
- Help your kid grow their skills with over 50 hands-on projects in this all-in-one STEM electronics kit.
