Drag and Drop Question Match the RAID level with its capacity overhead. Each option may be used once, more than once, or not at all. Answer:

Question

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Answer Area

Explanation

RAID Capacity Overhead - Explanation

Note: The question as presented is missing the RAID level labels for positions 1–4. Based on the answer pattern and common exam formats (likely CompTIA), the most coherent interpretation is:

(Assumes a 4-drive array where each drive is equal capacity)

Position-by-Position Breakdown

Position 1 → RAID 0 → "Capacity of four drives" RAID 0 is pure striping with zero redundancy and zero overhead. All drive capacity is used for data. With 4 drives, you get 4× usable storage. It's the only common RAID level where every byte of raw capacity is available.

Position 2 → RAID 1 → "Capacity of two drives" RAID 1 mirrors every write to a second drive. With 4 drives, you get 2 identical pairs - so only half the raw capacity is usable. Overhead = 2 drives worth of capacity.

Position 3 → RAID 6 → "Capacity of two drives" RAID 6 uses two independent parity blocks distributed across all drives. With 4 drives, 2 drives' worth of capacity is consumed by double parity, leaving only 2 drives' worth for data.

Position 4 → RAID 10 → "Capacity of two drives" RAID 10 (stripe of mirrors) mirrors every drive, then stripes across the pairs. Exactly half the total capacity is usable - same ratio as RAID 1, just with better read performance and fault tolerance.

Why RAID 5 Is Absent

RAID 5 with 4 drives gives you 3 drives of usable capacity (1 drive lost to distributed parity) - a "capacity of three drives." Since that option doesn't exist in this question, RAID 5 is excluded, which is a deliberate and common exam trap.

Common Misconceptions

• "RAID 10 has more overhead than RAID 1" - False. Both consume exactly 50% of raw capacity regardless of drive count.
• "RAID 6 always wastes more than RAID 5" - Only in absolute terms; the percentage wasted decreases as you add more drives to either.
• "RAID 0 has overhead" - No. RAID 0 trades all fault tolerance for maximum capacity. Zero overhead, zero redundancy.
• "Higher RAID number = better efficiency" - Completely false. RAID 0 is maximally efficient; RAID 6 is one of the least efficient.

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