Disk array refers to a
linked group of one or
more physical independent
hard disk drives
generally used to replace larger, single disk drive systems. The most common
disk arrays are in
daisy chain configuration or
implement
RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks)
technology. A disk array may contain several disk drive trays, and is structured to improve speed and increase protection against loss of data.
Disk arrays organize their data storage into
Logical Units (LUs), which appear as linear block paces to their clients. A small disk array, with a few disks, might support up to 8 LUs; a large one, with hundreds of disk drives, can support thousands.
Disk arrays are an integral part of high-performance storage systems, and their importance and scale are growing as continuous access to information becomes critical to the day-to-day operation of modern business.
