To create a RAID 5 volume, the minimum number of physical disks required is three. RAID 5 is a data storage technology that uses block-level data striping with distributed parity. It provides fault tolerance by using parity data across all disks in the array, allowing the system to continue functioning even if one disk fails.
When a RAID 5 volume is created, the data is distributed evenly across all the disks in the array, with one disk dedicated to storing parity information. This means that if one disk fails, the data can be reconstructed using the parity information on the remaining disks. The parity data is distributed across all the disks, which provides better performance than RAID 4, where the parity data is stored on a single dedicated disk.
RAID 5 is a popular choice for servers and other mission-critical applications that require high levels of data availability and fault tolerance. It is a cost-effective solution that provides good performance and reliability. However, it is important to note that while RAID 5 can tolerate the failure of one disk, it does not provide protection against multiple disk failures. In such cases, a higher level of RAID, such as RAID 6, may be necessary.