I have a newly created raid 5 array in windows server 2008 (software in windows disk mamanger) and it is resynching... Is it safe for me to start transfering/copy files to the volume while it is resynching, or should i wait until it is done? what is it resynching anyway when there is no data on it?
21 Answer
Friendly answer: Yes, you can.
The idea behind any RAID array is that it should act as an usual disk, so if the array is online and available, feel free to use it. You may experience some performance degradation during the process, but you can overcome this.
Not so friendly answer: Understand what the resync process means.
If you are using a RAID-5, besides other benefits, you probably want to be fail-safe. While the array is resyncing you are not safe if some of your drives fail (they are not in sync). If you are simple setting up your drives, just go ahead and forget they are resyncing, this is normal behavior. But if you are recovering your RAID array from a crash, you probably want to wait them to finish the resync process.
In any situation, only after the disks finish the resync process you are allowed to say your RAID array is fail-safe.
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