How much real-world usable storage does 2x 6TB RAID 1 provide?
This NAS planning scenario estimates 5.40 TB usable after a 10% reserve from 12.00 TB raw.
Is RAID 1 still worth deploying with 6TB drives?
It can be practical, but larger drives increase rebuild windows. Validate parity choice and backup policy before committing to the final layout.
Why include a 10% reserve when planning NAS storage headroom?
Keeping free space improves filesystem behavior for snapshots, metadata, and write performance. Full arrays often perform worse and rebuild more slowly.
Can this calculator replace real-world benchmark and rebuild testing?
No. Use this page for pre-purchase sizing, then validate with workload benchmarks, SMART health policy, and a tested restore plan.