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4x 12TB RAID 5 NAS Calculator | Usable TB

Estimate usable TB, parity overhead, and fault tolerance for 4x 12TB in RAID 5. Includes reserve planning for NAS and homelab arrays.

Capacity Snapshot

Raw Capacity

48.00 TB

Usable Capacity

32.40 TB

Fault Tolerance

1 drive

Efficiency

75.0%

Balanced capacity and redundancy, but rebuild stress can be high on large disks. This scenario applies a 10% filesystem reserve.

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Alternative Mode Comparison

Mode Usable Tolerance Efficiency
RAID 5 32.40 TB 1 drive 75.0%
RAID 6 21.60 TB 2 drives 50.0%
RAID 10 21.60 TB 1 drive per mirror pair* 50.0%
RAID-Z1 32.40 TB 1 drive 75.0%
RAID-Z2 21.60 TB 2 drives 50.0%

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FAQ

How many disk failures can RAID 5 tolerate in this setup?

This setup can tolerate 1 drive. Real-world survivability depends on mirror placement, rebuild stress, and drive health.

Should I optimize this 4-drive plan for storage headroom or resiliency first?

For long-lived NAS pools, resiliency first is usually safer. Capacity can be expanded later, while a risky parity choice can force migration sooner.

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.

How much effective storage does 4x 12TB RAID 5 provide?

This NAS planning scenario estimates 32.40 TB usable after a 10% reserve from 48.00 TB raw.