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8x 18TB RAID 6 NAS Calculator | Usable TB

Estimate usable TB, parity overhead, and fault tolerance for 8x 18TB in RAID 6. Includes reserve planning for NAS and homelab arrays.

Capacity Snapshot

Raw Capacity

144.00 TB

Usable Capacity

97.20 TB

Fault Tolerance

2 drives

Efficiency

75.0%

Safer for larger arrays with dual parity, at the cost of one extra parity disk. This scenario applies a 10% filesystem reserve.

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Alternative Mode Comparison

Mode Usable Tolerance Efficiency
RAID 5 113.40 TB 1 drive 87.5%
RAID 6 97.20 TB 2 drives 75.0%
RAID 10 64.80 TB 1 drive per mirror pair* 50.0%
RAID-Z1 113.40 TB 1 drive 87.5%
RAID-Z2 97.20 TB 2 drives 75.0%

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FAQ

How many disk failures can RAID 6 tolerate in this setup?

This setup can tolerate 2 drives. Real-world survivability depends on mirror placement, rebuild stress, and drive health.

How much usable storage does 8x 18TB RAID 6 provide?

This NAS planning scenario estimates 97.20 TB usable after a 10% reserve from 144.00 TB raw.

Should I optimize this 8-drive plan for available space 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.

Why include a 10% reserve when planning NAS capacity?

Keeping free space improves filesystem behavior for snapshots, metadata, and write performance. Full arrays often perform worse and rebuild more slowly.