NAS planning example

8x 20TB RAID 6 NAS Calculator | Usable TB

Estimate usable TB, parity overhead, and fault tolerance for 8x 20TB in RAID 6. Includes reserve planning for NAS and homelab arrays.

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Planning route

Answer the capacity question, then validate the purchase path

Use this worked example as a numeric starting point, then validate the RAID choice, capacity reserve, hardware plan, and backup path.

Decision aid RAID level selector Reference Capacity matrix

Editorial method

What this calculator can—and cannot—decide

The capacity model makes drive count, drive size, RAID layout, and reserve visible. It is a planning aid: it does not predict exact performance, rebuild duration, hardware compatibility, or the probability of data loss for a specific system.

Last reviewed: July 10, 2026. Product links remain neutral category searches until a partner relationship and page-level disclosure are in place.

OpenZFS checksums and scrubs Background on checksum verification, scrubs, and repair in suitably redundant ZFS pools. Read primary source ↗ TrueNAS data protection Official overview of scrubs, S.M.A.R.T. tests, snapshots, replication, and backup tasks. Read primary source ↗ CISA ransomware guidance Why recoverable, regularly tested backups should be separate from array redundancy. Read primary source ↗

Capacity Snapshot

Raw Capacity

160.00 TB

Usable Capacity

108.00 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	126.00 TB	1 drive	87.5%
RAID 6	108.00 TB	2 drives	75.0%
RAID 10	72.00 TB	1 drive per mirror pair*	50.0%
RAID-Z1	126.00 TB	1 drive	87.5%
RAID-Z2	108.00 TB	2 drives	75.0%

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Sequential long-tail navigation

← Previous: 8x 20TB RAID 5 NAS Calculator | Usable TB Next: 8x 20TB RAID 10 NAS Calculator | Usable TB →

FAQ

How much real-world usable storage does 8x 20TB RAID 6 provide?

This NAS planning scenario estimates 108.00 TB usable after a 10% reserve from 160.00 TB raw.

Is RAID 6 still worth deploying with 20TB drives?

It can be practical, but larger drives increase rebuild windows. Validate parity choice and backup policy before committing to the final layout.

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.

Why include a 10% reserve when planning NAS available space?

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