NAS & RAID Calculator

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Region Focus · UK

UK 4x 8TB RAID-Z2 NAS Calculator

Estimate usable TB, parity, and fault tolerance for UK homelab buyers using 4x 8TB in RAID-Z2.

Capacity Snapshot

Raw Capacity

32.00 TB

Usable Capacity

14.40 TB

Fault Tolerance

2 drives

Efficiency

50.0%

Popular TrueNAS default for medium arrays; dual-parity with good safety margin. This scenario applies a 10% filesystem reserve.

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Alternative Mode Comparison

Mode Usable Tolerance Efficiency
RAID 5 21.60 TB 1 drive 75.0%
RAID 6 14.40 TB 2 drives 50.0%
RAID 10 14.40 TB 1 drive per mirror pair* 50.0%
RAID-Z1 21.60 TB 1 drive 75.0%
RAID-Z2 14.40 TB 2 drives 50.0%

UK Buyer Context

UK homelab planners commonly balance higher per-drive pricing with power and chassis constraints, so efficient but resilient layouts become more valuable.

Brand / Region Glossary

Power Budget

Expected always-on energy usage cost factored into NAS layout decisions.

Rebuild Window

Estimated time exposure while replacing a failed drive and restoring parity.

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FAQ

How many disk failures can RAID-Z2 tolerate in this setup?

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

Is RAID-Z2 still viable with 8TB 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 available space?

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.