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Region Focus · UK

UK 8x 8TB RAID 5 NAS Calculator

Estimate usable TB, parity, and fault tolerance for UK homelab buyers using 8x 8TB in RAID 5.

Capacity Snapshot

Raw Capacity

64.00 TB

Usable Capacity

50.40 TB

Fault Tolerance

1 drive

Efficiency

87.5%

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 50.40 TB 1 drive 87.5%
RAID 6 43.20 TB 2 drives 75.0%
RAID 10 28.80 TB 1 drive per mirror pair* 50.0%
RAID-Z1 50.40 TB 1 drive 87.5%
RAID-Z2 43.20 TB 2 drives 75.0%

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.

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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

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.

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 8-drive plan for capacity 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.

Is RAID 5 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.