You mean data stripping? Ok....
RAID (
Redundant
Array of
Independent
Disks) A disk subsystem that is used to increase performance or provide fault tolerance or both. RAID uses two or more ordinary hard disks and a RAID disk controller. In the past, RAID has also been implemented via software only.
In the late 1980s, the term stood for "redundant array of inexpensive disks," being compared to large, expensive disks at the time. As hard disks became cheaper, the RAID Advisory Board changed "inexpensive" to "independent."
Small and Large
RAID subsystems come in all sizes from desktop units to floor-standing models. Stand-alone units may include large amounts of cache as well as redundant power supplies. Initially used with servers, desktop PCs are increasingly being retrofitted by adding a RAID controller and extra IDE or SCSI disks. Newer motherboards often have RAID controllers.
Disk Striping
RAID improves performance by disk striping, which interleaves bytes or groups of bytes across multiple drives, so more than one disk is reading and writing simultaneously.
Mirroring and Parity
Fault tolerance is achieved by mirroring or parity. Mirroring is 100% duplication of the data on two drives (RAID 1). Parity is used to calculate the data in two drives and store the results on a third (RAID 3 or 5). After a failed drive is replaced, the RAID controller automatically rebuilds the lost data from the other two. RAID systems may have a spare drive (hot spare) ready and waiting to be the replacement for a drive that fails.
The parity calculation is performed in the following manner: a bit from drive 1 is XOR'd with a bit from drive 2, and the result bit is stored on drive 3.
RAID Levels
RAID 0 - Speed
Level 0 is disk striping only, which interleaves data across multiple disks for better performance. It does not provide safeguards against failure. RAID 0 is widely used in gaming machines for higher speed.
RAID 1 - Fault Tolerance
Uses disk mirroring, which provides 100% duplication of data. Offers highest reliability, but doubles storage cost. RAID 1 is widely used in business applications.
I hope this helps.