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Stripe size

Stripe size is the amount of data in one full stripe of a RAID array: the size of one chunk multiplied by the number of data chunks in the stripe.

An array writes data in chunks, one per disk, and a row of chunks across the disks is a stripe. In standard (SNIA) terms, that per-disk unit is the strip, and its size is the stripe depth. In a parity array, the parity chunks are not counted in the stripe size.

Is stripe size the same as chunk size?

No. In the standard (SNIA) definition, stripe size is the whole stripe and the per-disk chunk is the strip. Linux software RAID calls the per-disk unit the chunk size, and that is the number its tools ask for. When you read a setting called “stripe size”, check whether it means the chunk per disk or the whole stripe. Either way it is one of the RAID parameters an array has to be read back with.

Common misconceptions

Can the stripe size be guessed safely?

No. Read back with the wrong chunk or stripe size, the blocks come out in the wrong order and the volume looks corrupt, even though nothing on the disks has changed.

Sources

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Published: Glossary