In a hardware RAID 5 configuration, what is the BEST action to take if a drive issues a predictive failure warning?

In a hardware RAID 5 configuration, it is critical to respond appropriately to a predictive failure warning to ensure data integrity and system reliability. When a drive issues a predictive failure warning, it indicates that the drive is likely to fail soon, making it essential to take immediate protective measures.

Replacing the drive and having the RAID controller rebuild the configuration is the best action because RAID 5 uses striping with parity, which allows for data recovery even if one drive in the array fails. By replacing the failing drive promptly, you minimize the risk of a complete data loss scenario that could occur if another drive fails during the time the array is operating with a degraded performance (only one functioning drive).

When the new drive is added, the RAID controller can initiate a rebuild process. This process restores the data and parity information to the new drive using the existing drives in the array. This not only alleviates the risk of data loss but also ensures that the RAID array continues operating correctly, maintaining its fault tolerance.

Choosing to reformat the drive or restore data from backup is unnecessary and inefficient in this scenario, as it involves steps that do not take advantage of the RAID's redundancy features. RAID 5 is designed specifically to provide fault tolerance, so addressing the predictive failure