Which of the following BEST describes the difference between RAID 5 and RAID 6?

RAID 5 and RAID 6 are both configurations that use striping with parity for data protection, but they differ primarily in how they handle parity information.

The correct answer highlights that RAID 6 uses more parity drives than RAID 5. Specifically, RAID 5 only supports a single parity block distributed across all drives in the array. This means that in RAID 5, if one drive fails, the data can be reconstructed using the parity information stored on the remaining drives.

In contrast, RAID 6 extends this by utilizing two parity blocks, providing an additional layer of redundancy. This means that RAID 6 can withstand the failure of two drives without data loss, making it more resilient compared to RAID 5. The extra parity allows for greater fault tolerance, which is particularly important in environments where data availability is critical.

Understanding this difference is essential for making informed decisions about data redundancy and protection strategies in a server environment. RAID 6’s ability to handle two simultaneous drive failures adds significant value for systems requiring high availability.