What is true about parity-based RAID?

A.
Parity is updated each time a write is performed

B.
Parity is read each time a read is performed

C.
Parity is updated only when writes fill a stripe

D.
Parity is updated each time when both reads and writes are performed

Explanation:
Compared to mirroring, parity implementation considerably reduces the cost associated with data
protection. Consider an example of a parity RAID configuration with five disks where four disks
hold data, and the fifth holds the parity information. In this example, parity requires only 25 percent
extra disk space compared to mirroring, which requires 100 percent extra disk space. However,
there are some disadvantages of using parity.
Parity information is generated from data on the data disk. Therefore, parity is recalculated every
time there is a change in data. This recalculation is time-consuming and affects the performance
of the RAID array.
When choosing a RAID type, it is imperative to consider its impact on disk performance and
application IOPS. In both mirrored and parity RAID configurations, every write operation translates
into more I/O overhead for the disks, which is referred to as a write penalty. In a RAID 1
implementation, every write operation must be performed on two disks configured as a mirrored
pair, whereas in a RAID 5 implementation, a write operation may manifest as four I/O operations.
When performing I/Os to a disk configured with RAID 5, the controller has to read, recalculate, and
write a parity segment for every data write operation.
EMC E10-001 Student Resource Guide. Module 3: Data Protection – RAID