Partition RAID 5 in Windows Server 2003

What is RAID 5?

RAID is a technology that allows computer users to achieve high levels of storage reliability via the technique of arranging the devices into arrays.

There are various combinations of these approaches giving different levels of protection against data loss, capacity, and speed. RAID levels 0, 1, and 5 are most commonly used and cover most requirements.

Unlike the now well-established RAID levels 0 and 1, which offer either faster performance or increased security in the event of hard disk failure, RAID 5 offers both performance and security benefits. RAID 5 needs some powerful logic processing capabilities to control the simultaneous operation of several hard disks and to write data and parity information across all disks in the stripe set. The latter function does not require a particularly complex architecture, but as transfer rates increase, the process of writing parity data on the fly increases CPU overhead accordingly. Below is the picture of RADI 5.

Software for Partitioning RAID 5 in Windows Server 2003

Considering both price and reliability, RAID 5 is more preferred by server users, then how to choose a right disk management tool to manage it becomes a problem. Server Magic might be the first tool you bring to mind. However, it is not available for partitioning RAID in Windows Server 2003. So a Server Magic alternative is needed to maximize the performance of RAID.

EASEUS Partition Master Server Edition is a disk management tool to resize, move, copy, create, delete partitions, etc. As an alternative to Server Magic, it works perfectly on RAID 5 in Windows Server 2000/2003/2008 and Non-Server Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Windows 7 32 and 64 bit systems. And it allows users to create a bootable CD/DVD to manage Windows Server partitions when there is a boot failure caused by virus or any other unexpected affairs.

Furthermore, resizing partition will not cause performance degradation on a RAID 5, nor any data will be lost during the partition process. If you are still afraid of any data loss because of accidental affairs, Partition & Disk Copy utility of this software can be used to backup your data before any operations.

How to Partition RAID 5 with this Server Magic Alternative

As Server magic alternative, EASEUS Partition Master can partition RAID 5 easily with user-friendly interface. The picture below is screen shot of EASEUS Partition Master Server Edition:

There are four editions of EASEUS Partition Master: Home, Professional, Server and Unlimited. It has many features that Partition Magic has.

The differences between each edition:

Home Edition: supports all functions under Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Windows 7 32 bit systems. Free for home users.

Professional Edition: supports Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Windows 7 32 and 64 bit systems, and can create bootable CD. Single License.

Server Edition: supports Windows Server 2000/2003/2008 and Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Windows 7 32 and 64 bit systems, and can create bootable CD. Single License.

Unlimited Edition: allows unlimited usage within one company.

Try it now

Why not have a try to partition your RAID 5? Download it here.

For better data security, you may also use the free backup software - EASEUS Todo Backup, which will help you a lot. It provides easy-to-use interface to backup and restore your system, disk and partition within minutes.

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• Windows Server 2003 partition
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