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Dedicated department that can work 24 hours exclusively for data recovery on RAID systems.
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Recovering RAID is a process performed with the purpose of recovering information that was lost or became inaccessible in RAID systems and Storages.
Unfortunately in technology things do not always work as planned and even with all the apparatus, data loss can happen.
Digital Recovery has been working tirelessly since mid-2003 on the development of advanced technologies to recover RAID of the most varied types, with any volume and whatever the operating system and its partition system.
We are one of the first companies in the world to completely master this technology. Even in critical situations where you have two or more disks with physical problems, in cases of virtualized environments with virtual machines deleted, corrupted or attacked by ransomware, we have the necessary expertise and technology to help with the data recovery project.
A RAID 0 system is based on the synchronised distribution of information among the various disks in the array. That is, data will be written to and read from all disks at the same time. When writing a file on a RAID 0, it is “sliced” into several blocks (stripes) of the same size. These blocks are sent and written to disks in a sequence predetermined by the RAID controller. This makes this system incredibly faster than an individual disk, because instead of having a single disk to receive this file, we will have several disks to receive the same file, thus creating massive parallelism. If on the one hand RAID 0 is extremely fast, its penalty is in the security area, as the loss of one of the disks will cause the unavailability of all files in the array, as in RAID 0 there is no type of redundancy.
A RAID 1 system is based on mirroring one disk onto another disk. That is, any information that is stored on disk 1 will also be stored on disk 2.
This way, if one of the discs presents any kind of problem, the information will be totally preserved in the other disc. Despite being extremely secure, as it duplicates 100% of the information on a disk, the performance of this system will not have any difference in relation to the performance of an individual disk. Another limiting factor is that this type of RAID supports a maximum of two disks.
A RAID 5 system is an evolution of previous RAID types. It was created to have the performance of RAID 0, the security of RAID 1 and the saving of disks in the redundancy process. Through a complex system of parity, distributed across all disks in the array, RAID 5 systems use the space equivalent to a single disk to provide redundancy for any disk in the array that has problems, so it uses only the space corresponding to 1 disk to provide redundancy. This system provides the capability for the Array to continue working – in degraded mode – even if any of the disks in the array stop working. After the failure of one of the disks, the system will issue a warning for the user to replace the failed disk. Once the disk is replaced the system will start the Rebuild process automatically.
Note 1: During the Rebuild process (rebuilding data through parity), depending on the RAID controller, the system performance may decrease, but the system will continue to work in degraded mode – a little slower than normal – without the service exit the air, be turned off or even restarted.
Note 2: When creating a RAID 5 system, the available space will be the sum of the number of disks minus 1. Because although the parity is distributed over all the disks in the array, the system will use the space equivalent to 1 disk to store it. Example: A RAID 5 with a total of 7 disks will have space equivalent to 6 disks available for use. Likewise a RAID 5 with 14 disks will have the equivalent of 13 disks available for use.
RAID 6 is an evolution of RAID 5. The main difference is that instead of allowing the loss of 1 disk, RAID 6 allows the loss of up to 2 disks at the same time, that is, in this system even if 2 disks are damaged physically at the same time, the system will still continue to function. To create a RAID 6 array you need at least 4 disks. Regardless of the number of disks you have in the Array, the system will use the equivalent of 2 disks to generate the parity. So if the array has 7, 10 or 14 disks, the equivalent of 2 disk space will always be available for data redundancy, so RAID will make available for use the total disks in the array minus the space equivalent to 2 disks which will be used dedicated to generate the necessary protection parities. This system is used in situations where a higher security level than RAID 5 is required.
Note: RAID 5 system only tolerates one disk failure. If two disks stop working at the same time or a second disk fails before finishing a Rebuild process, the system will stop and go into a state known as failed. The RAID 6 system has the same performance as the RAID 5 system, but with a much higher level of security.
A RAID 10 or 0+1 is a combination of RAID 0 and RAID 1. In this type of RAID the array can contain several disks, and each disk will have another identical disk (mirror) in the same array. In other words, a RAID 0 is created and for each RAID 0 disk a mirrored disk is created with the same information. While in RAID 10 we have the same performance as RAID 0 and the security of RAID 1, it also takes its toll. The disadvantage of this system is that it will always take half of the disks – 50% of the available storage – to generate data redundancy, that is, if you create an array with 10 disks, you can only use the space equivalent to 5 disks. The other 5 disks will be for the exclusive use of the controller and will be used to generate data redundancy.
RAID 50 is a complex combination of RAID 5 and RAID 0. This type of array requires at least 6 disks. RAID 50 offers the performance of RAID 0 with a higher level of security than RAID 1. It consists of two or more independent RAID 5 arrays that connect in RAID 0. Each RAID 5 array consists of at least 3 disks and the system will have the equivalent of 1 redundancy disk space for each RAID 5 array.
Similar to RAID 50, RAID 60 is a combination of RAID 6 and RAID 0. You will need at least 8 disks to create this type of RAID. This system offers maximum performance and security among all RAID types presented here. In this case up to 4 disks can drop at the same time from different subarrays and the system will still work.
If your project had a negative diagnosis or the execution time does not meet your expectations, we accept the challenge of analysing your case.
Digital Recovery is a company specialised in recovering RAID of all levels. We created a dedicated division to exclusively serve highly complex environments.
This business unit is known as Data Centre Recovery Services and is specialised in recovering data from RAID (0, 1, 10, 5, 50, 6, 60, vRAID, RAID-Z and JBOD), Storages (NAS, DAS and SAN) with Host Channel iSCSI, SAS and FC (Fibre Channel) from the most varied manufacturers such as HP/HPE, Dell/EMC and IBM/Lenovo, Databases (Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Firebird, DB2, Informix, Caché and Btrieve) and virtual machines (Microsoft Hyper-V, VMware, Citrix XenServer, Proxmox and Acropolis).
Even if you have received a negative diagnosis from a data recovery company, we are still fully available to analyse your case.
We develop software and hardware technologies that enable us to act with precision and agility in advanced diagnosis and data recovery processes. The creation of these technologies – numerous of them for exclusive and proprietary use – made Digital Recovery always remain at the forefront.
One of our technologies, called Tracer, is capable of generating differentiated results in data recovery for Virtual Machines, Databases and RAID Systems. Through millions of calculations and analysis of millions of records, this technology makes it possible to drastically reduce project execution time, as well as increase success rates to almost 100%.
We are a German company with branches all over the world. Other partnerships for exchanging information and sharing technologies are carried out between companies that are in countries such as the United States, Russia and Ukraine.
In addition to providing services to governments, financial institutions and small, medium and large companies, Digital Recovery also provides services to other companies that are also active in the data recovery area.
If your data is stored on a device located outside the countries where we have laboratories, we have the technology that allows us to remotely assess and recover your data. If this is your case, please contact our department 24×7.
If you need it, we can also provide you with a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) in a language of your choice. It is important to mention that our NDA is already adapted for both the GDPR. Please discuss this with one of our experts.
Being fully aware of the pressure and urgency levels that exist in Data Centers and Cloud Computing environments, we also offer a 24×7 emergency service. This type of service provides our customers with the possibility of providing services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Free diagnosis
Free advanced diagnosis, with results within 24 working hours. Data Center subject to change.
Data Confidentiality
We use a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) as the most professional way to guarantee description, seriousness and loyalty.
Online Tracking
You will receive real-time feedback during the entire process of performing the contracted services.
Remote Recovery
For those who need agility and practicality, as it is not necessary to send the media and pay for shipping.
Data List and Double-Check
We release a 100% secure environment for the recovered data to be listed and effectively carry out a cheque with your IT department.
Multidisciplinary Team
Specialized data recovery engineers and technicians who are prepared to deal with all types of environments and hardware.
There is still hope for your lost data, our entire team is at your company's disposal.
"We had a serious issue following a NAS server power outage in Raid 5. I immediately contacted DIGITAL RECOVERY. After a few days of hard work the issue was resolved."
"One of our RAID servers had stopped. After several attempts without fixing the problem we found DIGITAL RECOVERY and 5 hours later, at 4:00 am, the data was recovered."
"We referred DIGITAL RECOVERY in a special case (data loss) in a storage RAID 5. Digital Recovery recovered 32 million files and the customer was extremely satisfied."
"Without any doubts the best data recovery company. Digital Recovery contact details will always be saved on my cell phone, as I will inevitably need it again."
"The quality of the service is excellent. The attention given to the service is gratifying and the feedbacks that are given leave us calm, knowing that we can trust in the work and dedication."
"Great company, they saved me from a big problem!!! I recommend them, what a quick service, my thanks to the Digital Recovery team for the attention and speed in solving the problem! Awesome!"
"The second time I count on the agility and professionalism of the Digital Recovery team, they are very experienced and agile. I recommend it to everyone"
"They helped me recover some data that I had already thought was lost. I had a great experience with the team because of their calm, agility and transparency."
The acronym RAID stands for Redundant Arrays of Independent Disks. This is a technology developed to increase performance, security and storage capacity in environments involving On Premise servers and storages, Data Centres and Cloud Infrastructure. The technology in question began to be developed by researchers at the University of Berkeley (California-USA) in the mid-1980s. This technology is based on the synchronisation of multiple disks, whether SATA, SSHD, Nearline, SAS and FC [Fibre Channel] , to form one or more logical disks viewed by both the RAID controller and the operating system chosen to use the logical volume. The implementation of RAID systems combined with system virtualization, scalable storages containing differentiated technologies such as All Flash Storage and a high-speed internet enabled the creation of IT departments On Premise, Data Centres and the so-called Cloud Computing, where they are located business-critical applications, such as large ERPs such as SAP. There are several types of RAID and the most used respectively are RAID 5, RAID 1, RAID 10, RAID 6 and RAID 0.
Yes! In the vast majority of cases! It is perfectly possible to recover data in a complete and structured way. Digital Recovery is a company specialised in data recovery in all types of RAID systems, regardless of the operating system and hardware. It doesn’t matter the size of your company or how complex the structure of your servers and storage is. Our professionals, with international experience, will be able to solve your problem masterfully. For your peace of mind, confidence and security, we suggest viewing our updated list of customers, testimonials and technical qualification certificates provided by agencies that have already been successfully assisted in projects involving RAID systems.
The most common situations that cause data to be inaccessible and/or lost on RAID are:
The structure of RAID systems is based on three major differences. (1) Security (2) Performance and (3) Increased capacity of devices dedicated to data storage. A RAID controller is hardware specifically designed for processing information about the volumes and partitions of an Array. The controller board has, among others, two main functions: The first one is to perform all the calculations related to data processing and storage of parity information in the arrays. The second function is to store the configuration data of Arrays created and managed by the controller itself. A common technique used by controllers to protect themselves from problems is to store the data from the managed arrays in reserved areas on the very disks they use to create the arrays. Thus, if a controller experiences problems, a new controller can be installed and then execute the commands necessary to read the configuration data stored on the array’s disks, preventing data loss from occurring. This region of the disk is commonly known as DACStore. If, in fact, the problem is in the controller, due to the protections previously reported, it is very likely that the environment will return to working normally. However, if there is any problem with the information recorded on the disks, the data will remain inaccessible.
We fully understand the inconvenience and damage that the disruption of a server and RAID storage can cause your business. With that in mind, we created a department that operates 24 hours a day, totally focused on serving customers who have extreme urgency in recovering data on RAID systems.
Once disks from a server or RAID array enter our lab, the advanced diagnostics process begins immediately. The advanced diagnostic process typically takes between 4 and 8 hours. As soon as it is completed, the customer will be informed about the possibilities of data recovery, a quote, as well as the estimated time for recovery.
The average time for data recovery on servers and RAID arrays with Digital Recovery is approximately 36 hours, but in some cases, projects have already been solved in less than 12 hours. Depending on the complexity of the problem and the type of solution to be adopted, the time for data recovery may be extended by a few days, however, at all times, an expert will be in contact with the customer’s focal point to report in a proper manner all the movements performed.
Regardless of the amount of disks that will be allocated in the array, the system will use the space equivalent to one disk for parity, that is, to get to the net space, we just multiply the capacity of the disks by the number of disks and subtracting one.
Example | Considering 5 disks of 3TB each, totaling 15TB of raw space.
Subtracting one disk we have a total of 4 disks of 3TB, that is, 3TB x 4 = 12TB
It is certainly possible, as there are techniques available to reverse this type of scenario, since in most projects, we can safely change the disk status from defunct to online, in order to clone the linked sectors as quickly as possible to that problematic disk.
A Degraded RAID is when one or more redundancy disks have stopped working. Depending on the Array type this will result in performance loss. The safest way to know if RAID is degraded is to access the controller’s management software. On IBM/Lenovo servers this software is called MegaRAID Storage Manager. Another way to visualise is also to observe if there is any orange LED lit on the disks belonging to the array in question.
The first thing to do is to contact your server or storage manufacturer or technical support. They will guide the diagnosis in the best way possible, because through the collected logs, it will be possible to create a coherent and assertive action plan. If it is not possible to restore the environment either via the manufacturer or via the restore from the most up-to-date backup, we can help you to solve this challenge in the best possible way.
Due to the many variables involved in a data recovery project in a RAID environment, it is not possible to know the final value without carrying out a detailed diagnosis. The purpose of this assessment is to determine:
To make a diagnosis, please contact us through our service channels, which are available 24x7x365.
Yes. In many situations it is possible to recover data from a server or RAID storage remotely. For more information about this type of recovery, please contact us through our service channels, which are available 24x7x365.
LVM is the Logical Volume Manager, it can be fully recovered, as it is an option to manage logical volumes of a hard disk or RAID in Linux/Unix operating environments.
We have compiled a list based on several years of experience working with data recovery on RAID systems. Before performing any steps to try to recover data from your RAID system internally, pay attention to these considerations:
Never run the Initialise command. This seemingly harmless command will completely reset all existing data on the RAID, thus making data recovery completely impossible.
A RAID 1 system is a type of RAID with 100% redundancy. This means that all information on one disk is mirrored or written to another disk. Even using two disks, only one volume equivalent to one disk will be presented to the operating system. Whenever the user makes any change to the volume, the system responsible for managing RAID 1 (whether by software or hardware) will automatically replicate this change on both disks. Since I have 2 mirrored disks and exactly the same what are the possibilities of data loss? Although there is a possibility of simultaneous failure of the 2 disks, this possibility is very rare. The majority of RAID 1 data loss we receive for recovery comes from RAID management failures. See the following situations:
In some cases yes. Especially when you have an environment with few disks and when you remember exactly the array settings. However, when you have storages with numerous hard disks, running with several volumes, using different RAID configurations and even with Hot Spare disks, even if all this is documented, it will not be an easy task to recreate the Array and make it work again. In the case of Virtualised RAIDs or vRAIDs, even with all the configurations noted, the only possibility to return the Array is by reading the configurations contained in the disks (DAC Store).
As we know that disk failure can dramatically impact both the availability and integrity of strategic data for companies, 24×7 monitoring of disk health is extremely important as it allows the suspect disk to be replaced before it actually fails. The RAID controller’s own management software can be used for this type of predictive monitoring.