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RAID controllers will usually have backup batteries for just this reason.


Yes, or NVRAM, exactly as step 1 in my scenario mentions.

The problem is that the disks they're managing don't. (EDIT: barring SSDs with supercaps, but that's an entirely other discussion.)

If a write has been accepted by the disk and acknowledged as written — but in reality has only been stored in the disk's on-board cache — and you suffer a power loss before the write can be flushed to permanent storage (be it spinning rust or NAND cells), then you have lost that data.

This is exactly why a RAID controller worth using will disable a drive's onboard cache. Because disks lie.

Was my first comment somehow unclear?




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