PK0-005 Practice Question: Basics of IT Infrastructure and IT Project Management
A project manager is planning the installation of a new server that will host a database. The server requires a storage solution that provides high performance and redundancy. The project manager must choose between different RAID levels. Which RAID level should the project manager select to achieve both performance and redundancy?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that RAID 6, with its additional redundancy, is always better, but it introduces write performance penalties that may not align with the high-performance requirement.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
RAID 5
RAID 5 provides a balance of performance and redundancy by striping data and parity across multiple drives. It allows for continued operation if one drive fails and improves read performance through parallel access. While RAID 6 offers more redundancy, its dual parity reduces write performance. RAID 1 lacks performance benefits, and RAID 0 lacks redundancy, so RAID 5 is the appropriate choice for a database server needing both performance and fault tolerance.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
RAID 1
Why it's wrong here
RAID 1 provides redundancy through mirroring but does not offer performance improvements for write operations; in fact, writes are typically slower because data must be written to both drives. While it is a valid choice for redundancy, it may not meet the high-performance requirement for a database server, especially under heavy write loads. RAID 1 is better for read-intensive applications.
- ✗
RAID 6
Why it's wrong here
RAID 6 offers double parity, providing redundancy against two simultaneous drive failures. While it is more fault-tolerant than RAID 5, it incurs higher write overhead due to dual parity calculations, which can impact performance. For a database server requiring high performance, RAID 6 may not be the best choice unless the environment demands extra fault tolerance. RAID 5 is typically sufficient for single-failure protection with better performance.
- ✗
RAID 0
Why it's wrong here
RAID 0 provides striping for high performance but no redundancy. If any drive fails, all data is lost. Since the requirement includes redundancy, RAID 0 is not suitable. It is often used for temporary or non-critical data where speed is paramount and data loss is acceptable, but for a database server, this would be a poor choice due to the risk of data loss.
- ✓
RAID 5
Why this is correct
RAID 5 uses striping with distributed parity, providing both redundancy and improved performance. It allows reads to be distributed across multiple drives and can sustain a single drive failure without data loss. For a database server, RAID 5 offers a good balance of performance, redundancy, and storage efficiency, making it a common choice for such workloads, though write performance may be slightly lower due to parity calculations.
Quick reference
RAID Level Comparison
| RAID Level | Min Disks | Fault Tolerance | Read | Write | Usable Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAID 0 | 2 | None | Excellent | Excellent | 100% |
| RAID 1 | 2 | 1 disk | Good | Moderate | 50% |
| RAID 5 | 3 | 1 disk | Good | Moderate | 67–94% |
| RAID 6 | 4 | 2 disks | Good | Lower | 50–88% |
| RAID 10 | 4 | 1 disk per mirror | Excellent | Good | 50% |
RAID is not a backup strategy — it protects against disk failure but not against accidental deletion, ransomware, or site-level events.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This PK0-005 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PK0-005 exam.