在企业环境中， 硬盘驱动器故障(hard drive failure)可能会同时影响多个尝试访问其驱动器上文件的用户，这可能对组织中本应不间断运行的整个操作流造成巨大打击。随着时间的推移，一切都会老化，硬盘驱动器也是如此。迟早(Sooner)，硬件会磨损，您的数据会丢失。
考虑到数据的重要性，备份硬盘驱动器上的数据或以安全的方式访问它，如果以及何时出现问题至关重要。在这篇文章中，我们将讨论硬盘镜像(Hard Drive Mirroring)——将原始磁盘卷实时数据复制到单独的二级卷上，这是一种非常流行的备份解决方案，并学习如何在 Windows 10 中为硬盘创建镜像卷(create a Mirrored Volume).
什么是硬盘镜像
与其他计算机组件相比，硬盘驱动器更容易出现故障。驱动器镜像(Drive Mirroring)是一种用于通过自动创建存储在相关驱动器上的数据的多个副本来克服此类硬盘驱动器故障的技术。
这样，您就可以随时使用数据——即使在不幸的驱动器故障的情况下。硬盘镜像(Hard Drive Mirroring)位于标准RAID（独立磁盘(Independent Disks)冗余阵列(Redundant Array)）级别的RAID-1上，其中准确可靠的数据副本保存在两个或更多磁盘上。一旦镜像处于活动状态，这些驱动器之间的文件会自动保持同步，以便您始终拥有数据的实时副本。
Windows 11/10中创建镜像(Mirrored)卷
为了继续创建镜像驱动器，您显然需要两个不同的物理驱动器。目标镜像驱动器的大小应等于或大于原始驱动器，并且应表示未分配的磁盘空间。如果它包含任何数据，您可以右键单击并选择删除卷(Delete Volume)- 假设您打开了磁盘管理(Disk Management)工具 - 以擦除任何存在的数据并将其标记为未分配。准备好先决条件后，请按照以下步骤创建镜像卷：
1. 按键盘上的Hit Windows Key + R启动运行(Run)工具。 在此处输入diskmgmt.msc并按(diskmgmt.msc)Enter。这应该打开磁盘管理(Disk Management)工具。
2. 在磁盘管理(Disk Management)工具窗口中，右键单击未分配的空磁盘，然后选择新建镜像卷(New Mirrored Volume)。
3. 在下一个窗口中，从可用的磁盘中选择磁盘并将其添加到右侧。选择您要专门用于镜像卷的空间量，然后单击下一步(Next)。
4. 您可以在下一个窗口中分配您选择的驱动器号，或者保留它，使用默认设置。在这里完成后，单击Next。
5. 接下来，系统会询问您是否要在使用前格式化磁盘。选择Format this volume with the following settings选项并选择File system as NTFS，Allocation unit size as Default并为磁盘分配您选择的卷标。此外，请选中执行快速格式化(Perform a quick format)选项。单击下一步(Click Next)并完成(Finish)该过程。
如果您的驱动器设置为Basic Disk，则需要先将其转换为Dynamic Disk，然后再将其添加为镜像驱动器，否则，将其设置为镜像的选项将灰显。
阅读(Read)：修复重新安装 Windows 后丢失的镜像卷(Mirrored Volume missing after reinstalling Windows)。
驱动器镜像的优缺点
- 镜像卷上的随机(Random)磁盘读取操作比单个卷上的效率更高。从磁盘故障中恢复非常迅速。
- 磁盘(Disk)写入操作效率较低，而镜像(Mirrored)卷在空间利用率方面效率最低。
镜像(Mirroring)经常被混淆为备份策略。让我澄清一下——不是！镜像存在的主要原理与备份不同。备份侧重于在发生任何驱动器故障事件时提供完整的数据保护和可访问性可靠性，而镜像则是通过实时数据复制来保持系统的全时运行，这在驱动器故障的情况下会派上用场。
所以，你看，当原始硬盘驱动器无法执行读取操作时，系统会自动从镜像驱动器中获取数据，您不必浪费时间。镜像有助于更快地恢复数据，同时对系统性能的影响最小。
How to create Mirrored Volume in Windows 11/10
In an Enterprіse environment, hard drive failure can affect several users simultaneously who are trying to access their files on the drive and this can be a big blow for the entire stream of operation that is supposed to run uninterrupted in an organization. With time, everything ages and the same goes for that hard drive as well. Sooner or later, the hardware wears out and your data is lost.
Backing up the data on a hard drive or having a secure way to access it, if and when things go south is crucial, given the importance of the data. In this post, we will talk about Hard Drive Mirroring – real-time data replication of original disk volumes onto a separate secondary volume, which is an immensely popular backup solution, and learn how to create a Mirrored Volume for a Hard Drive in Windows 10.
What is Hard Drive Mirroring
Hard drives are more prone to failures as compared to other computer components. Drive Mirroring is a technique used to overcomes such hard drive failures by automatically creating multiple copies of the data which is stored on the drive in question.
This way you have the data always at your disposal – even in a case of unfortunate drive failures. Hard Drive Mirroring sits at RAID-1 on the standard RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) levels, where an exact and reliable copy of data is kept on two or more disks. Once mirroring is active, files between these drives are automatically kept in sync so that you always have a real-time replica of your data.
Create a Mirrored Volume in Windows 11/10
In order to proceed with creating a mirrored drive, you’d obviously need two distinct physical drives. The targeted mirror drive should have equal or larger size than the original drive and it should represent unallocated disk space. If it comprises of any data, you can right click and select Delete Volume – assuming that you have Disk Management tool open – to wipe any data present and mark it unallocated. Once you’re ready with the pre-requisites, follow the below steps to create a mirrored volume:
1. Hit Windows Key + R on your keyboard to launch Run tool. Input diskmgmt.msc in here and hit Enter. This should open up Disk Management tool.
2. In Disk Management tool window, right-click on the empty unallocated disk and select New Mirrored Volume.
3. In the next window, select the disk from available ones and add it on the right. Select the amount of space you want to dedicate to the mirrored volume and click Next.
4. You can assign a drive letter of your choice in the next window or leave it be, with default settings. Once done here, click Next.
5. Up next, you’d be asked if you want to format the disk before usage. Select Format this volume with the following settings option and select the File system as NTFS, Allocation unit size as Default and assign a volume label of your choice for the disk. Also, check the Perform a quick format option. Click Next and Finish the process.
If your drive is set to Basic Disk, you’d need to convert it to Dynamic Disk before adding it as mirrored drive, otherwise, the option for setting it up as mirror grays out.
Read: Fix Mirrored Volume missing after reinstalling Windows.
Pros & Cons of Drive Mirroring
- Random disk read operations on mirrored volumes are more efficient than on a single volume. Recovery from a disk failure is very rapid.
- Disk write operations are less efficient and Mirrored volumes are the least efficient in terms of space utilization.
Mirroring is often confused as a backup strategy as such. Let me clarify – it is not! The main principle behind the existence of mirroring is different from that of backup. While backup focuses on full data protection and accessibility reliability in case of any drive failure event, mirroring is all about keeping a full-time operation of your system with real-time data replication which comes in handy in case of drive failure.
So, you see, when and if the original hard drive fails to perform read operation, the system automatically fetches the data from mirrored drive and you’d not have to waste your time. Mirroring helps recover data much faster while impacting the system performance least.
