As prices on SSD (Solid State Disk) storage come down, we’re seeing a disturbing trend popping up.

To counteract the low storage capacity of cheap SSDs, some buyers are buying a handful and linking them together into a RAID 0 array.

In and of itself, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this approach—it not necessarily cost-effective (or even productive), but it’s one solution to building a fast, large SSD on a budget.

The problem lies in what comes next. Many SSD buyers are conflating the lack of moving parts with a lack of failure potential. Considering solid state storage to be infallible, they then abandon the good backup practices that normally elevate RAID 0 from “terrible idea” to “not so great idea.”

SSDs still fail. And being solid state, they may fail without any of the warning signs people normally attribute to failed disks. With no spinning platters or moving heads, you have no auditory cue your disk is about to go belly-up. Similarly, read and write speeds may or may not degrade before a failure.

RAID 0 is always dangerous. The storage technology being used to build the array does not change this fact.

You always need backups. The technology you’re using to store your files does not change this fact.

If you choose to employ SSDs, whether RAIDed or not, please remember to continue your backup strategy!