US Patent 7617361 Configureable redundant array of independent disks

A computer implemented method, data processing system, and computer program product for maximizing the amount of data protected in a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) storage system. When a request to configure a plurality of physical disk drives into a Redundant Array of Independent Disks is received, each of the plurality of physical disk drives is divided into blocks of data based on a least common denominator. The blocks of data are then arranged to form valid Redundant Array of Independent Disks parity sets, thereby maximizing the amount of data protected in the Redundant Array of Independent Disks.