What minimum number of drives is required for a basic RAID configuration?

For a basic RAID configuration, a minimum of two drives is required. This is essential because RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is designed to enhance data reliability and performance through redundancy. With at least two drives, RAID can be set up in various levels, such as RAID 0 or RAID 1.

In RAID 0, data is striped across both drives, which improves performance but does not offer redundancy. In RAID 1, data is mirrored, providing redundancy in case one drive fails. Both configurations illustrate that a single drive cannot utilize RAID features, as there would be no additional drive to mirror or stripe data across. Thus, having at least two drives is fundamental for implementing RAID, making it the correct choice.