SoftRAID

Name: SoftRAID
Price: 179.00 $
Rating: 4.1333 (7 reviews)

5.8.1

01 January 2020

High-quality RAID management.

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Overview

SoftRAID allows you to create and manage disk arrays to increase performance and reliability. SoftRAID allows the user to create and manage RAID 4 and 5 volumes, RAID 1+0, and RAID 1 (Mirror) and RAID 0 (Stripe) volumes. SoftRAID also provides "predictive disk failure", where users are alerted to potential disk failures even before they fail.

SoftRAID's intuitive interface and powerful feature set make this utility a must-have for any OS X Server admin, "Pro" user, photographer, digital-video editor, or desktop user who wants more reliable backup for his computer.

What's new in SoftRAID

Version 5.8.1:

Removes the test to see if the user is running macOS 10.15 with SIP enabled. You can now run the SoftRAID application on macOS 10.15 with SIP enabled. The bug, in macOS 10.15, which caused SIP to be incompatible with SoftRAID, is fixed in macOS 10.15.1.

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SoftRAID Screenshots

42 SoftRAID Reviews

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okai-1

09 October 2018

Most helpful

Can SoftRAID 5.7 build RAID 50 (5 +0) arrays, if not 6?

I am planning to build RAID 50 with 10 bay tower casing with 10 500MB HDDs with 5 volume array each for RAID 5 (say, array 1 and array 2) and then mirrored with RAID 0. It's for SNS use and does not necessarily need speed and size for the arrays. 2.5TB each suffice, if not overkill.

Like (1)

Version 5.7

Great App, have it running since 10.12.x with no fuss at all. I am angry about the reluctance of Akitio and OWC, about a firmware update on the Thunder2 Quad, to bring the controller to the version Apple uses on its Hardware. Lots of shit happens because of this, and it has nothing to do with either SoftRaid or macOS. I talked to the Akitio support about some critical issues regarding this. It can't be the controller, it must be a software bug, was the reply. I know it isn't...

Version 5.8.1

okai-1

09 October 2018

Like (1)

Version 5.7

After using this on two OWC ThunderBay RAIDs I am deeply disappointed in the product, and OWC who is cramming this obsolete technology on unsuspecting customers. SoftRAID is a serious kludge for modern users. I've lost confidence and respect in OWC.

Version 5.7

3 answer(s)

tvalleau

15 September 2018

You're not specifying what issues you're having. It might just be (as it has with been with me time and again, OWC's often flaky hardware. Specifically, what causes you to say that SoftRAID is "not reliable" and "inefficient?" How are you testing "efficiency?" What are your symptoms of "unreliability" ? Just curious, because I've got over 40 years of professional experience in the industry, and came to exactly the opposite conclusion.
Strikes me that you have some kind of vendetta going.

Like (1)

mrsidoric

15 September 2018

Vendetta is totally correct:
(1) SoftRAID driver often fails or buggy after macOS upgrades
(2) SoftRAID suffers performance issues even when registered
(3) SoftRAID often fails to recognize fully-qualified drives
(4) SoftRAID recovery is nigh on impossible
Also, for the record – SoftRAID is sold using a very sneaky business model by OWC. The write buffer disables after trial. Why not just be honest and offer SoftRAID as a part of the quite expensive ThunderBay?

Hardware RAIDS are proven and reliable. Curious how they compare with software RAIDs: Details here: https://www.adaptec.com/nr/rdonlyres/14b2fd84-f7a0-4ac5-a07a-214123ea3dd6/0/4423_sw_hwraid_10.pdf

tvalleau

15 September 2018

Thank you for your reply. Hardware RAIDs may or may not be better. Generally they are a tiny bit faster. If something goes wrong, however, you cannot simply upgrade them; you buy a new card. (Unlike you, I have experience with and use both.)

I have never had SoftRAID fail after an OS upgrade.
You still are saying nothing about WHAT "performance issues"
I've never had SoftRAID fail to recognize a drive, and I have spinners, SSD from at least 6 different brands.
Hardware raid failures are impossible to recover as well.

I'm done. It's a tie: your anecdotal non-evidence, and my mine. I'm done here. The conversation is irrational, and I'll leave the last word to you, if only to prove that point. :-)

Like (3)

Some folk's reviews here are mind-boggling. SoftRAID is one of the most acclaimed and widely accepted soft-RAID solutions. I myself have been running it on all my drives, (13 actively connected; some RAIDed - some not; some spinners; some SSDs) for well over a decade. In those 10+ years, I can attribute ONE issue to it, about 7 years ago. Is it fast? According to BlackMagic I can edit all types of vide except2160p50/p60 10bit YUV 4:2:2... and I do. Everyone has different hardware, skill levels and experience, so these reports are all just anecdotal.
My "anecdote" is that I'm trusting my entire setup, and my business to SoftRAID and have for about 14 years, and based on 16/6 experience, I'm going to continue to do so.

Like (4)

Version 5.7

1 answer(s)

RavenNevermore

01 January 2020

Do we even need this anymore? DiskUtility can set up a RAID 0, 1, or JBOD.

Version 5.8.1

Two issues: > SoftRAID is just not reliable or efficient, it is a bygone technology snarfed up by OWC > The 'demo' lite version is a crappy marketing technique to extract another $179 from purchasers of the already-pricey ThunderBay. AVOID SoftRAID and ThunderBay at all costs.

Like (1)

Version 5.6.7

Mixed feelings. I acquired Softraid Lite under the impression it could convert an Apple Raid 1 system into a Softraid system. To this day this function isn't implemented despite the fact that the very nice people from the customer service department kept promising: "soon, very soon..." So back-Up and complete rebuild. After that it is running solidly. But promising functions that never appear is a bit lame.

Like (5)

Version 5.1

Absolutely, positively, top 10 in my tool chest.

Like (1)

Version 5.1

2 answer(s)

Hoondi

04 November 2015

As an owner of a previous version of SoftRAID, I'll never trust this software with my data ever again due to the corruption I encountered.
If you value your data, take a look at OpenZFS. https://openzfsonosx.org.
This "was" the filesystem Apple was about to adopt before Oracle acquired Sun. That in itself tells you something about how significant ZFS is.
It's the only filesystem that enables you to verify your data. Something that SoftRAID probably won't do for a very long time.

Like (4)

Donmontalvo

13 April 2016

OpenZFS sounds great at a water cooler chat. Its a very slow solution requiring a ton of ram, then it is still slow, just a smidgen less so. SoftRAID is the real deal. Apple have included it for years with OS X Server. Not sure anymore today since they spun off Server as its own app. SoftRAID does a great job doing what it is designed to do.

Like (3)

Very solid software, nice support, have been using it for close to a decade: a 5-star product. However, it's kind of expensive if one wants to deploy it in multiple locations. I would have liked a more liberal licensing policy, of perhaps a single desktop / single laptop license, which enables switching disks between RAID arrays. Myself, I'll keep using SoftRAID for years to come on my main rig, but installed OpenZFS on all other systems.

Like (2)

Version 5.1

Softraid 5 seems to be extraordinarily reliable as well as extraordinarily capable. While Apple's Disk Utility can set up RAIDs, SoftRAID gives you more options, and the interface is years better. I have always worried that when a disk fails, I won't know how to add a new disk back to my RAID 5 to restore the redundancy. With SoftRAID I know that it will be easy. SoftRAID also allows you to set up RAID 4, which has better performance in certain circumstances. It is also being actively developed. I found a small bug in it, corresponded with the developer, and he says that it will be fixed in the next release. Try doing that with Apple's software! Go to SoftRAID's website for benchmark speeds—my experience is that these are the speeds that you can expect. If you want fast or reliable or fast + reliable disks, use SoftRAID.

Like (4)

Version 5.0.7

I had virtually no experience with RAID configurations other than establishing one based upon directions and Disk Utility. This software removes guess work and the user will know what he/she is getting. It is pricey, but it leaves little to the imagination and dissolves frustration.

Like (1)

Version 5.0.7

SoftRAID

Overview

What's new in SoftRAID

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42 SoftRAID Reviews

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