Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to our page of Frequently Asked Questions and their answers.
If you are unable to find an answer to your question, please contact us
at support@softraid.com and we will answer you promptly.
Q: What is SoftRAID 3?
SoftRAID 3 is a Mac OS X disk driver and formatting application which
integrates RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) technology to
improve disk performance and/or added redundancy. SoftRAID 3 currently
supports RAID levels 0 and 1 (Stripes and Mirrors). SoftRAID 3 is widely
acclaimed as the best overall driver for I/O intensive tasks, such as
Servers, Databases, PhotoShop, code compiling, and any other Macintosh
use where reliability and peak disk performance is a requirement.
Q: What are the system requirements for using SoftRAID 3?
SoftRAID 3 requires the following: - Power Macintosh G4 or
later, or Intel Mac, Mac OS X 10.4 or later and storage disks to create RAID volumes
(FireWire, SCSI, FC, ATA or USB). SoftRAID 3 can work with older machines, but outside of the G3
series, we do not officially support them. FireWire disks on G3
machines require a PCI card, as the built-in FireWire has problems with
RAID.
Q: Does SoftRAID 3 work with all versions of Mac OS X?
No, SoftRAID 3 version 3.6 and later requires Mac OS X 10.4, or later. For Mac OS X Server 10.2.x and 10.3.x, use SoftRAID 3.5.6.
Q: Does SoftRAID 3 work on Intel Macs?
Yes, SoftRAID can create and maintain volumes on Intel Macs, the same as it does on PowerPC Macs.Volumes made on
PowerPC volumes can be used on Intel Macs and vice versa.
Q: Is SoftRAID 3 compatible with Tiger?
Yes, SoftRAID 3.6 is fully Tiger compatible.
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Q: Will SoftRAID 3 for Mac OS X work with Mac OS 9?
No. The previous version, SoftRAID 2.2.2, works with Mac OS 7.1 to OS
9.2.2.
Q: What about the RAID capability that is built into OS X?
Apple is making RAID more of a mass market product by including RAID 0
and 1 inside Mac OS X. This is good news for us, as more people will be
aware of RAID and its benefits. However, when we examined Apple's
built-in RAID, we found it was limited and left much
room for improvement. SoftRAID's ease of use, added flexibility,
robustness, and superior feature set are all reasons we expect SoftRAID
3 to become the industry leader.
Q: How do I obtain support for SoftRAID 3?
Support for SoftRAID 3 is handled electronically, by sending e-mail to
support@softraid.com. We do not support SoftRAID 3 by telephone unless
you purchase an Extended Support package.
Q: How do I set up SoftRAID 3 for the first time?
Getting started with SoftRAID 3 is pretty simple. We provide three
sources of information which can help you get started, the QuickStart
Guide, Online help, and the SoftRAID 3 web site. The QuickStart guide
provides basic information on preparing RAID configurations, setting up
Mirror volumes, Stripe volumes, installing the SoftRAID 3 driver and
initializing disks. If you get stuck, search the application's online help, which is
extensive and covers every aspect of SoftRAID 3. We also provide a
comprehensive troubleshooting section on our web site.
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Q: Is SoftRAID 3 compatible with Digital Video Systems?
SoftRAID 3 supports most Digital Video systems. We have been specifically
tested by
Pinnacle on their Cinewave card and SoftRAID is compatible. If you have
questions
about SoftRAID's compatibility with any particular Digital Video
system, ask the manufacturer. If they cannot help you, send us a note
so we can be sure to be included on their compatibility list.
Q: Does SoftRAID 3 support USB drives?
USB is a very slow technology, and not well-suited for storage,
especially RAID. However, SoftRAID 3 supports USB, and despite its
limitations, some users have "dual use" drive cases, which provide a
USB connection in case FW is unavailable. A SoftRAID 3 volume will mount
and work fine in either mode.
Q: Does SoftRAID 3 support all FireWire drives?
SoftRAID 3 fully supports FireWire 400 and FireWire 800. We have
discovered problems with older generations of FireWire, so FireWire
drives which use the older, slower LSI chipsets are considered too
unreliable to be used with SoftRAID 3. If your FireWire drive uses an
LSI chipset, such as early VST, LaCie, and other older drives, we do
not recommend you use these with SoftRAID 3. In addition, if you have a
Power Macintosh G3, there are problems with the built-in FireWire port
when using RAID. It is highly recommended that you purchase a FireWire
PCI card which uses the TI chipset, as the built-in FireWire on these
machines will not be reliable under RAID conditions.
Q: Are evaluation copies of SoftRAID 3 available?
If you are a qualified hardware or software developer, and require an
evaluation or beta version of SoftRAID 3 for testing or compatibility
testing, please contact us at sales@softraid.com.
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Q: Do you have a Mac OS X Server version of SoftRAID 3?
SoftRAID 3 version 3.6 supports Mac OS X Server 10.4 or later. For Mac OS X Server 10.2.x and 10.3.x, use SoftRAID 3.5.6.
Q: When will SoftRAID add RAID 5 support?
SoftRAID 3 currently supports RAID levels 0 and 1. We are working on RAID 5. We do not have anything to announce yet.
Q: Whom do you recommend for data recovery services?
The best in the business is Drive Savers in Novato, Ca. They may seem expensive, but if anyone can recover your data, they can! We have never had a complaint from anyone using Drive Savers.
Q: From whom do you recommend purchasing SCSI accessories?
We highly recommend Granite Digital for SCSI cabling and terminators. They also have high quality cases, and enclosures which exceed U160 and LVD SCSI specifications. Granite Digital also has excellent technical support¯should you have problems setting up your system. If you just need an enclosure, Kingston Data has enclosures which meet U160 SCSI specification. They have a full range of products which seem to us to be well designed, and reliable. Adaptec has also recently introduced a line of SCSI cables. We have tested them, and they are of very high quality. Be aware that some U160 "certified" enclosures do NOT use twisted pair cabling inside the enclosure. This is not what the SCSI spec calls for. We suggest you insist that any U160 or U2W enclosures you purchase include twisted pair cabling inside and out. MacGurus is another source of high quality equipment and enclosures, with superb technical support.
Q: What is the best PCI ATA card for newer Macs running OS X and
SoftRAID 3?
We have tested several ATA cards and have found the Sonnet Tempo ATA/133 card to be best in reliability and value. For SATA, we have tested the Seritek SATA card by Firmtek, offered by MacGurus. As we test other cards, we will list them on our compatibility page.
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