SoftRAID 2.x and OS 9.x Compatibility
Q: With which operating systems is SoftRAID compatible?
SoftRAID 2.2.2 is fully compatible with all versions of Mac OS from 7.5 up to Mac OS 9.2.1. Unlike other RAID packages, SoftRAID does not require an extension to mount volumes.
Q: Does SoftRAID support HFS+ (Extended Volumes)?
By default SoftRAID will create all new volumes as HSF+ volumes on Mac OS 8.6 or later.
Q: Is SoftRAID compatible with disk utilities like Norton Utilities?
Yes! SoftRAID communicates directly with the SCSI manager. Troubleshooting utilities such as Norton Utilities will test your system just like any standard HFS volume. Most test utilities work by using the file system and SCSI manager to make requests to volumes. SoftRAID operates at a layer beneath these utilities, so there is no affect either way.
SoftRAID is also fine with all the major Disk optimizing software, such as Alsoft's Disk Express, Norton's Speed Disk and Tech Tool Pro's File Optimization.
NOTE: Do not use Norton 4.0 beta software with SoftRAID volumes.
Q: Is SoftRAID Compatible with Retrospect?
SoftRAID has been extensively with tested Retrospect, through version 4.2. There are no compatibility issues that we are aware of. Retrospect treats a SoftRAID volume exactly the same as any other mounted volume and will back it up as normal. If you have any problems you think may be caused by SoftRAID or Retrospect, please check your hardware configuration carefully. Often even a weak cable may work normally, but fail/hang during backup operations.
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Q: Which drives are compatible with SoftRAID?
Any drive of 1GB or larger in capacity will meet all the SCSI-2 specifications and should work fine with SoftRAID. Lower capacity SCSI drives USUALLY work, but there is more chance of minor compatibility issues when a drive is older.
SoftRAID has been tested with most of the more popular SCSI-2 drives, such as those made by IBM, Seagate, Quantum and (ex) Micropolis. SoftRAID has also been tested with IBM's SSA drives and Seagate's Fibre Channel drives with no problems found.
Q: Can SoftRAID be used with a Zip/Jaz/Optical drive?
We do not recommend using SoftRAID with removable media at this time. SoftRAID was designed for use with fixed disk media, such as standard hard drives. While SoftRAID supports most removable media, and will let you install the driver and create volumes, SoftRAID does not support auto eject, auto unmounting, and other features unique to removable media.
NOTE: SoftRAID uses a single driver to control all devices, rather than load a separate driver for each device. You may find that after installing SoftRAID on a removable device, it is difficult to remove the driver with other utilities. SoftRAID allows you to completely remove its driver, by holding the option key when selecting Initialize. Then select quick initialize, and SoftRAID will leave the device blank with no driver. After a reboot, any formatting utility will be able to control the drive or cartridge.
Q: Does SoftRAID support IDE/ATA Drives?
Not at this time. SoftRAID was designed for SCSI drives, including SCSI, SCSI-2 and SCSI-3 and ignores IDE devices when scanning the SCSI bus.
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Q: How can I test if my SCSI disk setup will work with SoftRAID?
Any "valid" configuration should work with SoftRAID. You must have a configuration with proper cabling, termination, SCSI-2 drives, etc. In general, if you can run your configuration properly with another driver, SoftRAID should be compatible with it. (Since SoftRAID is faster than any other driver, intermittent errors in the setup may become somewhat worse with SoftRAID.)
SoftRAID supports all SCSI Manager 4.3 compliant PCI SCSI cards. This includes PCI cards from Adaptec, Advansys, ATTO, Hammer, Initio, and Pathlight.
Nearly all SCSI-2 hard drives are supported by SoftRAID. Any drive that is 1GB or larger will work fine. Drives with a capacity less than 1GB should work, but older drives are more likely to be SCSI-1 devices, and SoftRAID may not be able to control them adequately.
You do NOT need to install the SoftRAID driver on every device attached to a card which has a SoftRAID controlled device. You can have different disk drivers on different devices on a card.
Multi channel cards are automatically recognized by SoftRAID, and will allow the creation of RAID partitions using each channel.
SoftRAID fully supports the Pathlight SSA PCI card, and supports all of the Fibre Channel cards available.
Q: What Mac OS hardware is compatible with SoftRAID?
SoftRAID is compatible with any standard Mac hardware configuration, including accelerated 3D cards, Digital Video configurations, Digital Audio capture, CD ROM R/W, etc. While it is not wise to install SoftRAID on removable media, you can use any removable device, scanner, or other SCSI device "along side" SoftRAID.
SoftRAID runs on any SCSI drive. It also runs on clones, such as Power Computing, Umax, MacTel, Marathon, etc. If you ever run into a possible conflict, try testing the suspect hard disk you are using for SoftRAID with Apple's Drive Setup, which comes with System 8.1. If Drive Setup shows the same symptoms, then you can be assured that SoftRAID is not the cause of the conflict.
NOTE: About NuBus based Macintosh computers:
SoftRAID requires a PCI based Mac OS system to perform its drive acceleration. This is because 68k and PowerPC based Macs with NuBus slots both require a 68K driver on the disk drive. SoftRAID's high performance acceleration only works with PCI based systems. If you have a PowerPC NuBus machine (6100, 7100, 8100, Power Base, etc., then SoftRAID's native driver will not work.
Using SoftRAID with older 680X0 Macs:
No longer recommended. The SoftRAID 68K driver has not been tested with Mac OS 8.1. SoftRAID requires a 68040 processor and SCSI Manager 4.3 to be in firmware in order be able to operate. SoftRAID does not support NuBus SCSI cards.
Using SoftRAID with the Blue and White G3 and Charcoal G4 systems:
NOTE: These systems will not boot from a striped volume. There are other restrictions on booting, such as the requirement to boot from the first volume on a drive.
Using SoftRAID with G3 and G4 upgraded Macintoshes:
Occasionally a system with this configuration may not boot properly, or have hangs. If you have a G3 or G4 upgrade card, test your system with all SoftRAID driver acceleration disabled. If your system is stable only with SoftRAID driver acceleration disabled, then you may need to leave SoftRAID acceleration disabled on your system. We cannot be responsible for reliability on systems without their original processor.
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Q: Which PCI SCSI cards have been tested with SoftRAID?
We have tested the following PCI SCSI cards:
- Apple UW SCSI card (based on ATTO) shipped with WG Servers
- ATTO Express PCI single and dual channel, through the UL2D
- Adaptec 2930, 2940, 2940W, 2940UW, 2944UW(D), 2940U2W, 2940U2B, 3940UW, 3944UW(D), 3940U2W, 3950U2W, 29160 and 39160
- Emulex LightPulse
- Initio Miles, Miles2
- Hammer Storage PCI Jackhammer W and UW
- JNI FCI-1063 series Fibre Channel cards Qlogic PCI SCSI-W
- Ratoc PCI UW, U2W SCSI, and Cardbus UW SCSI cards Pathlight SSA Image
We have either done some basic testing, and/or have customers using the following cards:
- Advansys cards such as the ABP970
- Orange Micro cards (U, UW)
NOTE: Some systems using the Advansys and Orange Micro card may need to run with SoftRAID driver acceleration disabled for most stable performance. If you experience any problems, simply disable driver acceleration and restart.
SoftRAID does not support older NuBus SCSI cards.
Q: Does SoftRAID conflict with other disk drivers?
No. There are no known conflicts between SoftRAID and third party drivers.
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Q: I have just purchased a RAID configuration with PCI SCSI card, 2 SCSI drives and SoftRAID. I have one or more existing internal drives with the "XYZ" driver installed. Is SoftRAID compatible with this configuration?
Yes! In addition, we recommend that if you have other SCSI hard disk drives in your system, Either use the Apple Drive Setup driver or use the SoftRAID driver on all additional drives for best overall reliability and compatibility. If you have removable devices (Zip, Jaz, Syquest), use the driver that came with the device.
NOTE: OS 8.1 may make other drivers, especially older drivers less compatible with the Mac OS, especially with HFS+ volumes. Be sure to use SoftRAID, Drive Setup 1.4 from Apple or known 8.1 compatible drivers when using Mac OS 8.1
Q: Can SoftRAID coexist with Linux?
SoftRAID will coexist with other non standard volume types, but the SoftRAID application will ignore them. For example, if you install Linux on a drive, SoftRAID will ignore any Linux partition entries, and any space those partitions take up will not appear. What you will see is that the drive will appear to be "missing" some capacity if you add up the numbers in SoftRAID.
Q: How do I install Linux when using SoftRAID?
Install Linux first on a freshly formatted disk. Linux should control the first partitions on the disk. The Linux boot partition and swap partition (VM space) should also be at the front of the disk.
Apple has a program called pdisk, which is used to create Linux partitions. Use pdisk to wipe the disk, after which pdisk will allocate the Linux partitions.
Once that process is completed, run SoftRAID, which will install a driver. Installing the SoftRAID driver will NOT delete the Linux partitions.
Q: Can I install BE OS on a SoftRAID volume?
BE OS requires an HFS volume for installation, and will not install onto RAID volumes, such as those created with SoftRAID. A SoftRAID HFS volume will be fine for the installation of the BE OS. For more information see the BE web site. BE has an FAQ section which includes information about RAID volumes.
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