OWC SoftRAID
SoftRAID is the most powerful, intuitive software RAID utility on the market providing a level of performance that you simply can’t get with hardware RAID.
• macOS 12 (Monterey)
• APFS support
• much, much more
SoftRAID is the most powerful, intuitive software RAID utility on the market providing a level of performance that you simply can’t get with hardware RAID.
At SoftRAID’s core is RAID creation and management technology that has been finely tuned over 20 years of development. Selectable RAID levels offer maximum volume capacity, optimum drive performance, data protection, or a combination of attributes. It’s ideal for anyone who needs to safely store and backup massive amounts of data, including video editors, audio producers, photographers and graphic designers.
SoftRAID guides you through RAID volume creation, helping you decide what RAID system suits you best. Don’t want your volume any more? SoftRAID helps you safely delete it without risking your data.
Create advanced RAID 0/1/4/5/1+0 (10)1 volumes for higher performance and/or redundancy.
*In a RAID 0 configuration, one failed drive results in a total loss of data. Only RAID levels with redundancy (1, 4, 5, 6, 6+, 10) can support the loss of one or more drives.
1RAID 4/1+0 (10) are available in SoftRAID for Mac only.
Create advanced RAID 0/1/4/5/1+0 (10)1 of volumes for higher performance and/or redundancy.
SoftRAID protects your data by alerting you to issues before anything happens, ensuring you’re protected when you’re on a critical deadline.
Built-in MacDrive technology lets you read/write SoftRAID HFS+ RAID 0/1/5 arrays and use them interchangeably between Windows and macOS.
With SoftRAID you’re not locked into a solution. SoftRAID’s unique approach is hardware-independent.
Volume validation ensures sectors can be read, parity is correct, and any potential volume failure is minimized.2
Check your disks before use to ensure they are safe for your data.
Works with macOS 10.12 or later and Windows 10 or later.
Create APFS volumes with SoftRAID for Mac3
SoftRAID is easy on the eyes with dark mode for a great viewing experience in low-light environments.
Software RAID gives you increased power and control over your RAID drives and disks that hardware RAID can’t deliver and doesn’t lock you into technology that you can’t upgrade or expand. Our software teams are constantly developing SoftRAID to keep it optimized for today and tomorrow’s technology, so you are always ready for what comes next – often without having to update or upgrade anything.
SoftRAID gives you the flexibility of mixing and matching drives from different manufacturers, even drives with different capacities. You can easily replace a bad enclosure or upgrade to a new enclosure without skipping a beat. All impossible with hardware RAID!
Worried about power? Don’t be. As computers become more and more powerful, so does SoftRAID. Unlike hardware RAID that relies on a static hardware comptroller, SoftRAID can utilize your computer’s advanced processing power-producing fast and flexible RAID arrays that have a negligible impact on your computer system or applications.
Icons alerts, pop-up warnings, log files, SoftRAID is constantly watching your disks and volumes to make sure everything is working perfectly.
SoftRAID doesn’t stop working once you’ve created your RAID, it continues standing guard, monitoring your drives to keep you working worry-free. From certifying that a drive is error-free prior to use to verifying disks and validating volumes, SoftRAID makes sure your drives and data are protected and in perfect working order. If a problem does arise, SoftRAID warns that a drive is about to fail and once replaced helps you rebuild your RAID in a fraction of the time it would take a hardware RAID to complete the same task, sparing you from significant downtime.
Pro tip: Need even more power and flexibility? Upgrade to SoftRAID Pro to spread volumes over two or more disk enclosures for incredible performance! (Impossible with hardware RAID.) Learn more.
SoftRAID is there to help at every turn, from its intuitive interface for creating RAID volumes, to its drive monitoring ensuring your data is secure. But the power of SoftRAID doesn’t end there.
Share RAID 0/1/5 volumes between Mac and Windows
SoftRAID comes to Windows enabling you to share RAID volumes seamlessly between a Mac and a PC. Built with MacDrive (another OWC brand), SoftRAID allows you to create, read, and write HFS+ RAID 0/1/5 sets on both macOS and Windows computers. Sharing data between Macs and PCs has never been easier.
Once SoftRAID is installed and activated, it’s time to put your plan into action. Decide what the RAID volume will be used for and how much space to use (with hints from the application), and you’re off.
Whether included with your OWC enclosure or purchased separately, SoftRAID is extremely easy to use. SoftRAID makes powerful features typically reserved for data centers accessible to everyone, giving you quick data access and bullet-proof data security.
You’ll wonder how you ever felt safe storing your data before SoftRAID.
SoftRAID is available in three versions, Pro, Lite and XT.
SoftRAID XT is designed to work only with OWC storage solutions and volumes in a single enclosure. SoftRAID Lite (RAID 0/1) and Pro (RAID 0/1/4/5/ 1+0) work with OWC storage solutions as well as third-party solutions and will enable users to store data across enclosures.
1 RAID 4/1+0 (10) Mac only available for Windows soon.2 Data protection requires RAID 1/4/5/1+0. 3 SoftRAID for Mac can create one APFS volume per container. SoftRAID always creates unencrypted APFS volumes (encryption can be enabled in Disk Utility).