SoftRAID V5.5 Software Converts AppleRAID Volumes

OWC Holdings, Inc. announced SoftRAID version 5.5, an update to its SoftRAID product.

It allows users to convert AppleRAID volumes to SoftRAID and is a free update for all version 5.x users of SoftRAID.

It is the premier disk driver for Mac OS X, and replaces the RAID functionality that was removed from Disk Utility in Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan. Now with SoftRAID version 5.5, users can convert their existing AppleRAID stripe (RAID-0) and mirror (RAID-1) volumes to SoftRAID and preserve all the files on those volumes. This provides a seamless way for existing AppleRAID users to start using the great features of SoftRAID.

SoftRAID Lite
For $49, users can purchase SoftRAID Lite and convert their AppleRAID volumes to SoftRAID. Not only will they be able to start using the highly optimized SoftRAID driver which has been shipping since 2003, but they can also take advantage of all of SoftRAID’s advance disk health monitoring and logging features.

Convert AppleRAID stripe volumes to SoftRAID RAID-1+0
Users who purchase the normal version of SoftRAID can not only convert their AppleRAID stripe (RAID-0) volumes to SoftRAID but can also convert those volumes to RAID-1+0. A stripe (RAID-0) volume becomes unusable if a single disk fails whereas a RAID-1+0 volume will continue to function after a disk fails.

RAID-1+0 volumes are a stripe volume where each stripe unit consists of a pair of disks, if one disk in the pair fails, the other continues work as part of the volume.The SoftRAID application and SoftRAID Monitor now in 4 languages

With SoftRAID-5.5, the application and SoftRAID Monitor now support 4 languages: English, French, German and Spanish.

“About 40% of our sales comes from outside the United States,” said Tim Standing, VP, software engineering. “It is important that we add support for non-English speaking users so they can know the true power and reliability of SoftRAID.“

Better logging of errors
SoftRAID version 5.5 includes an entirely new error logging mechanism.

“We realized that our old error logging mechanism was occasionally truncating or mangling messages. This made it hard for users to determine which disk was failing,” said Standing. “We want to give our users the best tools possible for diagnosing disk problems so we wrote a new error logging mechanism which is much more reliable and better able to handle information for failing disks.“

When a disk starts having problems or fails, one of the first places to look for information is the log file. If the failing disk produces lots of errors, the old logging mechanism could sometimes mangle or truncate log messages which made it hard to determine what exactly went wrog. The new logging mechanism can handle many simultaneous log messages without truncating or scrambling any of them. This makes it much easier to figure out which disk is failing and why.

SoftRAID detects problems with Thunderbolt ports

SoftRAID version 5.5 can detect problems which are occurring on the Thunderbolt port of a Mac. These problems can cause disks to be ejected while in use. When these errors occur, SoftRAID version 5.5 notifies the user and suggests possible ways to keep these problems from reoccurring. See.

Customer support
SoftRAID has some tech support. We know that you don’t just work nine – five on weekdays, so our tech support team is available to help you on nights and weekends. We pride ourselves in getting to the bottom of each and every customer problem.

SoftRAID supported and improved
SoftRAID does not believe that software should be shipped and then forgotten. It constantly refining and improving the product.

System requirements:
It requires an Intel based running Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later. Support for TRIM commands on SSDs requires 10.7.5 or later.

Partial list of features:

Support for all Intel based Macs with Core Duo two processors or later
Runs with any version of Mac OS X from 10.6.8 through the current version Mac OS X 10.11
Converts AppleRAID stripe (RAID-0) and mirror (RAID-1) volumes use SoftRAID
RAID-0, 1, 1+0, 4 and 5 (and non-RAID volumes) – (RAID-4, 5 and 1+0 volumes are not available in SoftRAID Lite)
All SoftRAID volume can be start-up volumes
Up to 16 disks per volume
Up to 32 total volumes per Mac
Support for Thunderbolt 1 and 2, eSATA, SAS, FireWire and USB
Automatic rebuilding of RAID volumes
Fast Rebuilds for accelerated rebuild times
Disk error reporting
Email notification
Predictive failure analysis
Disk certification and verification
Volume validation
SMART testing on all disks which support SMART
I/O and error counters for each SoftRAID disk and volume
Extended disk information including: hours of use, reallocated sector counts and media wear for SSDs
Disk labeling and LED blinking to aid in disk identification
Complete logging of SoftRAID events
Command Line interface
Built in recovery tools for recovering severely damaged partition maps

Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan support:
SoftRAID version 5.5 is compatible with all versions of Mac OS X from 10.6.8 through the current release of 10.11. We work hard to ensure that SoftRAID is ready for each new release of Mac OS X.

30-day trial:
SoftRAID version 5.5 is available as a fully functional trial version, which allows prospective customers to try all the features of SoftRAID for 30 days for free.

Pricing:

SoftRAID version 5 is available for $179 for the electronic download version and includes one year of free technical support via email. It can be purchased via the company website, through your Apple Certified Consultant and via retail outlets worldwide.
SoftRAID Lite is available for $49 for the electronic download version and includes support via our online forum. SoftRAID Lite supports only non-RAID, stripe (RAID-0) and mirror (RAID-1) volumes. It can be purchased via the firm’s website, through your Apple Certified Consultant and via retail outlets worldwide.
Users of SoftRAID version 4 can purchase an upgrade to version 5 for $89.