SoftRAID V5.6.3 Software for macOS 10.13 From OWC

OWC Holdings, Inc., a division of OWC, announced SoftRAID v. 5.6.3, an update and bug fix release, which makes SoftRAID compatible with macOS 10.13 High Sierra.

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SoftRAID keeps files protected against disk failure – for everyone who needs to safely store and quickly access large amounts of data, including photographers, videographers, editors, audio producers, web designers, database and media managers, advertisers, archivers, and more. Version 5.6.3 features a optimized driver, which provides a software RAID solution that equals and can often exceed the performance and reliability of dedicated hardware RAID controllers. In addition, SoftRAID provides advanced disk testing, logging, disk health monitoring, and a disk failure prediction system for advanced warning of potential disk problems to protect users from catastrophic data loss.

Setup automatically guides less technical users through setup
SoftRAID guides less technical users through the process of creating volumes, automating the process of configuring disks and making recommendations to help users setup their SoftRAID system. All users have to do is decide what the RAID volume will be used for and how much space to use (with hints from the application) – SoftRAID Easy Setup does the rest.

Key changes/bug fixes in SoftRAID v. 5.6.3

Compatible with macOS High Sierra:
- - SoftRAID-5.6.3’s certify, verify, and monitoring features work with APFS formatted disks (Note: SoftRAID-5.6.3 does not support creating, modifying or converting APFS volumes).
  - Driver modifications ensure that disks do not hang as a result of changes in macOS High Sierra’s kernel features.
  - Driver uses fewer threads – no more than one thread per disk for disk update operations, since macOS High Sierra limits the number of threads which can run at one time.
  - Driver has been changed to handle disk errors better.

Fixes driver loading to ensure that the correct driver is installed the first time and that newly updated drivers are always loaded. In previous versions, it was possible for older cached versions of the driver to be loaded by mistake under certain circumstances.
Driver no longer reports read errors on stripe (RAID-0) volumes as write errors.
The command line interface of the SoftRAID Tool no longer returns an error every time the disk unmount command is used. In previous versions, this command used to unmount all volumes, which use a given disk and would return an error even if it was successful.
Also includes numerous bug fixes, details of which can be found in the release notes.

“At SoftRAID, we don’t believe that software should be shipped and then forgotten. We are constantly refining and improving our product, because we love what we do and want it to be the best it can possibly be!” said Tim Standing, VP, software engineering, OWC Holdings.

SoftRAID key features:

Supports all versions of Mac OS X from 10.6.8 through macOS High Sierra 10.13.
Disk error reporting: SoftRAID monitors and logs all disk errors often ignored by macOS.
Email notifications: available with full version of SoftRAID only.
Predictive failure analysis: provides advanced warning of imminent disk failure on all disks which support SMART, most USB 3, 3.1 and USB-C disks (enclosures) and also many USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and 800 disks.
Certify disk: guarantees disks reliably read and write data (destructive, ideal for new disks).
Verify disk: ensures entire disk can be read (non-destructive test for any-time use).
Validate volume: confirms that entire volume is readable and all parity data is correct.
Supports all Intel based Macs with Core Duo 2 processors or later.
Supports Thunderbolt 1, 2 and 3, eSATA, SAS, FireWire and USB 2.0, 3.0, 3.1 and USB-C.
Converts AppleRAID stripe (RAID-0) and mirror (RAID-1) volumes to SoftRAID.
Supports RAID-0, 1, 4, 5 and 1+0 (and non-RAID volumes) – (RAID-4, 5 and 1+0 volumes not available with SoftRAID Lite).
Supports TRIM for SSDs on all SoftRAID RAID levels.
All SoftRAID volumes can be start-up volumes.
Supports volumes up to 4PB.
Supports up to 16 disks per volume and up to 32 volumes per Mac.
Automatic rebuilding of out-of-sync RAID volumes.
Fast rebuilds for accelerated rebuild times.
I/O and error counters for every 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.
Extensive logging of SoftRAID events.
Command line interface with dedicated man page (not available with SoftRAID Lite).
Built-in recovery tools for recovering severely damaged partition maps.

Supports macOS from 10.6.8 to 10.13 High Sierra
SoftRAID version 5.6.3 is compatible with all versions of Mac OS X from 10.6.8 through the latest release of macOS 10.13 High Sierra.

SoftRAID version 5.6.3 is available as a fully functional free trial version at SoftRAID.com/freetrial, allowing prospective customers to download and try all the features of SoftRAID for 30 days for free.

Priced at $179, the full version of SoftRAID supports RAID-5 levels (0, 1, 4, 5 and 1+0), plus email notifications of potential disk failure, and command line support, available at the company website. SoftRAID includes one year of free technical support via email.

For $49, users can purchase SoftRAID Lite and create RAID-0 and RAID-1 volumes, or convert their AppleRAID volumes to SoftRAID. It includes support via online forum.

SoftRAID and SoftRAID Lite are available for download at the company webstore, through an Apple Certified Consultant, or retail outlets worldwide. Both versions use exactly the same driver, provide the same disk testing and health monitoring, and are localized for French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese languages.

SoftRAID provides a tech support services, available at nights and on weekends, ready to get to the bottom of each and every customer problem. (customer comments about SoftRAID). SoftRAID 5.6.3 requires an Intel based running Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later. Support for TRIM commands on SSDs requires Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later.

SoftRAID v. SoftRAID Lite feature chart