TerraMaster Comparing Software RAID and Hardware RAID

TerraMaster Technology Co. Ltd.discusses the difference between software RAID and hardware RAID to help professionals in choosing the right RAID storage.

TerraMaster Thunderbolt 3 Series features professional-grade RAID for all types of users
Today, RAID storage is used in homes, SMEs, and large corporations. RAID stands for ‘Redundant Array of Independent Disks’, a storage virtualization that allows you to combine multiple storage drives to create one or more logical units for different purposes such as larger storage space, improved R/W performance, or a balance of both.

What are options in RAID storage?
There are 2 main RAID options today for professionals – software RAID and hardware RAID. Software RAID can be incorporated in an existing computer or server without the need of additional hardware. On the other hand, hardware RAID uses dedicated hardware to create RAID function in a computer or server.

If you are new to RAID storage systems, learn about the differences between the 2 options, its advantages and disadvantages in the comparison below.

Comparing software RAID and hardware RAID
Software RAID uses the computing power of the computer or server’s CPU which is shared with the OS and other applications running in the background. This shared workload reduces the CPU’s computing performance for other tasks. Many OSs support RAID configurations. However, partitions cannot be shared with other OSs.

On the other hand, hardware RAID makes use of a RAID controller which has its dedicated processor. A RAID controller can be added to the motherboard or on a different server. Furthermore, dedicated RAID storage devices are also available which runs independently. Hardware RAID options have very little utilization on the computer or server’s CPU, offering better overall performance compared to software RAID options.

Here’s a comparison between software RAID and hardware RAID:

RAID storage for professional content creators
Most professionals like video editors, photographers, and other content creators opt for hardware RAID options for many reasons. It offers better performance having a dedicated RAID controller or dedicated RAID storage. It is scalable, allowing users to add more storage space by adding another RAID storage in the network. Dedicated RAID storage devices also have more robust security and backup features which come in both software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, RAID storage devices can be shared across different OSs making collaborations easy.

Choosing company’s professional-grade RAID storage:

• D8 Thunderbolt 3 provides up to 144TB of storage in speeds of up to 2,100MB/s.
  TerraMaster D8 Thunderbolt 3 8-Bay Professional-Grade RAID: $1,599.99

• D5 Thunderbolt3 provides up to 90TB of storage in speeds of up to 1,035MB/s.
  TerraMaster D5 Thunderbolt 3 5-Bay Professional-Grade RAID: $699.99

• D4 Thunderbolt3 provides up to 72TB of storage in speeds of up to 780MB/s.
  TerraMaster D4 Thunderbolt 3 4-Bay Professional-Grade RAID: $599.99

• TD2 Thunderbolt3provides up to 36TB of storage in speeds of up to 800MB/s.
  TerraMaster TD2 Thundebolt3 2-Bay Professional-Grade RAID: $249.99