Protect Your Data the Easy Way with SoftRAID from OWC

May 30, 2017

By Theano Nikitas

Hardware RAID or software RAID? That’s the main question you’ll have to answer after deciding to set up a system that protects your data. While not quite as intense of a debate as, say, Nikon versus Canon or DSLR versus mirrorless, there are plenty of online discussions weighing the benefits and drawbacks of both options.

But if you’re looking for RAID software for Mac, or just want to try it out (an excellent option before making a costly investment in hardware), the latest version of SoftRAID may be your best bet, especially if you’re a first-timer.

SoftRAID v. 5.6 from OWC adds Easy Setup Guides that take you step-by-step through the process so you don’t have to be a tech wizard. The software also makes recommendations to help ease you through setup and it automates disk configuration.

In addition to Easy Setup and quick start guides, the new version supports Thunderbolt 3 devices and SMART (Self-Monitoring Analysis Reporting Technology) over USB proprietary driver. The latter means that SoftRAID now checks and monitors most USB drives (USB 3/3.1 and “many” USB 2 drives), FireWire enclosures and FireWire 400/800 drives. You’ll also get email notification of errors. And those are just the highlights of the upgrade.

Compatible with Mac OS X 10.6.8-10.12, SoftRAID is available in a Lite version as well as a full-featured application. The Lite version supports RAID 0 and RAID 1, while the full version supports RAID 0, 1, 4, 5 and 1+0.

You can find a 30-day free trial version here, and the full version can be purchased at the SoftRAID store. The full application costs $179 ($89 upgrade price for users of SoftRAID 4), with one year of free email tech support; the Lite version costs a mere $49, with support via online forums.

If you’ve never heard of SoftRAID (or OWC), check out the site’s About section—SoftRAID’s been around since 1996 and, the people behind the software “eat, sleep and dream Macintosh and disk drives.” Sounds good to me, but download the free trial and check it out for yourself.

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