OWC (Other World Computing) has announced SoftRAID 9 for Mac and Windows. OWC SoftRAID 9 comes with RAID 6/6+ protection.
RAID 6 and RAID 6+ bring dual-drive failure protection to OWC’s RAID management software. RAID 6 delivers dual-drive failure protection, meaning your volumes remain intact and accessible after the failure of any two drives, with no data loss. The addition is aimed at large arrays, long-term archives, and production environments where a single point of failure is unacceptable.
RAID 6+ provides the same two-drive fault tolerance using dedicated parity drives rather than distributing parity across every member of the array, a configuration suited to SSD arrays, where concentrating parity writes rather than spreading them across all disks can sustain higher performance.
OWC SoftRAID 9 includes the following enhancements:
- RAID 6 and RAID 6+: Dual-Drive Failure Protection: Protect the most critical data with RAID 6 and RAID 6+.
- Fast Performance: Engineered with the latest driver technology to deliver maximum RAID speeds on macOS and Windows.
- Versatile RAID Options: RAID 0/1/4/5/6/6+/10 – every level optimized to maximize the bandwidth of your drives and interface. (RAID 6/6+ requires macOS 27.)
- Proactive Disk Protection: OWC SoftRAID Monitor detects and warns of potential drive failures before they happen on HDDs, SSDs, and NVMe
- Flexible Plans: Free Standard and feature-packed Premium tiers
- Cross-Platform Compatibility: Share Apple-formatted APFS and HFS+ volumes between Mac and Windows via built-in OWC MacDrive technology
OWC SoftRAID 9 also adds full support for encrypted APFS volumes, making it the most secure way to access Mac-formatted disks on a Windows machine.
SoftRAID Monitor keeps a constant watch on your drives, tracking disk health, SMART data, and usage to alert you to potential issues months before they become critical. The disk health monitoring extends beyond Thunderbolt to cover nearly all USB-connected drives. For SSDs and NVMe drives, SoftRAID Monitor provides both proactive and reactive health monitoring. It tracks total drive wear, overheating, and potential hardware failures, and if an OWC NVMe blade shows a failure in SoftRAID Monitor, it’s covered under warranty.
Pricing & Availability
OWC SoftRAID 9 is now available. 3-Years of OWC SoftRAID Premium is included with most OWC RAID storage enclosures. Or, you can purchase a stand-alone license for $149.99 USD for the initial purchase; $79.99 USD/year after the first year.
