Other World Computing Rolls Out SoftRAID 9 With RAID 6 Support Across Mac and Windows

Storage specialist Other World Computing (OWC) has introduced SoftRAID 9, the newest version of its software-based RAID platform, bringing RAID 6 dual-drive failure protection to users on both macOS and Windows.

The headline feature of the release is RAID 6 support, which allows a storage volume to survive the failure of two drives simultaneously — a step up from the more common RAID 5 setup, which tolerates only a single drive failure. For creative professionals and small workgroups handling large media libraries or archives, that added redundancy can be the difference between a routine drive swap and a data-loss event.

OWC says the software can deliver throughput of up to 26,000 MB/s, a figure that underscores the appeal of software RAID in an era of fast NVMe storage: because the RAID layer runs on the host CPU rather than on a dedicated hardware controller, performance can scale with modern processors and PCIe buses without the cost and compatibility constraints of a hardware RAID card. The company also touts what it calls complete data transparency, giving users visibility into the health and status of the disks and volumes under its management.

Cross-platform support remains a differentiator for the product. Mac users in particular have seen hardware RAID options dwindle over the years, and SoftRAID positions itself as a way to build protected, high-performance volumes using enclosures and drives from a range of vendors. On the Windows side, the release lands in a market where Microsoft Corporation continues to develop its own built-in storage spaces and volume-management features as part of the Windows platform, giving users a choice between native tooling and third-party RAID software with more advanced redundancy options.

Software RAID’s flexibility — no proprietary controller hardware, easy volume migration between machines, and support for mixed drive types — has made it a popular option for prosumer and professional setups, though it does place the parity workload on the host system. OWC’s pitch with version 9 is that on current hardware, that overhead is increasingly negligible next to the speeds the software can achieve.

Pricing and availability details were included in the company’s announcement, which also emphasized the software’s monitoring and validation tools designed to catch drive issues before they escalate into failures.

What to watch

• OWC’s roadmap for SoftRAID, including any future updates adding volume formats or OS support
• Adoption among creative and pro-video workflows, where dual-drive failure protection is often a requirement
• Competing moves in the software storage management space from other vendors and platform built-ins

Source: original release