September 20th, 1999

[8:30 AM] MacOS RAID Software Made OS 9 Ready
by Kyle D'Addario

The MacOS RAID utility SoftRAID has been upgraded to version 2.2 and been made OS 9 compatible. RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) solutions are used to speed up disk intensive tasks such as file serving, database operation, and any other task where optimal disk performance is a must. SoftRAID 2.2 will be a required upgrade for Observers using previous versions of SoftRAID who intend on upgrading to OS 9 when it is released. According to SoftRAID:

SoftRAID integrates standard disk management functionality with RAID technology, allowing users to manage standard and RAID volumes on the same drives, including both HFS and HFS+ file formats.

SoftRAID 2.2 features full compatibility with Mac OS 9, the new Power Macintosh G4 series computers, Apple's Open Firmware, and all Mac OS Servers. SoftRAID 2.2 supports any PCI based Mac OS system running System 7.1 or later.

SoftRAID 2.2 adds support for spinning drives down in sleep mode, and has fully tested compatibility with the ATTO ExpressPCI UL2D dual channel SCSI cards, and with the newly announced Adaptec PowerDomain 39160 Ultra160 SCSI card.

All SoftRAID users purchasing the Power Macintosh Series G4 systems, or those who upgrade their Mac OS to Mac OS 9.0 must first SoftRAID to version 2.2, as otherwise SoftRAID volumes will not mount under Mac OS 9.

The SoftRAID RAID application is targeted at WorkGroup Servers, Filemakerdatabase Servers, and other Mission Critical applications where driver stability and faster driver performance are critical. Every version of SoftRAID is extensively tested with AppleShare and Server related applications such as Retrospect to ensure continued reliability.

SoftRAID is priced at US$149, and upgrades from any previous version of Apple RAID or SoftRAID 1.5 or earlier are $99. For those using later versions, this upgrade is free. You can find more information can be found at the SoftRAID web site.

SoftRAID