Setting up a software RAID (or random array of independent disks) is a great way to inexpensively provide a huge boost to read/write speeds, or add an internal back up solution (or do both!).
All you need is a Mac with the ability to install more than one SSD or HDD (such as a Mac Pro 5,1) and some HDDs or SSDs, we recommend using matched drives in most cases, however, simply matching capacity (2TB etc.) and type (HDD or SSD) is usually fine.
A RAID is basically a collection of physical drives, linked together, that are seen by your system as a single drive. You can set up a RAID in a number of different ways. A striped RAID will boost read and write speeds by splitting your data between all 4 drives and reading/writing to them all at the same time. A mirrored RAID will write the same data to a number of drives, meaning you have real time back-ups that are fully bootable and can repair themselves. You can even set up 2 striped RAIDs in a mirrored RAID. This may sound confusing, but we’ll explain which configuration is best for what soon enough.
All you need is a Mac with the ability to install more than one SSD or HDD (such as a Mac Pro 5,1) and some HDDs or SSDs, we recommend using matched drives in most cases, however, simply matching capacity (2TB etc.) and type (HDD or SSD) is usually fine.
A RAID is basically a collection of physical drives, linked together, that are seen by your system as a single drive. You can set up a RAID in a number of different ways. A striped RAID will boost read and write speeds by splitting your data between all 4 drives and reading/writing to them all at the same time. A mirrored RAID will write the same data to a number of drives, meaning you have real time back-ups that are fully bootable and can repair themselves. You can even set up 2 striped RAIDs in a mirrored RAID. This may sound confusing, but we’ll explain which configuration is best for what soon enough.
Setting up a Striped RAID to Maximise Disk Read & Write Speeds
A high performance RAID controller manages the SSDs you install, supporting Fast (RAID 0), Safe (RAID 1), Volume (Span) and, particularly important to pro audio users, JBOD (Just a Bunch of Disks) configurations, so you can choose the mode that best suits your needs. Mac mini; All Mac mini Products; Mac Pro; All Mac Pro Products; MacBook; MacBook; MacBook Air; MacBook Pro; Accessories; Camera & Camcorder Accessories. Featured RAID Controllers. HPE Smart Array E208i-a SR Gen10 (8 Internal Lanes No Cache) 12G SAS Modular LH Controller. Item #: 34568366.
Setting up a striped RAID is a great option when you need to maximise read & write speeds, regardless of your budget. Theoretically you could set up a striped RAID using 4 PCI-E flash storage blades in an external PCI-E expander, you would hit around 4GB/s read & write speeds with a set up like this, but it wouldn’t be cheap. Alternatively, you could use 4 HDDs in a Mac Pro’s internal HDD bays and hit speeds of around 600MB/s, about 20% faster than the best consumer 2.5″ SSDs, but the cost would be much less. There are also a myriad of options in-between for every budget, you don’t have to use 4 drives, a 2 drive RAID is still extremely effective.
A striped RAID will have disk read & write speeds that are around the sum total of your drives separately. So if you use two 500MB/s SSDs then your RAID will read & write at around 1GB/s.
How to:
- Open Disk Utitlity (Finder > User > Applications > Utilities).
- Format each disk you want to use in your RAID set to ‘Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)’. Do this by selecting each disk in the left hand menu and heading over to the ‘Erase’ tab.
- Select one of the disks you want to use in your RAID.
- Select ‘RAID’ tab in the main portion of the window.
- Name your RAID in the ‘RAID Set Name’ text box.
- Select ‘Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)’ as your format in the ‘Format’ drop down (unless you specifically want another format and know what you are doing).
- Select ‘Striped RAID Set’ in the ‘RAID Type’ drop down.
- Drag the drives you want to use in the RAID from the drive overview section on the left of the window into the RAID Set.
- Hit ‘Create”.
- Once created, your RAID set will appear as below and can now be used to store files.
In addition, the majority of our PCIe NVMe RAID controllers are backwards compatible with older Mac workstations that utilize a classical tower layout (such as 2010 and 2012 Mac Pro’s). Unlike other NVMe RAID solutions in to today’s marketplace, HighPoint NVMe RAID controllers and enclosures are backed by quarter-century of storage expertise. Hardware RAID Controller Onboard. A high performance RAID controller manages the SSDs you install, supporting Fast (RAID 0), Safe (RAID 1), Volume (Span) and, particularly important to pro audio users, JBOD (Just a Bunch of Disks) configurations, so you can choose the mode that best suits your needs.
With a bootable USB installer, you can even install OS X on your new RAID set. You can also use Disk Utility when booting from the USB installer to create a RAID set without having to have another OS X drive for Disk Utility, extremely useful when creating a 4 drive RAID in a Mac Pro.
With a striped RAID set it is essential that you keep a back-up. Should one of the drives in your RAID fail, the whole RAID will fail.
Setting up a Mirrored RAID for real-time, auto-repairing Back Ups
Setting up a mirrored RAID set is a great internal back-up solution, providing a real-time back-up that can even automatically repair itself should a drive fail, this is achieved by writing your data to both disks rather than just one. Again we would recommend using matched drives, but you don’t have to.
You can use SSDs, HDDs and even PCI-E flash storage, it all depends on your needs and budget. You can also use as many disks as you like, you shouldn’t need more than 2, but using 3 or 4 will give you even more security should a drive fail.
How to:
You can use SSDs, HDDs and even PCI-E flash storage, it all depends on your needs and budget. You can also use as many disks as you like, you shouldn’t need more than 2, but using 3 or 4 will give you even more security should a drive fail.
How to:
- Open Disk Utitlity (Finder > User > Applications > Utilities).
- Format each disk you want to use in your RAID set to ‘Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)’. Do this by selecting each disk in the left hand menu and heading over to the ‘Erase’ tab.
- Select one of the disks you want to use in your RAID.
- Select ‘RAID’ tab in the main portion of the window.
- Name your RAID in the ‘RAID Set Name’ text box.
- Select ‘Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)’ as your format in the ‘Format’ drop down (unless you specifically want another format and know what you are doing).
- Select ‘Mirrored RAID Set’ in the ‘RAID Type’ drop down.
- Drag the drives you want to use in the RAID from the drive overview section on the left of the window into the RAID Set.
- Hit ‘Options’ and tick ‘Automatically rebuild RAID mirror sets’.
- Hit ‘Create”.
- Once created, your RAID set will appear as below and can now be used to store files.
You’re now all set to install OS X on your mirrored RAID set, or to just use it as a data drive. Again use a bootable USB installer if you have no other drives to install from.
RAID 10: Striped Mirrors and Mirrored Stripes, the best of both worlds
Want the speed of a striped RAID set as well as the security of a mirrored RAID? If so, RAID 10 might be the one for you. A RAID 10 set comprises of two mirrored RAID sets in a striped RAID formation. Should a drive fail, it will auto repair, and you will still get the speed boost of striping (4 drives in a RAID 10 formation will read/write at double the speed of a single drive as opposed to 4 times the speed with a pure striped RAID).
For example, using 4 HDDs in a RAID 10 set will achieve read & write speeds of around 300MB/s as well as having real time back-up and auto repair functionality.
Technically this isn’t actually a RAID 10 set, as a RAID 10 set is a hardware RAID. But it is a software clone and does exactly the same thing. You can call it a mirrored-striped-software-RAID-set if you like.
How to:
For example, using 4 HDDs in a RAID 10 set will achieve read & write speeds of around 300MB/s as well as having real time back-up and auto repair functionality.
Technically this isn’t actually a RAID 10 set, as a RAID 10 set is a hardware RAID. But it is a software clone and does exactly the same thing. You can call it a mirrored-striped-software-RAID-set if you like.
How to:
- Open Disk Utitlity (Finder > User > Applications > Utilities).
- Format each disk you want to use in your RAID set to ‘Mac OS X Extended (Journaled). Do this by selecting each disk in the left hand menu and heading over to the ‘Erase’ tab.
- Select one of the disks you want to use in your RAID.
- Select ‘RAID’ tab in the main portion of the window.
- Name your RAID in the ‘RAID Set Name’ text box.
- Click the ‘+’ button just below the main section of the window 3 times in order to add 3 partitions.
- Set two of the partitions to ‘Striped RAID Set’ and the final partition to ‘Mirrored RAID Set’.
- Drag two of your drives into the first ‘Striped RAID Set’ and the other two into the second.
- Drag your two ‘Striped RAID Set’s into your ‘Mirrored RAID Set’. (Your RAID configuration should appear the same as the image above).
- Hit ‘Create”.
- Once created, your RAID set will appear as below and can now be used to store files.
Again, you can now install OS X on your mirrored striped RAID set, or simply use it as a data drive.
You can also set up a striped mirrored RAID set (as opposed to mirrored striped), just set up two mirrors and stripe those together instead. Functionality and performance will be the same.
Some Notes on Software RAID Sets
As with any storage drive, you should always keep a physical or online back-up of your RAID set, regardless of the type. In most cases software RAID sets are very reliable, but they can be susceptible to things such as power cuts, again unlikely, but the possibility is always there even with a mirrored RAID.
And remember, it’s not really a back-up unless you have two.
We do also provide hardware RAID controllers for the Mac Pro 5,1 at Create Pro. Complete with on board battery and controller for extra security.
And remember, it’s not really a back-up unless you have two.
We do also provide hardware RAID controllers for the Mac Pro 5,1 at Create Pro. Complete with on board battery and controller for extra security.
Looking for the best RAID Controllers?
Discover now our comparison of the best RAID Controllers. It is never easy to choose from the wide range of offers. On the market, you will find an incalculable number of models, all at different prices. And as you will discover, the best RAID Controllers are not always the ones at the highest prices! Many criteria are used, and they make the richness and relevance of this comparison.
To help you make the best choice among the hundreds of products available, we have decided to offer you a comparison of the RAID Controllers in order to find the best quality/price ratio. In this ranking, you will find products listed according to their price, but also their characteristics and the opinions of other customers. Also discover our comparisons by categories. You won’t have to choose your products at random anymore.
SaleNo. 1StarTech.com 4 Port PCI Express 2.0 SATA III 6Gbps RAID Controller Card with HyperDuo SSD Tiering - PCIe SATA 3 Controller Adapter (PEXSAT34RH) To help you make the best choice among the hundreds of products available, we have decided to offer you a comparison of the RAID Controllers in order to find the best quality/price ratio. In this ranking, you will find products listed according to their price, but also their characteristics and the opinions of other customers. Also discover our comparisons by categories. You won’t have to choose your products at random anymore.
- Add 4 Internal SATA III (6Gbps) Ports to a computer through a PCI Express x2 slot
- PCI Express 20 SATA Controller with HyperDuo SSD Tiering
- 4 Port PCI Express SATA III 6Gb
- PCI Express SATA RAID Card
- PCIe SATA 6G
- Dedicated PCIe 3.0 x16 bus bandwidth
- Dedicated PCIe 3.0 x4 bandwidth for Each NVMe M.2 SSD
- Over 8x faster than NVMe storage locked behind Intel DMI 3.0
- Independent, stand-alone NVMe SSD solution
- Cross-Sync: Scale performance across multiple SSD7101A-1 NVMe RAID controllers
- Supports Single Drives & RAID 0, 1, 1/0, JBOD
- Supports Windows 10 & Later, Windows 2016 Server, & Linux Kernel 3.3 & later
- Controller: SAS 2008 controller for 8-port 6Gb/s to PCIe
- Host Bus Type: 8-line PCIe 2.0, X8
- Connectors: 2-port Mini-SAS SFF-8087
- Data Rates: Up to 6 G SATA and SAS link rates, SAS 2.0 complian; Support 256 SAS and SATA device
- Systems Support: Windows, Linux RedHat, LinuxSUSE Enterprise Server(SLES), Solaris,and VMware
- Connect up to 128 SATA or SAS drives with four internal 12Gb/s SATA and SAS ports
- Fit into rack-mounted servers with low-profile form factor and side-mounted SAS connectors
- Support critical, high-bandwidth applications with PCIe 3.0 connectivity
- Balance protection and performance for critical applications with RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60
- Add more protection and peace of mind with optional CacheVault flash cache protection
Best Raid Controller
No. 5Vantec 4-Channel 6-Port SATA 6Gb/s PCIe RAID Host Card with HyperDuo Technology UGT-ST644R- 4 Channel for 4 storage devices like SSD or HDD. This Card will let You Grow as Your Needs Grow to Add more Devices to your System.
- Configurable Port as Internal SATA or External eSATA Port, SATA III 6Gb/s on Every Channel for all your SSD and HDD.
- 1 Port Multiplier Function For Multi-Bay Enclosures (4 drives), Support both FIS and Command-based Switching.
- RAID 0, 1, 10 and HyperDuo Function for Redundancy to Keep your Data Safe and Faster Disk Access, Low Profile Bracket Included.
- Support Windows XP, Server 2003/2008, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10; For RAID use, must do a new clean install of the OS to boot.
- RAID configuration is on the drive(s); install only on true PCIe x4 slot or x8 or x16 Slot only, Download Latest drivers from vantecusa website.
- Note: Cannot Boot If you just move your drive to this controller, write to vantecusa technical support for more info.
- With this PCIe SATA card, you can add Eight SATA 3.0 6 Gbps devices to your computer (two of the satellites require a driver).
- The PCIe SATA card contains eight SATA cables to simplify the connection!
- Use the Marvell 88SE9215 + JMicron JMB5xx chip to improve card stability and compatibility
- Connect 8 mass storage devices at the same time. With Windows XP / 7/8/10 / MAC / NAS / Ubuntu
- Note: The 8-port does not support RAID. The RAID in INTEL is only for original SATA. It is an expansion card that cannot support third-party chips.
Raid Controller For M.2 Ssd
LSI Logic Megaraid Eight-Port 6Gb/s PCI Express 3.0 SATA+SAS RAID Controller LSI00330- Eight-port 6Gb/s PCI Express 3.0 SATA+SAS RAID controller
- Second-generation 6Gb/s SATA+SAS controller, built on the LSISAS2208 dual-core ROC
- Proven interoperability with the latest server platforms based on the PCI Express 3.0 specification
- Lsi Logic Megaraid 9260-8i 8-port Sas Raid Controller - 512mb Ddr2 Sdram - Pci Express X8 - 300mbps - 2 X Sff-8087 - Mini-sas - Rohs Compliance
- With this PCIe SATA card, you are able to expand 8 SATA III 6Gb/s ssd or optical drives for your desktop. In particular, 8 large capacity storage devices can be connected at the same time.
- Your system could be boot from this SATA card but with Non RAID. You are able to make a RAID with this SATA card if your motherboard has RAID function.
- Due to the Marvell 88SE9215 chip, the stability and compatibility of this PCIe SATA card has been greatly improved.
- Compatible with Windows XP / 7 / 8 / 10 / MAC / NAS / Linux OS.
- Package includes 1 x PCIe x1 to 8 SATA 3.0 ports controller card, 8x SATA cables, 2x SATA power splitter cable, 1x low profile bracket, 1x CD driver
- We recommend a fresh Windows install with this card
- Drivers are required for this card to function.
- Chipset: Marvell 88SE9235
- Installed with a full profile bracket, Low profile included with the package
- Port Multiplier FIS-based and Command-based switching supported
- Supports SATA Rev 3.0 transfer speeds up to 6.0Gbps and backwards compatible with SATA I/II at 1.5/3.0Gbps
- Supports Native Command Queue (NCQ)
- 4 Internal SATA 6Gb/s Ports
- Compatible with SATA 6G, 3G and 1.5G Hard Drives
- PCI-Express x2 Interface is Compatible with PCI-Express x4, x8, and x16 slots
What is the purpose of a comparison site?
Raid Controller Software
When you search for a product on the Internet, you can compare all the offers that are available from the sellers. However, it can take time when it is necessary to open all the pages, compare the opinions of the Internet users, the characteristics of the products, the prices of the different models… Offering you reliable comparisons allows us to offer you a certain time saving and a great ease of use. Shopping on the Internet is no longer a chore, but a real pleasure!
We do everything we can to offer you relevant comparisons, based on various criteria and constantly updated. The product you are looking for is probably among these pages. A few clicks will allow you to make a fair and relevant choice. Don’t be disappointed with your purchases made on the Internet and compare the best RAID Controllers now!
We do everything we can to offer you relevant comparisons, based on various criteria and constantly updated. The product you are looking for is probably among these pages. A few clicks will allow you to make a fair and relevant choice. Don’t be disappointed with your purchases made on the Internet and compare the best RAID Controllers now!
Hardware Raid Controller
Last update on 2020-10-26 at 15:33 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API