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Apple Kills Off RAID Support in OS X El Capitan, Leaving Users Dangling in the Wind: SoftRAID is the Solution Now
Apple has destroyed Disk Utility functionality with the release of OS X El Capitan.
Users utilizing RAID via Disk Utility have been hung out to dry by Apple, dangling in the wind.
No warning, no support, just fait accompli. Disk Utility RAID volumes work for the time being, but there is no support in Disk Utility for Apple RAID any more.
MPG editorial view: this is not just a technical issue. The way this has been handled is a failure of integrity and judgment (“ethical lapse” might not be too strong a term), notwithstanding the hot air emitted by CEO Tim Cook on respecting users. How can an abrupt ripping out of core functionality in any way be respectful of users?
Such actions generate a deep mistrust of Apple competence and judgment by professional users. Commented upon for years here at MPG with growing unease, this latest fiasco is a logical escalation in line with Apple Core Rot. The steady decline in software quality control in both iOS and OS X is its evil twin. There are no adults in charge of OS X development any more, with iPhone bugs and breaking of critical iOS features on the menu for iOS users. MPG does not consider these things (and many more) as random events, but rather signs of dangerous cracks to Apple’s future.
MPG recommends that RAID users turn to SoftRAID.
MPG recommends that all users utilizing Disk Utility RAID volumes migrate to SoftRAID. A solution is near at hand.
Tim Standing, developer of SoftRAID, writes:
With El Capitan, Apple has finally killed off Apple RAID.
While Apple RAID volumes still mount, DiskUtility no longer recognizes them and there is no easy way to configure an Apple RAID volume or determine if it is working correctly. This is a fitting end to a product which Apple last worked on over 6 years ago.
When SoftRAID realized that Apple was going to abandon Apple RAID with the release of El Capitan, they decided to offer a simpler, lower cost version of SoftRAID called SoftRAID Lite. This version will offer a seamless transition for current Apple RAID users allowing them to convert their Apple RAID volumes to SoftRAID and gain all of the exceptional drive monitoring and volume reliability features that SoftRAID has been shipping for the past 12 years.
With SoftRAID Lite, you can certify a disk before use to ensure that the entire disk is reliable and able to store your files without error. SoftRAID Lite also includes SoftRAID's legendary disk monitoring feature which can notifies you when a disk about to fail.
Like Apple RAID, SoftRAID Lite will support stripe and mirror volumes (RAID 0 and RAID 1). Unlike Apple RAID, SoftRAID is actively supported and constantly being refined and improved.
SoftRAID Lite will ship before the end of October at a price of $49.00.
For more information, contact support@softraid.com.
MPG: SoftRAID Lite is a welcome solution for transitioning basic software RAID volumes like a RAID-0 stripe or RAID-1 mirror.
MPG recommends the full version for any user of a 4-bay unit like the OWC Thunderbay, so that fault tolerance can be enjoyed via RAID-4 or RAID-5. The use of RAID-5 is highly flexible in addition to being fault tolerant; see RAID-5 / RAID-4 Can be Partitioned to Suit.
