OWC SoftRAID 9 adds RAID 6 and RAID 6+ protection designed to keep an array accessible after two drives fail, but the new modes require macOS 27.
SoftRAID 9 is available now for Mac and Windows. Existing Premium subscribers receive the upgrade at no additional cost, and current SoftRAID volumes won't need to be reformatted.
The release expands SoftRAID's fault-tolerance options while adding access to encrypted APFS RAID volumes on Windows. RAID 6 and RAID 6+ are the biggest additions, with both designed to survive two simultaneous drive failures.
The features come with tighter requirements than SoftRAID's previous RAID modes. Creating and managing RAID 6 or RAID 6+ requires macOS 27 and a SoftRAID Premium subscription.
RAID 6 protects against two failed drives
RAID 6 stores two sets of parity information across an array, allowing it to tolerate the failure of up to two drives. SoftRAID requires at least four drives to create one of these volumes.
The extra protection becomes useful when an array is already rebuilding after a failure. A RAID 5 array can't tolerate another failed drive during that process, while RAID 6 retains another layer of fault tolerance.
Rebuilds can take hours, depending on drive capacity, workload, connection speed, and the remaining hardware. Production teams working with large archives face more exposure during that window than someone maintaining a small personal array.
RAID 6+ takes a different approach to the same problem. OWC describes the mode as using dedicated parity drives instead of distributing parity writes across every member of the array.
The developer positions RAID 6+ for SSD arrays and other high-throughput workloads, where concentrating parity writes could improve performance. OWC hasn't published comparative RAID 6 and RAID 6+ benchmarks, however, so the claimed advantage remains unproven.
Dedicated parity drives could also receive more writes than the other SSDs in the array. OWC hasn't provided endurance figures showing how RAID 6+ affects wear over time.
The monitoring software tracks drive wear, temperature, and other warning signs. Image credit: OWCNeither mode replaces a separate backup. RAID can keep storage running through drive failures, but it can't recover files lost to deletion, corruption, malware, theft, or the destruction of the entire enclosure.
Windows gains encrypted APFS RAID access
SoftRAID 9 for Windows adds support for encrypted APFS RAID volumes through its built-in MacDrive technology. A Windows PC can access password-protected storage without requiring the user to remove its encryption first.
The software retains support for unencrypted APFS and HFS+ storage moving between Mac and Windows systems. Snapdragon-based PCs can't run SoftRAID.
OWC also lists RAID 6 and RAID 6+ among the additions in its Windows release notes. The company's product documentation, however, says both modes can only be created and managed on macOS 27.
OWC's documentation doesn't explain whether Windows can mount or write to a RAID 6 volume created on a Mac. Windows users can continue creating and managing RAID 0, 1, 4, 5, and 10 volumes.
RAID 6 comes with macOS and Premium limits
The macOS requirement is unusually specific because SoftRAID supplies the storage software, yet OWC hasn't explained what changed in macOS 27. The company also hasn't said whether older macOS releases could eventually support the new RAID modes.
RAID 6 and RAID 6+ also require a SoftRAID Premium subscription. Earlier supported macOS releases and Windows remain limited to creating and managing SoftRAID's existing RAID levels.
A new Premium subscription costs $149.99 for the first year and $79.99 per year afterward. OWC includes three years of Premium with products including the Express 4M2 Ultra, ThunderBlade X12, Flex 1U4, and Accelsior 8M2. Eligibility for other enclosures varies.
Free access remains after Premium expires
SoftRAID 9 continues to offer separate Standard and Premium tiers. The free Standard version provides read-and-write access to existing volumes, operating-system compatibility updates, and the ability to replace a failed drive and rebuild the array.
Premium adds volume creation, RAID 6 and RAID 6+, predictive alerts from SoftRAID Monitor, and access to OWC support. The monitoring software tracks drive wear, temperature, and other warning signs across hard drives, SSDs, and NVMe storage.
An expired Premium subscription returns to Standard without blocking the files already stored on the array. The free tier can still access and rebuild existing volumes, but it can't create, delete, or modify them.
The subscription therefore doesn't put existing data behind a paywall. It does require customers to keep paying when they need to create another volume or change the configuration of storage they already own.
