Where is RAID support for High Sierra???

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Where is RAID support for High Sierra???

The OS has been out now for a while and I still haven't seen any news from supporting the upgrade from Sierra to High Sierra with computers that have RAID storage. I have dual SSD with RAID Storage on my MacBook pro which runs Sierra 10.12 and I have been researching a lot for the past few months from people asking the same question and most of the answers have been to just wait wait wait until there is a new update. It's now March 2018 and there has been no update on this issue...

It is starting to get to this point also that other softwares want me to update to the latest OS for best performance. Can someone please tell me if I have missed something? Is there an (easy) way to upgrade from Sierra to High Sierra and to maintain the RAID storage? I appreciate any help!

Thank you!

MacBook Pro, macOS Sierra (10.12.6), RAID storage

Posted on Mar 24, 2018 7:56 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Mar 24, 2018 11:26 AM in response to shooonas

You do not need any special cloning software. You just need an external drive using the GUID partition schema and formatted Mac OS Extended, Journaled. This drive will need a capacity slightly more than the total amount of used space on the RAID. This should work without problems. I have done this myself many times over the years with RAIDs and regular disks.

Clone El Capitan and Later Using Disk Utility

Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the Command and R keys until the Apple logo and progress indicator appears.
After the Utility Menu appears, select Disk Utility from the Utility Menu then press the Continue button.
Select the destination volume from the left side list.
Select Restore from the Edit menu of Disk Utility. A panel will drop down.
Select the source volume from the drop down menu in the panel.
Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.

Destination means an external drive. Source means the RAID startup drive.

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Answer 2

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Mar 25, 2018 10:15 AM in response to iiseppi

OK. The cloning procedure I posted earlier. To make a RAID array is pretty simple, really. Start with two identical drives. If you cannot get another drive that is identical to the one you have then get one that has the same capacity, same manufacturer if possible, and rotational speed (RPM) as the drive you now have. If the drive you have is still being manufactured then get the identical model.

The first step is to partition and erase each drive.

Drive Partition and Format - El Capitan or Later

Open Disk Utility in the Utilities' folder.
After Disk Utility loads select the drive (out-dented entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the side list.
Click on the Erase tab in the Disk Utility toolbar. A panel should drop down.
In the drop down panel set the partition scheme to GUID. Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
Click on the Apply button and click on the Done button when it is activated.
Quit Disk Utility.

The second step is to create the array. Now here is where I'm not sure of what to do in El Capitan since I've been using Sierra and High Sierra for some time. You can help me by opening Disk Utility and looking under the File and Edit menus to see if there is a RAID option in one of the menus. If so, then tell me what it is labeled as in the menu. If not, you will have to use the Terminal to make the RAID.

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Answer 3

shooonas Author

Level 1

12 points

Mar 24, 2018 10:37 AM in response to Kappy

Hi Kappy,

I don't think you got my question. I have Striped (RAID 0) and I can't upgrade to the latest OS High Sierra because of this. I have the "install macOS High Sierra" and when I go ahead and start the installation I cannot select the hard drive because I have RAID storage.

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Answer 4

shooonas Author

Level 1

12 points

Mar 24, 2018 11:14 AM in response to Kappy

Hi Kappy,

And thank you for the comments! I feel that I soon see what the problem is here.Hmmm...From El Capitain to Sierra I could upgrade without any problem😕 that's why I was hoping I would be able to do the same now.

But I see. There is no straightforward way to do this. So you are saying I need to install macOS High Sierra on another hard drive than my RAID (which is the only one I have inside my laptop) and then clone it to my RAID? In order for me to do the cloning does this require me to purchase a cloning conversion software? And also, do you know if there is some tutorial or something how this can be done?

Thanks in advance!

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Answer 5

Mar 24, 2018 11:29 AM in response to shooonas

I believe that you still can’t boot HS off of a RAID.

Your only option if you want to install it at the moment is to break the RAID and use the two SSD as separate volumes (after making a clone to an external drive, as this process will erase your two drives). Use one of the two as your system drive and the other as a data drive.

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Answer 6

shooonas Author

Level 1

12 points

Mar 24, 2018 12:52 PM in response to Kappy

Thank you again Kappy! I guess I need to get a 1TB external HD somewhere so I can try this out.... Ever thought about making videos? A "how-to" video how this could be done from start to finish would be highly appreciated 😇!

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Answer 7

Apr 1, 2018 12:40 PM in response to Kappy

Hi there I have the same problem, iMac 2012 with 2 SSDs disks in a raid0 configuration.

I´m not sure we can boot from a raid0 system (not an external raid disk, I mean the main internal booting disk).

Not any official word from Apple.

I wonder (kappy) if I erase my raid0 boot disk (with Sierra), previously I have done a complete backup, and then, using an usb drive, try to redo a raid0 system, and then I need to recover my clone disk copy to the new raid0 array?.

But I need to do a new raid0 array using High Sierra, to get the right system, and how I need to do to create the new raid0 disk?

And another question, if finally do it (and works) Can I do updates with no problems?, did you updates in your raid0 iMac?

Sorry if my exposition is a little confused, English is not may natural language.

Thanks in advance.

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Answer 8

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Mar 24, 2018 10:13 AM in response to shooonas

In the Disk Utility's menu. Look for RAID Assistant under the File menu.

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Answer 9

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Mar 24, 2018 11:05 AM in response to shooonas

You cannot install macOS on a RAID array. You have to install it on a single drive. Afterward, you can clone it to the RAID after it has been erased. This has always been so for RAIDs and macOS.

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