How can I optimize my SoftRAID configuration for video editing? (Multiple volumes)

For video editing workflows, some users dedicate a portion of their drives for high-speed scratch space while keeping project files protected. You can do this by creating multiple volumes on the same set of drives using SoftRAID’s mixed RAID level feature.

Why use multiple volumes?

With rotating media (HDDs), performance varies significantly across the disk surface. The outer tracks (beginning of the drive) are fastest, while the inner tracks can be less than half the speed. By creating a small, fast RAID 0 volume at the beginning of your drives, you maximize performance for scratch files and cache, while using the remaining space for a protected RAID 5 volume for your project files.

Note for flash media (SSDs/NVMe): Flash drives maintain consistent performance across the entire drive and do not slow down like HDDs. However, RAID 0 on flash media will still provide significantly faster performance than RAID 5, so the multiple volume approach can still benefit high-performance workflows.

Recommended configuration:

• RAID 0 volume (scratch/cache):
• Create a RAID 0 volume using up to 30% of each drive
• This volume uses the fastest outer tracks (for HDDs) for maximum speed
• Use for: cache files, render files, preview files, temporary media
• RAID 5 volume (project files):
• Create a RAID 5 volume with the remaining space
• Provides good performance with redundancy and protection from single drive failure
• Use for: project files, source footage, final renders

Important: RAID 0 has no redundancy: If any drive fails, all data in the RAID 0 volume will be lost. However, your RAID 5 volume will continue to function and your critical project files remain protected.

How to create the volumes:

• Initialize your disks in SoftRAID (We recommend you certify drives if you have not done so and these are new drives)
• Create the RAID 0 volume:
• Click “Create New…” and select all the drives
• Give the volume a name (e.g., “Scratch”)
• Click “Max” to see the maximum size available
• Enter the capacity for your RAID 0 volume, optimally 20-30% of the max size
• The default 64K stripe unit size is best for almost all applications
• Complete volume creation
• Create the RAID 5 volume:
• Click “Create New…” again and select the same drives
• Give the volume a name (e.g., “Projects”)
• Select RAID 5
• Use the remaining available space
• Complete volume creation

You now have a fast RAID 0 scratch volume and a protected RAID 5 volume for your critical project files, both using the same set of drives.