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Reading OSX Software RAID Via VMFusion

I

IainH

macrumors member
Original poster
So since my hopes of an internal hardware raid are now out of the question....is it possible to form a software raid in OSX to stripe, and then be able to read and write to that raid on XP through VM?

I know if I bootcamp, I cant access the raid...but can you via VM?
 
You can use shared folders in VM, or just create a Samba SMB share in OSX and access it via that.

Is that what you want to know?
 
I think so - I was originally going to bootcamp XP...but considering the majority of apps I need are on OSX (hence the reason Im converting from having a PC and MBP to MP and MBP) it would be annoying to have to reboot to go to XP for 1 or 2 programs.

Also, as I read, if you create a raid in OSX (purely software), if you boot into XP via bootcamp you wont be able to read it...and thats where my working files will be (videos, image sequences, etc).

So if I VM XP (itll prolly always be open, just cause MSN for win kills anything thats out there for mac that supports MSN), I want to be able to access my RAID.

So yeah...basically...I want to be able to create a VM of XP with Fusion, and within that VM, be able to read and write to all volumes available to me in OSX (internal HDDs, software RAID, external HDDs).
 
IainH said:
I think so - I was originally going to bootcamp XP...but considering the majority of apps I need are on OSX (hence the reason Im converting from having a PC and MBP to MP and MBP) it would be annoying to have to reboot to go to XP for 1 or 2 programs.

Also, as I read, if you create a raid in OSX (purely software), if you boot into XP via bootcamp you wont be able to read it...and thats where my working files will be (videos, image sequences, etc).

So if I VM XP (itll prolly always be open, just cause MSN for win kills anything thats out there for mac that supports MSN), I want to be able to access my RAID.

So yeah...basically...I want to be able to create a VM of XP with Fusion, and within that VM, be able to read and write to all volumes available to me in OSX (internal HDDs, software RAID, external HDDs).
Click to expand...

You shouldn't have any problems. I use Fusion and have since it was in beta and it's VM is handled by OS X as far as all the physical resources are concerned. You can copy/paste/drag in and out of the VM to any OS X folders and vice versa and access home folders in OS X without an issue. The XP or Vista VM won't know anything about there being a RAID volume or not because it's not talking directly to the hardware at all.
 
IainH said:
So does that mean I will or wont be able to access the RAID via VM XP?
Click to expand...

You will be able to, the entire VM process with VMware/Fusion separates the two.

There isn't really an "XP" at all , there's an OS X app running a virtualization of it. OS X handles all the hardware in the background and connects it to the VM.

All the XP/Vista sees is the home folder share built in and you can drag/drop in and out of the VM wherever you want. Fairly quickly also as it's almost as fast as moving around outside the VM just in OS X itself. XP doesn't know anything about whether it's raid or not , the Fusion VM system is providing it with a faux
"machine" to use.
 
Awesome, as long as I can read all my hdds within the xp VM and have my raid0 perform as it should, then Im happy.

Cheers
 
Yeah it'll work fine. Just add a shared folder from withinthe vmware settings for the virtual machine and away you go!
 
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