Bring adaptive and streamlined storage to your RAID setup with the OWC Flex 1U4 Thunderbolt RAID Enclosurefrom OWC. Sporting four 2.5/3.5" drive bays, the Flex 1U4 supports SATA III and U.2 drive interfaces. M.2 and 2.5 and 3.5" SAS drives can also be used via a compatible adapter or SAS drive controller card, available separately. Connect to a host and daisy chain via two Thunderbolt 3 ports; one port supports up to 15W of power, while the other supports up to 85W. Connect to wired peripherals or additional storage via two 15W USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 or three USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports.

Use the DisplayPort 1.4 interface or Thunderbolt 3 ports to output video to a single 5K or 8K display at 60 Hz, a 4K display at 120 Hz, or dual 4K displays at 60 Hz. A PCIe 3.0 x16 slot allows for easy expansion or upgraded performance, while three cooling fans ensure temperatures are kept in check. A 1 RU rackmount design allows for easy integration into existing rack setups, and the included mounting hardware facilitates hassle-free installation in 18 to 26" racks and cabinets. Along with OWC SoftRAID XT software, this RAID expansion enclosure comes with a 1-year subscription for Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office. The OWC Flex 1U4 4-Bay Thunderbolt RAID Expansion Enclosure is compatible with macOS 10.15 and later.

4 x 2.5/3.5" SATA III / U.2 Drive Bays    2 x Thunderbolt 3 Ports    2 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2    3 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2    1 x DisplayPort 1.4    Software RAID    1 RU Rackmount Design    Includes 2.3' Thunderbolt 3 Cable    Compatible with macOS 10.15 and Later

Add new drives, connect different devices, and install a half-length full-height single-width PCIe x16 card of your choice, like a 10 GbE networking card or the OWC Accelsior 4M2 SSD for expanded performance storage capacity, both available separately.

The OWC Flex 1U4 is like a productivity supercharger for new or existing rack environments powered by a rack Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, or even a Mac mini.

• In school: perfect for taming ever-growing collections of digital files with easy integration and future drive capacity and performance scalability
• At work: adds Thunderbolt speed and swappable drives to server closets, server rooms, or colocation center backup capabilities
• On stage: handles all the storage and peripheral connectivity pros require for live performances
• On set: easily fits into mobile D.I.T. carts to capture multi-stream, high-resolution footage at full frame rates while daisy-chaining up to five additional Thunderbolt devices
• In studio: expands storage and connectivity options of fixed racks
• At home: great for installers creating a high-performance home entertainment server closet

Complete massive backups faster, stream content during a live performance, edit large format video, or run high transactional and complex calculation applications by taking advantage of U.2 NVMe SSDs and the OWC ecosystem of U.2 drives and adapters. U.2 NVMe drives are specifically designed to maximize the PCIe bus and deliver transfer speeds up to 2750 MB/s when combined with Thunderbolt.

The OWC Flex 1U4 goes with the flow when needing to move data outside or beyond the local network. With the OWC U.2 ecosystem, moving and sharing data is fast and easy. Swap out and ship a project from field to post in video production workflows. Move backup data to an offline colocation for backup workflows. The combination of OWC Flex 1U4 and the OWC U.2 ecosystem opens a new dimension to data transfer possibilities.

The Flex 1U4 comes complete with hardware for mounting into most racks and cabinets.

Harness the full capability of your OWC Flex 1U4 drive array with the included SoftRAID XT, the most powerful, intuitive RAID management software on the market for macOS and Windows. SoftRAID's RAID creation and management technology is optimized for data protection and drive performance. It is packed with features like multiple RAID options, validation and verification of drives, and predictive disk failure with SoftRAID Monitor.

SoftRAID provides a level of storage performance that you simply can't get with hardware RAID and is ideal for anyone who needs to safely store and backup massive amounts of data, including educational institutions, government agencies, businesses, content creators, and media and entertainment professionals. If you need even more power and flexibility, you can upgrade to SoftRAID Pro to spread volumes over two or more disk enclosures for incredible performance that would be impossible with hardware-based RAID.

OWC Flex 1U4 solutions go through a multi-step performance certification prior to shipping. This ensures they arrive operating properly and immediately ready for demanding use.

Built for reliability and performance, OWC enclosures are rigorously quality tested and backed by global customer support.

Doubling the speed of its predecessor, USB 3.2 Gen 2 features a maximum throughput of 10 Gb/s when used with compatible devices and is synonymous with USB 3.1 Gen 2.

Thunderbolt 3 is a hardware interface that utilizes the reversible USB-C connector. Doubling the speed of its predecessor, Thunderbolt 3 features a maximum throughput of 40 Gb/s when used with compatible devices. The connector also transmits data via USB 3.2 Gen 2 at up to 10 Gb/s, and dual-bandwidth DisplayPort 1.2 allows you to connect up to two 4K displays simultaneously. Additionally, you can daisy chain up to six devices from a single Thunderbolt 3 port.

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. if i install 4 U.2 SDDs, can I configure to raid 0 or do i need to buy something else?

A: Yes, the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 8-Port Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Enclosure BH #OWTBF80C000 would allow you to install 4 x U.2 SSD's and configure them in RAID 0.

Q: 2. My actual SR version is the 7, but I need to update to 8. How much free SoftRAID time do I get if I buy this unit?

A: The OWC ThunderBay 4 4-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Enclosure comes with a permanent version of SoftRAID.

Q: 3. Reviews complain about drives sleeping. Is there a way to set sleep schedule on when using Mac?

A: MacOS does not have a sleep schedule setting for external storage devices like the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Enclosure (Software Controller), B&H # OWTBF80C000. It does, however, have a setting (which you can turn on or off) that you can find in your Mac's "System Settings" inside "Energy Saver". This setting is labeled as "Put hard disks to sleep when possible".

Q: 4. Does it work with FileVault?

A: Filevault is only supported by the boot volume on macOS, however, you could encrypt the volume which is what you might be trying to do.

Q: 5. Is there a list of supported hardware raid cards for this enclosure?

A: The OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 8-Port Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Enclosure does not have any hardware RAID card recommendations. This unit has software RAID that you can use with the device.

Q: 6. I'd like to figure this with 4 SSD and 4 HDD with Two separate RAID configuration one for the SSDs and one for the HDD?

A: Yes, SoftRAID can be used to establish a wide array of different configurations in the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 8-Port Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Enclosure.

Q: 7. What adapter would I need to mount 4 x NVMe drives in bay one?

A: M.2 NVMe drives can be used with the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Enclosure's U.2 bays with a U.2 2.5" adapter such as B&H #OWCU2SHTLONE.

Q: 8. In lieu of SoftRAID, can another software be loaded? Like TrueNAS for instance?

A: Yes, you can use another RAID software on this OWC ThunderBay 4 4-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Enclosure.

Q: 9. If using all flash, how loud is the unit? Quiet enough to have on your desk next to monitor?

A: With only SSD drives, the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Enclosure (Software Controller) should be barely audible.

Q: 10. Is the internal PCIe slot compatible with the Sonnet MacFiver expansion card?

A: The OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Enclosure (Software Controller) should be compatible with the Sonnet McFiver.