Bring flexible storage to your setup with with the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 144TB Thunderbolt 3 RAID Arrayfrom OWC. Designed to streamline production workflows, this RAID array features eight 2.5/3.5" drive bays preinstalled with one 4TB U.2 NVMe SSD and seven 20TB HDDs. Preconfigured in RAID 5, the ThunderBay Flex 8 also supports RAID 0, 1, 0+1 (10), 4, and JBOD modes, allowing you to choose between speed or data redundancy. Thunderbolt 3 and SATA III interfaces as well as 7200 rpm HDD speeds ensure fast data access to make short work of video editing, VFX, digital imaging, and more. The 120mm cooling fan prevents overheating, and a lockable bay door and Kensington Lock slot ensure security.

Use the CFexpress and UHS-II SD card reader slots to import 4K or 8K video or hi-res photos with ease. A USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, and two Thunderbolt 3 ports accommodate a range of accessories and a host connection, with the Thunderbolt 3 ports delivering 15W and 85W of power. Connect a display with a resolution up to 8K using the DisplayPort 1.4 output. When you're ready to expand, a PCIe 3.0 x16/x4 slot can be used to host a hardware raid controller or other adapter card. The ThunderBay Flex 8 144TB 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array is compatible with macOS 10.15 and later.

144TB (1 x 4TB U.2 SSD, 7 x 20TB HDDs)    8 x 2.5/3.5" Drive Bays    NVMe and SATA III Drive Interfaces    Supports RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 4, 5, and JBOD    Software RAID Controller    1 x 120mm Cooling Fan    CFexpress & UHS-II SD Card Reader Slots    2 x Thunderbolt 3, USB-C & A 3.2 Gen 2    DisplayPort 1.4 Output    Compatible with macOS 10.15 or Later

Use SATA/SAS and U.2/M.2 NVMe drives for up to 172TB of capacity and real-world speeds up to 2750 MB/s.

Please note that SAS drives are supported with a SAS drive controller card (available separately) and up to four U.2 drives are supported. M.2 drives are also supported with an M.2 to U.2 adapter (available separately).

The top four bays can utilize U.2 SSDs, the emerging M&E industry storage standard.

Create, manage, and monitor advanced RAID sets with SoftRAID, the advanced RAID management solution with easy setup, e-notifications, and drive integrity monitoring.

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. This listing shows: SoftRAID XT Software - Can you tell me how we can download and get a license for it? Since it's included in the purchase. Do we get a license key after purchase? Thanks

A: The unit itself will come with a trial version and on the bottom of the unit will be the serial number to activate the trial version into the full version of SoftRAID XT.

Q: 2. I have 8 separate external hard drives that I want to take apart and insert into this Thunderbay 8 enclosure. I want to see the drives as separate drives, NOT raid drives. In other words, JBOD. If I do NOT install SoftRAID, is JBOD the default? Will I see my 8 separate drives mounted on my Mac with no further effort required? Thanks.

A: It can be used as a JBOD with out SoftRAID.

Q: 3. Can this work as a network attached storage device?

A: No, the OWC ThunderBay 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 Raid Array with SoftRAID XT is a DAS; it does not support a network connection.

Q: 4. Hi, Can you provide specs or link? Thanks

A: Product Specifications Mechanisms Supported Eight (8) 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch SATA drives Display Support Up to two 4K displays @ 60Hz, or one 5K display @ 60Hz Display Support by Port Thunderbolt 3: Up to 5K @ 60Hz via a native Thunderbolt 3 display or 4K @ 60Hz via a Thunderbolt display or a USB-C display adapter DisplayPort 1.2: Up to 4K @ 60Hz Bootable Mac only Hot Swap Support Yes Chipset Thunderbolt: (1) Intel JHL-6540 SATA Controller: (2) JMicron JMB-585 Certifications CE, FCC, VCCI, RCM, BSMI Data Transfer Rate (Maximum) Thunderbolt 3 : 40 Gb/s (or 5000 MB/s) Plug and Play Yes RAID RAID Capable Yes RAID Levels Supported JBOD RAID Features Software RAID Reliability MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) Varies depending on drive mechanism installed Contact Start Stops Varies depending on drive mechanism installed Compatibility Mac OS Compatibility macOS 10.12 Sierra macOS 10.13 High Sierra macOS 10.14 Mojave macOS 10.15 Catalina macOS 11.1 Big Sur PC OS Compatibility Windows 10 64-bit Edition Other Requirements SoftRAID XT works with macOS 10.12 or later and Windows 10. Intel-based Macs require macOS 10.12 or later. M1 Macs require macOS 11.1 or 11.3 and later. Host Port Requirements Thunderbolt 3 port Driver Required No Power Power Supply Internal UL-listed universal auto-switching power supply AC Input 90-264V, 47-63Hz, 3.5A At 115V, 1.8A At 230V DC Output +12V, 25A Wattage 300 Watts External Power Adapter No Physical Number of Bays 8 Device Ports (2) Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) Ports (1) DisplayPort Port Cooling (1) 92mm cooling fan Security Slot Yes Power Button Yes Power/Activity LED Yes Housing Color Black Housing Material Aluminum Dimensions Height: 18.0 cm (7.1 in) Length: 24.0 cm (9.4 in) Width: 26.0 cm (10.2 in) Weight 7.3 kg (16.14 lbs) Environmental Ambient Temperature Operating: 41°F to 95°F (5°C to 35°C) Non-Operating: -4°F to 140°F (-20°C to 60°C) Altitude Operating: -304.8 m to 3,048.0 m (-1,000 ft to 10,000 ft) Non-Operating: -304.8 m to 12,192.0 m (-1,000 ft to 40,000 ft) Humidity Operating: 8% to 90% non-condensing Non-Operating: 5% to 95% non-condensing Acoustics Noise Varies depending on drive mechanism installed Notes Intel JHL-6540 chipset supports two 4K displays (4096 x 2160 30bpp @ 60 Hz) or a single 5K display.

Q: 5. What are people putting in the PCIe slot?

A: The OWC ThunderBay Flex can add a 4K video capture card for direct ingest of multi-stream high-res footage. Record high-quality tracks with an audio card and then edit and archive tracks via the PCIe x16 slot.

Q: 6. I'm looking at getting something Could you add SSDs at a later date? or will this enclosure only accept HDDs?

A: Yes, you can add SSD's at a later date.

Q: 7. What drive speed to you get when on RAID 5 configuration ??

A: RAID5 affords 2x read speed with 1x write speed and one drive redundancy loss capability.

Q: 8. Can OWC ThunderBay 8 RAID be divided in half? One half to be a RAID 5, the other half to be TimeMachine backup.

A: Yes, with the SoftRAID software, you can configure half your drive to be RAID 5 and the other half for Time Machine.

Q: 9. If I have a USB 3.1 type a to USB-C cable, and plug this into a USB 3.1 port, is it backwards compatible? I'm asking because I will be upgrading my computer in the not too distant future, but the one I have now tops out with USB 3.1 Type A (the square port) ports.

A: No, the OWC ThunderBay 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Enclosure BH #OWCTB38JBKIT requires that your computer has Thunderbolt 3.

Q: 10. is OWC Thunderbay 8 compatible with OS Ventura?

A: Yes, the OWC ThunderBay 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 Raid Array with SoftRAID XT is compatible with MacOS Ventura.