Bring flexible storage to your setup with with the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 148TB Thunderbolt 3 RAID Arrayfrom OWC. Designed to streamline production workflows, this RAID array features eight 2.5/3.5" drive bays preinstalled with one 8TB 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 148TB 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array is compatible with macOS 10.15 and later.

148TB (1 x 8TB 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. Is it possible to use one bay for m.2 ssd with additional adapter like in some other owc models ?

A: The OWC ThunderBay 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Enclosure supports 8 x 2.5"/3.5" SATA Drive Bays. If its a SATA M.2 it could be possible.

Q: 2. Can I run this as RAID 6 with a 3rd party software as softraid currently does not support RAID 6 ?

A: Yes, the OWC ThunderBay 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Enclosure will support RAID 6 via another external software.

Q: 3. 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: 4. 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: 5. 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.

Q: 6. Will this support 24TB drives?

A: The OWC ThunderBay 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 Raid Array with SoftRAID XT (BH #OWTB38SRKIT0) is compatible with hard drives up to 20TB.

Q: 7. 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: 8. The serial number on the bottom does not work as for SoftRAID license. How do I get the license?

A: The OWC ThunderBay 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Enclosure, B&H # OWCTB38JBKIT, does not come with SoftRaid XT. Model OWC ThunderBay 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 Raid Array with SoftRAID XT. B&H # OWTB38SRKIT0, does include SoftRAID XT.

Q: 9. can I have a mix like 7 in RAID5 and one slot as JBOD and mount as a separate disk?

A: Depending on the RAID mode you choose you can use different amounts of drives for different data sets.

Q: 10. 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.