Bring flexible storage to your setup with with the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 160TB Thunderbolt 3 RAID Arrayfrom OWC. Designed to streamline production workflows, this RAID array features eight 2.5/3.5" drive bays, each preinstalled with a 20TB HDD. 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 160TB 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array is compatible with macOS 10.15 and later.

160TB (8 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. 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: 2. Is there any way to set this system up to be "hot-swappable", meaning adding a larger capacity drive(s) to increase space without re-formatting? Something similar to Synology's SHR or Drobo's BeyondRAID?

A: No, the OWC ThunderBay 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Enclosure BH #OWCTB38JBKIT does not support that functionality.

Q: 3. 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: 4. 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: 5. Do I need to fill up all drive slots for it to function?

A: You could use any number of drives it would run in the JBOD configuration (meaning your data would not be redundant).

Q: 6. Will it handle 18TB or even 20TB hard drive?

A: At the time of this answer, this OWC ThunderBay 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Enclosure would support a max of 18TB hard drive.

Q: 7. 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: 8. Does SoftRaid need to be running on every computer the Thunderbay gets connected to when in RAID 5 to continue functioning?

A: No, SoftRAID XT is only required for setting the drive's format and monitoring the drive, however it is not needed to transfer data to and from the OWC ThunderBay 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 Raid Array with SoftRAID XT after it has been setup.

Q: 9. I have recently purchased SoftRaid 5.8.3 software directly from OWC. I have a Thunderbay 4 bay unit that I have configured to Raid 5. If I buy this 8 bay unit (that does not come with software that enables Raid 5), can I use the Softraid 5.8.3 that already purchased to configure this 8 bay Thunderbay to Raid 5?

A: Yes, SoftRAID XT will work with any OWC enclosure.

Q: 10. 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.