This OWC ThunderBay 4 32TB Thunderbolt 3 RAID Arrayfrom OWC ThunderBay 4 32TB Thunderbolt 3 RAID Arrayis pre-configured with four 8TB Toshiba N300 Enterprise-grade drives pre-configured in RAID 5 via included SoftRAID XT software, which provides a balance of performance and data redundancy. With two Thunderbolt 3 ports featuring transfer speeds of up to 40 Gb/s, it's suitable for a wide variety of workflows, such as video and photo editing, audio production, and much more. If needed, Thunderbolt 3 connectivity also supports daisy-chaining with up to six devices as well as DisplayPort equipped displays. Using the SoftRAID XT software, you can reconfigure these drives from RAID 5 to alternate configurations including RAID 0, 1, 4, 1+0 (10), and JBOD. When configured in RAID 0, the ThunderBay 8 features read speeds of up to 1083 MB/s and write speeds of up to 1164 MB/s.

4 x 8TB 3.5" 7200 rpm Enterprise HDD    4 x 3.5" SATA III 6 Gb/s Drive Bays    2 x Thunderbolt 3 | 1 x DisplayPort 1.2    Supports RAID 0, 1, 4, 5, 1+0, and JBOD    Pre-Configured as RAID 5    Includes SoftRAID XT Software    Read Speed: up to 1083 MB/s    Write Speed: up to 1164 MB/s    Windows and Mac Compatible

Each populated ThunderBay 4 solution undergoes OWC's multi-hour drive burn-in performance certification procedure prior to shipping. This ensures your ThunderBay 4 arrives operating properly and ready for demanding use. And OWC Enterprise Drive solutions are feature Enterprise class drives with robust technologies that provide maximum drive endurance, data reliability, and extended warranties.

Built on OWC's time-tested enclosure cooling technology, the ThunderBay 4 utilizes an open flow-thru vented design with an oversized 92mm, low-turbulence, noise-quieting fan to keep the drives running cool and reliably.

The ThunderBay 4s' drive-isolating design reduces sonic resonance and is aided by oversized, rugged, vibration-absorbing, non-skid feet.

Daisy-chain up to six ThunderBays for massive storage capabilities and increased performance, or connect multiple ThunderBays to multiple Thunderbolt 3 ports to achieve exponential speed capabilities.

With a dedicated DisplayPort 1.2, ThunderBay 4 empowers you to add the fresh, crisp perspective of a 4K display to your workflow. Whether in your home office or on a mobile studio job, seeing your work in full detail is just one connection away. Use it to free up your laptop port so you can dock in and out quick.

With two Thunderbolt ports, the ThunderBay 4 lets you daisy-chain up to five additional Thunderbolt devices and displays while keeping Thunderbolt ports on your laptop or desktop free for other uses. You can learn more about how to connect multiple Thunderbolt devices to your computer with this easy-to-flow infographic.

Harness the full capability of your OWC 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 has been finely tuned to perfection with over 20 years of development to provide rock solid protection of your data and optimize drive performance.

SoftRAID XT provides a combination of speed, protection, and compatibility:

• Advanced: Create RAID 0/1/4/5/1+0 (10) arrays
• Protected: SoftRAID Monitor constantly watches your disks and alerts you if problems are detected
• Validated: Volume validation ensures sectors can be read and parity is correct
• Certified: Checks disks before use to ensure they are safe for data storage
• Vigilant: Error prediction helps protect against unexpected failure
• Universal: Move SoftRAID arrays seamlessly between Mac and PC2 with built-in OWC MacDrive technology

SoftRAID provides a level of storage performance that you simply can't get with hardware RAID. SoftRAID gives you increased power and control over your RAID drives and disks that hardware RAID can't deliver and doesn't lock you into technology that you can't upgrade or expand.

Whether you're finishing and mastering, creating proxies, or working with state-of-the-art VFX and AR, you need dependable tech that keeps pace with your demands. OWC workflow and storage solutions cover every angle, delivering blazing speed, capacity for all five levels of RAID, and bonus features like the freedom to daisy-chain and hot-swap.

OWC makes it easy to choose the right gear. Their Thunderbolt-certified products offer the same performance and functionality whether they are Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4. And if you're rocking a beloved Thunderbolt 2 machine, they offer an adapter so you can plug into their universe of solutions. No hassles, no confusion. That's the OWC Difference.

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. What brand and model of SSDs and HDDs are used in this pre-configured version for OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 100TB 8-Bay 7x14TB HDDs?

A: Unfortunately we do not know which drives any given OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 100TB 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array (1 x 2TB SSD, 7 x 14TB HDDs) will ship with, as they use different drives throughout the lifetime of the RAID Array.

Q: 2. Is it possible to d-chain an existing Thunderbolt 2 6HDD to this OWC unit?

A: Yes, you would be able to daisy-chain this OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 64TB 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array (8 x 8TB HDDs) other Thunderbolt devices.

Q: 3. Are the drives in the Flex 8 enterprise drives?

A: Spindle Speed: 7200 revolutions per minute - Features: Enterprise, RAID 5 - factory configured

Q: 4. What type of CFexpress reader is this??

A: This card reader accepts CFExpress type B.

Q: 5. What exact hard drives are being used and is there a link to extra drives I can purchase for hot swapping?

A: We don't have information on what exact drives OWC uses in the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8, but for replacement drives for hot swapping any 3.5" SATA III Drive will work. I recommend these WD 18TB WD181KFGX Red Pro drives here: https://bhpho.to/3JhPm4I.

Q: 6. What drives come preinstalled on this? SATA OR SATA III?

A: The Compatible Drive Interface is SATA III

Q: 7. Can two separate RAID Arrays be created within this device, ie one Array using the SSD's and a separate RAID array using the HDD's for backing up the first?

A: Yes, it is possible to run multiple RAID volumes on the OWC Thunderbay. However, these volumes would be spread out between multiple parts of all disks, and not confined to certain disks only - all disks would be part of all volumes present on the array.

Q: 8. What brand and model of SSDs and HDDs are used in this pre-configured version?

A: As per the manufacturer the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 56TB 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array (4 x 2TB U.2 SSDs, 4 x 12TB HDDs) uses Toshiba MG03ACA Series 7,200RPM Enterprise Class Hard Disk Drives with 64 MB cache and OWC Aura P12 Pro NVMe M.2 SSD (via a U.2 adapter)*OWC reserves the right to replace or upgrade to equivalent or better components.

Q: 9. hello, is this harddrive 144tb include? if yes, harddrive 18tb*8?

A: Yes, included with this OWC Thunderbay Flex 8 system would be the eight 18TB hard drives.

Q: 10. Can we purchase extra drives (same model) for hot swappable spares? Link?

A: Sure, you could get spare drives to swap into the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 144TB 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array (8 x 18TB HDDs), but depending on your RAID setup you may have issues swapping in a fresh drive with a drive that has critical data on it, so it really depends on how you manage your data.