Owc Thunderbay Flex 8 32Tb Thunderbolt 3 Raid Array

Owc Thunderbay Flex 8 32tb Thunderbolt 3 Raid Array

Product Code: eq93222
Availability: In Stock

$8,339.97 $12,760.15

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Description
Reviews (15)

Bring flexible storage to your setup with with the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 32TB 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 4TB 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 32TB 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array is compatible with macOS 10.15 and later.

32TB (8 x 4TB 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

Key Specs
Storage Capacity	32 TB
Included Drives	8x 4 TB SATA III 3.5" HDD 7200 RPM
RAID	Yes, Supported RAID Modes: 0 / 1 / 4 / 5 / 10 / JBOD (Preconfigured in RAID 5)
Number of Bays	8x 2.5"/3.5" SAS-3, SATA III, NVMe, U.2
Inputs/Outputs	2x USB-C Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gb/s) 1x USB-C 3.1/3.2 Gen 2 2x USB-A 3.1/3.2 Gen 2 1x DisplayPort 1.4
Computing
Bridge Chipset	ASMedia ASM-2824 Intel JHL7440
Drives
Storage Capacity	32 TB
Included Drives	8x 4 TB SATA III 3.5" HDD 7200 RPM
RAID	Yes, Supported RAID Modes: 0 / 1 / 4 / 5 / 10 / JBOD (Preconfigured in RAID 5)
Transfer Rates	2750 MB/s (Read/Write)
General
Number of Bays	8x 2.5"/3.5" SAS-3, SATA III, NVMe, U.2
Inputs/Outputs	2x USB-C Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gb/s) 1x USB-C 3.1/3.2 Gen 2 2x USB-A 3.1/3.2 Gen 2 1x DisplayPort 1.4
Media Card Slots	SD/SDHC/SDXC CFexpress
PCI Expansion	Full-Height,Half-Length 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 (x4 Electrical)
Software
OS Compatibility	macOS 10.15 or Later
Default OS Support	Requires Formatting Before Use
Security
Security Features	No
Electrical
Input Power	100 to 240 VAC, 50 / 60 Hz at 3.5 to 7.0 A
PSU Wattage	1 x 450 W
Physical
Operating Conditions	50 to 95°F / 10 to 35°C at 8 to 90% Humidity
Storage Conditions	-40 to 149°F / -40 to 65°C at 5 to 95% Humidity
Certifications	BSMI, CE, FCC, RCM, VCCI
Cooling	1x 1600 rpm 120 mm Fan
Material of Construction	Aluminum
Cable Length	2.3' / 0.7 m
Dimensions	15.4 x 13.7 x 5.9" / 39 x 34.9 x 14.9 cm
Weight	20.3 lb / 9.2 kg
Packaging Info
Package Weight	40.18 lb
Box Dimensions (LxWxH)	23.5 x 21.2 x 12.6"

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 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: 2. Does this one with OWC's standard 5 year warranty?

A: Yes, this item comes with OWC's Limited 5 Year Warranty.

Q: 3. 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.

Q: 4. 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: 5. Can 3 or 4 people use it simultaneously by connecting to different ports?

A: The OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 160TB 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array (8 x 20TB HDDs) BH #OWCTB3F8H160 can only be connected to one host machine.

Q: 6. Will this work on windows 10?

A: This array is designed for use with Mac OS 10.15 or later.

Q: 7. Are the drives in the Flex 8 enterprise drives?

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

Q: 8. Will Synology E10G18-T2 Dual-Port 10 Gb/s PCIe Expansion Card fit in the case and work?

A: No, the Synology Ethernet cards are only compatible with Synology devices. It will not fit inside the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 88TB 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array (4 x 4TB U.2 SSDs, 4 x 18TB HDDs).

Q: 9. 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: 10. Will this work with new M1 Mac Processors?

A: Yes, thee OWC Thunderbay Flex 8 will work with M1 Mac computers.

Gabriele	13/09/2024
[Aluminum] Im buying as soon as they become available a Mac Studio Ultra but I wanted to be ready with the storage. Today I still use a Mac Pro 11 years old with internal disks. It's a fast machine but after seeing what my Macbook Air can do with video compression I decided that is time to switch. My main concern was the noise, I do have an older SATA box from OWC that I use for backup but I shut it down when is not in use due to the noise. Well, this new Thunderbay 8 is just whispering. A very well designed product, the fan probably has variable speed and my WD HDD don't make too much noise even though they are enterprise specs. One of the RAID is 3 14TB in RAID zero configuration (soft ) and I get about 750/800 MB/s , faster than when I had them installed in my old Mac Pro since SATA there was just 3Gbps . Silent fast, not too expensive . Nothing beat this. Also, everything was plug & play. I just moved my HDD from my Mac Pro to this box and they appeared on my Mac Air when I plugged the TB cable in. My only complain is the black color, it's nice but why black? This should have been the same color like the Macs are. At least the mainstream silver. Second minor complain the cable in the box is very short. Buy a longer cable when you buy the box unless your connected device is really next to this box. 5

Kim A	01/09/2024
[Aluminum] Have always had good luck with OWC products and this one hasn't let us down. Running large edit project (4K original / raw media and proxies) for documentary and it was easy to set-up and copied files efficiently. No complaints. Sturdy housing. 5

Johnny	26/08/2024
[40.18 lb] Very fast. Read speed 950 MB/s. Great enclosure so far. 5

Traiana	23/08/2024
[1 x 450 W] Needed a place to store years of footage and a friend recommended this drive. Needed a little setup time but happy with my purchase 5

John	19/08/2024
[Aluminum] Excellent storage solution for any application. Completely configurable however you want and easy to use with the Soft Raid software that comes with it. Operates as a hub as well with Display Port 1.4 fictionality. 5

Woodruff	18/07/2024
[40.18 lb] Does as advertised 5

Cristofer Rafae	22/06/2024
[1 x 450 W] If you want the high speed that OWC claims ( up to 2,500 Mb/s ) you need to use the 8 disks. In my case just use 4 disks and just get 768Mb/s. In general OWC is an excellent option. If you use 5 disks of 14TB in Raid 5 option, you will get 42TB. 5

Nicole	15/06/2024
[Aluminum] Easy setup and rock solid piece of gear as always from OWC. Huge increase to size and speed for my editing suite. Very happy with my purchase 5

Taylor	13/06/2024
[32 TB] This is my first ever RAID setup and it's painful to think I waited so long to go this route (15+ years of using individual external HDDs and SSDs). I loaded this thing with 8x 16TB IronWolf Pro drives and setup a RAID 5 (128TB = 112TB total storage with 1 drive for redundancy/recovery). The speeds I am getting with this thing average 750-800MB/s write and 1,300-1,400MB/s read. Note that you MUST use 8 total drives to achieve higher speeds like this, I see a lot of people complaining they are getting slow speeds, but they are usually using only 4 or so drives, or 5,400RPM drives. I can easily playback 6K R3D files from my Red Komodo as well as all filetypes, resolutions and frame rates from my Sony FX3. Definitely happy with this purchase and would recommend to any video editors who need speed, but also care about protecting their data! 5

Sean	07/06/2024
[40.18 lb] There are cheaper enclosures out there, most notably USB based ones, but the Thunderbay units are well worth the extra cost. The drives show up as direct access storage devices, and are hot swappable. The performance is great, and there's enough power delivery to handle eight high density drives. I use ZFS with these units, and have two daisy chained together. When hooked up to a NUC, a high performance NAS with good performance and expandability is achieved without headache. 5