Owc Thunderbay Flex 8 32Tb Thunderbolt 3 Raid Array

Owc Thunderbay Flex 8 32tb Thunderbolt 3 Raid Array

Product Code: eq93742
Availability: In Stock

$15,297.00 $21,262.83

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Description
Reviews (20)

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 preinstalled with four 4TB SATA SSDs and four 4TB 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 32TB 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array is compatible with macOS 10.15 and later.

32TB (4 x 4TB SATA SSDs, 4 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	4x 4 TB SATA III SSD 4x 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	4x 4 TB SATA III SSD 4x 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

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. 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. 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: 4. 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: 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. got any specific hard drive can used in this?? or can put any brand of hard drive??

A: You can use any brand of 2.5" or 3.5" SATA drive in the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 64TB 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array (8 x 8TB HDDs).

Q: 7. 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: 8. Does the Raid Software License come with the system?

A: The OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 128TB 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array uses a hardware RAID controller, so software is not provided.

Q: 9. What drives come preinstalled on this? SATA OR SATA III?

A: The Compatible Drive Interface is SATA III

Q: 10. Will this work on windows 10?

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

Woodruff	06/09/2024
[32 TB] Does as advertised 5

Cristofer Rafae	05/09/2024
[Aluminum] 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

Elliot	02/09/2024
[32 TB] Using as a RAID 1+0 with SoftRaid as a backup for footage, and have no complaints. Fan isn't loud enough to even notice under my desk. Throughput with Thunderbolt allows me to attach other arrays, or even spindle drives, when my other ports are being used. You can also mount or eject drives that are in front of the chain, which allows me to keep this attached while removing edit or footage drives. 5

Josh	29/08/2024
[Aluminum] Very easy to setup and use. So far so good. 5

Evan	29/07/2024
[32 TB] This drive is lightening fast, easy to set up and confifgure, and works very well with several Mac computers. It is truly plug and play and belongs in any serious photographer's toolkit, assuming that they have many images to store and retrieve. I have more than 60,000, mamy of them from 100 MP camera gear, so.... 5

Taylor	28/07/2024
[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

John	23/07/2024
[32 TB] Have two of these OWC Thunderbay 8 raids and they are amazingly fast, not to mentioned, incredible tech support from OWC! 5

Owen S	19/07/2024
[32 TB] I have a Thunderbay 4 and now a Thunderbay 8 and I find them simple to setup, quiet and easy to use (though I think the level of noise is somewhat dependent on the drives you purchase). I put 8 x 22TB Seagate Ironwolf HDs in a RAID 5 configuration and after spending some time certifying every drive through SoftRAID, it has worked without a hitch. I'm using this to replace a Drobo 8D and it is quieter and takes up less real estate. This is a solid purchase if you need a lot of storage space for photos and video, and at 600MB/s write and 1000MBs read, you can work directly with 4K video files. 5

Sean	11/07/2024
[Aluminum] 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

Kim A	01/07/2024
[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