This ThunderBay 4 80TB 4-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array from OWC / Other World Computing is pre-configured with four 20TB Toshiba MG10 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, 10, and JBOD. When configured in RAID 0, the ThunderBay 8 features read speeds of up to 1167 MB/s and write speeds of up to 1060 MB/s.

4 x 20TB 3.5" 7200 rpm Enterprise HDDs    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, 10, and JBOD    Pre-Configured as RAID 5    Includes SoftRAID XT Software    Read Speed: up to 1167 MB/s    Write Speed: up to 1060 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. Does this hard drive work with USB C ?

A: No, it will only work on Thunderbolt.

Q: 2. Can I connect these to a Pegasus R6 (thunderbolt) mounted on a Sonnet serve solution via Thunderbolt 3 cable (using the Thunderbolt 3 to 2 adapter)?

A: We could not stand behind such a daisy chained and downsampled solution.

Q: 3. Is it possible to swap disk packs and preserve the data?

A: When configured in RAID 5 the OWC ThunderBay 4 can preserve data in the event of one disk failure at a time.

Q: 4. Possible to pull an entire disc pack out, use another pack, and still maintain data on the original drives when re-inserted?

A: Swapping drives depends on the configuration of the NAS. The preconfigured RAID 5 would not allow that to be done.

Q: 5. Is it still 48TB when configured in RAID 5 array?

A: When the OWC ThunderBay 4 48TB 4-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Array (4 x 12TB) is set up for RAID 5 12TB of the total storage capacity of the array will be dedicated to parity data storage, so the total storage will appear as 36TB instead of the full 48TB.

Q: 6. Is this Thunderbay 4 a DAS unit and does it come with dual thunderbolt cables? Are the instructions included for the hook up and details regarding changing the raid array and how to format this unit

A: This DAS comes with one Thunderbolt 3 cable.

Q: 7. Can this be configured in RAID 6? Does it come with software to manage this?

A: Sorry, this unit default is RAID 0. It can handle JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1.

Q: 8. Does this come with the OWC 3 year warranty?

A: This product has a Limited 3-Year Warranty.

Q: 9. can you switch raid from 5 to 0 after it's nearly full to use the extra storage once in Raid 0? Switch RAIDS without formatting?

A: No. In order to change the RAID mode on the OWC ThunderBay 4 you will need to reformat.

Q: 10. Is it possible to create partitions on these drives? For example, for Mac, set up a partition for a time machine backup.

A: Yes, setting up partitions is possible.