Get enough drive space for your raw, 4K, large-format, and VR workflows with the ThunderBay 8 32TB 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Array with from OWC / Other World Computing. Compatible with Windows and Mac systems, the ThunderBay 8 features dual Thunderbolt 3 ports, which use USB Type-C connectors. There is also a DisplayPort 1.2 port for connecting to a 4K display.

The ThunderBay 8 has eight drive bays, which support both 2.5" and 3.5" hard drives (2.5" HDDs do not need adapters). This particular ThunderBay 8 model comes with eight 4TB drives for 32TB of total storage capacity. The included drives are configured in RAID 5. Using the SoftRAID XT software, you can reconfigure these drives from RAID 5 to alternate configurations including RAID 0, 1, 4, 1+0, and JBOD.

8 x 4TB HDDs    8 x 3.5/2.5" SATA Drive Bays    2 x Thunderbolt 3 (USB Type-C) Ports    1 x DisplayPort 1.2    RAID 0, 1, 1+0, 4, 5, JBOD    Preconfigured in RAID 5    Transfer Rates up to 2586 MB/s    1 x 92mm Cooling Fan    SoftRAID XT Software Included    Windows and Mac Compatible

Thunderbolt 3 is a hardware interface that uses the reversible USB Type-C connector. Doubling the speed of its predecessor, Thunderbolt 3 features a maximum throughput of 40 Gb/s when used with compatible devices. The connector also transmits data via USB 3.1 at up to 10 Gb/s, and a dual-bandwidth DisplayPort 1.2 allows you to connect up to two 4K displays simultaneously. Additionally, you can daisy chain up to six devices from a single Thunderbolt 3 port.

The ThunderBay 8 comes preconfigured in RAID 5, but also supports RAID 0, 1, 4, and 1+0 as well as JBOD.

The Thunderbay 8 uses an oversized 92mm fan to keep the drives running cool and reliably.

Daisy chain up to six ThunderBay 8s for more storage capabilities and increased performance or connect multiple ThunderBay 8s to multiple Thunderbolt 3 ports to achieve higher speeds.

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. 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: 2. 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: 3. 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: 4. Will this work on windows 10?

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

Q: 5. what it the acoustic noise leavels?

A: The manufacturer does not specify the noise level of this RAID array.

Q: 6. Will this work with new M1 Mac Processors?

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

Q: 7. 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: 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. 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. What's the rebuild time if you lose an 18TB disk in the 144TB RAID-5?

A: There is not an official spec on rebuild time under these circumstances, but it should be possible to complete the rebuild of a single 18TB disk overnight.