Add powerful, adaptable storage to your workflow with the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 184TB 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array. Engineered to optimize demanding production environments, this array includes eight 2.5"/3.5" drive bays preinstalled with four 4TB M.2 NVMe SSDs—securely housed in OWC’s U2 ShuttleOne U.2 enclosures—and four high-capacity 24TB 7200 rpm HDDs. Preconfigured in RAID 5 for a balance of speed and data protection, the system also supports RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 4, and JBOD, offering versatile configuration options tailored to your workflow. Thunderbolt 3 and SATA III interfaces ensure fast, reliable data transfers—ideal for tasks like video editing, visual effects, and digital imaging. A 120mm cooling fan maintains optimal thermal performance, while a lockable bay door and Kensington Lock slot help keep your data physically secure.
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 15 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 184TB 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array is compatible with macOS 10.15 and later.
Flexible Storage
Eight Universal 3.5/2.5" Drive Bays
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).
Future Ready
The top four bays can utilize U.2 SSDs, the emerging M&E industry storage standard.
Powerfully Easy RAID
Create, manage, and monitor advanced RAID sets with SoftRAID, the advanced RAID management solution with easy setup, e-notifications, and drive integrity monitoring.
Docking Flexibility
Connect More
Convenient front mounted USB-C and two 10 Gb/s USB-A ports for peripherals and mobile devices.
See More
- DisplayPort 1.4 for connecting up to an 8K display.
- Full DisplayPort 1.4 capabilities depends on host computer support of the DisplayPort 1.4 specification through its Thunderbolt 3 connection, host computer GPU capabilities, and connecting cable capabilities.
Fast Media Ingest
Frontside UHS-II SD and CFexpress card readers can transfer data at speeds up to 985 MB/s.
Flexpandable for Unique Needs
Do More
A second Thunderbolt 3 port lets you daisy-chain additional devices or displays.
Play Your Card
A PCIe x16/x4 slot for audio/video capture, networking, SSD storage, hardware RAID card, or I/O card.
General Features
Flex Your Way Through Every Workflow
The ThunderBay Flex 8 is optimized for digital imaging, VFX, video production, and video editing. The 8-bay design can accommodate a mix of SATA, SAS, U.2 and M.2 drives, while Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, and USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports allow you to connect various accessories for docking and charging. See your work in greater detail by adding a display with resolutions up to 8K supported via a built-in DisplayPort 1.4 connection. Ingest hi-res images and video via UHS-II SD and CFexpress card readers. And when you want to expand your desktop capabilities, there's a PCIe slot waiting for your specific project needs.
NVMe and PCIe Support
At the heart of the ThunderBay Flex 8 capabilities are two cutting-edge technology standards: NVMe and PCIe. Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) optimizes the performance of modern flash technology over the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) standard. It enables significantly faster SSD performance with a more direct and optimized path to a computer's processor.
Tying both of these technologies together is the Thunderbolt 3 interface which uses the PCIe bus. This interface offers the fast data transfers on a single cable between computers and peripherals like storage solutions, docks, and expansion devices while also supplying 85W of power to keep your laptop ready to go at a moment's notice.
The Future Standard of Storage Available Today
Right out of the packaging, all eight bays can utilize SATA III 6 Gb/s 2.5" SSDs or 3.5" HDDs. To take advantage of 40 Gb/s PCIe technology, the top four bays are NVMe U.2 SSD ready. These emerging super-fast SSDs enable the ThunderBay Flex 8 to meet the future storage needs of content creators and video production pros.
Muscle-Flexing Data Performance
Are you a video pro working with 4K/8K and even Phantom high-speed files? The ThunderBay Flex 8 offers a variety of drive configurations that deliver real-world read/write speeds of 2750 MB/s that saturate the Thunderbolt 3 speed threshold. Try any of these options:
- A single U.2 NVMe SSD in Bay A
- Multiple U.2 SSDs installed in top four bays (A-D) in RAID 0
- Six or more SATA SSDs in any bays in RAID 0
- Swap out the built-in SATA drive controller card with a SATA/SAS hardware RAID card and configure 8 x SATA/SAS drives in hardware RAID 0
Docking Flexibility
Power your notebook with up to 85W of power delivery while capturing multi-stream hi-res footage at full frame rates. Connect audio and video mixers, digital camera, keyboards, and other peripherals and charge mobile devices via one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port and two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports. Work with 4K or 8K RAW video and raw photo files immediately at speeds up to 985 MB/s with frontside UHS-II SD and CFexpress card readers. Add more viewing space with a monitor up to 8K via the DisplayPort 1.4 interface. And if that's not enough to satisfy your project needs, daisy-chain up to five additional Thunderbolt 3 devices.
Flexible for Unique Needs
By removing the enclosure's side panel, you can expand your capabilities by installing a half-length, full-height, single-width expansion card in the PCIe x16 (x4) slot. Add a 4K video capture card for direct input of multi-stream high-res footage. Record high-quality tracks with an audio card and then edit and archive tracks. Or, create a powerful file server with a high-speed networking card. By replacing the built-in SATA drive controller with a SATA or SAS RAID card, you can turn the ThunderBay Flex 8 into a hardware RAID storage solution while keeping a PCIe slot open for other cards.
SoftRAID: RAID Made Easy
Harness the full capability of your OWC drive array with the included SoftRAID XT, which is powerful, intuitive RAID management software for macOS and Windows. SoftRAID's RAID creation and management technology has been finely tuned with over 20 years of development to provide solid protection of your data and optimize drive performance.
SoftRAID XT Features
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 PC with built-in OWC MacDrive technology
Please note that RAID 4 and 1+0 (10) is currently only available for Mac. Also, SoftRAID serial numbers work on both Mac and Windows. SoftRAID is licensed per computer. In order to use SoftRAID on multiple computers, you will need a unique, valid license per computer. Additional licenses can be purchased anytime.
Beyond Hardware RAID
SoftRAID provides a level of storage performance that you simply can't get with hardware RAID. Software RAID 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.
OWC Dock Ejector App
Safely disconnect multiple drives in a single click. OWC Dock Ejector was designed by OWC hardware and software engineers to ensure all data is written before disconnection, saving time and protecting against data loss. It makes losing your hard-earned work a thing of the past.
Display Support
- One 8K display at 60 Hz
- One 4K display at 120 Hz
- One 5K display at 60 Hz
- One 4K display at 60 Hz and one 4K display at 30 Hz
- One 4K display at 60 Hz
- One 4K display at 30 Hz
- Two 4K displays at 60 Hz
Display Support by Port
- DisplayPort 1.4: Up to 8K at 60 Hz or 4K at 120 Hz
- Thunderbolt 3: Up to 5K at 60 Hz via a native Thunderbolt 3 display or 4K at 60 Hz via a Thunderbolt display or a USB-C display adapter
