Softraid 5 review
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“Customers have been requesting RAID 5 support with our ThunderBay since we first began shipping it. I asked Larry O’Conner, the president of OWC, why they created this system: Using four SATA drives supplying up to 24 TB of combined storage, this system joins the ranks of actual shipping product. Now, OWC has released the ThunderBay 4 a high-performance, 4-drive, Thunderbolt 2 RAID. NOTE: Part of what makes Thunderbolt 2 so challenging to many storage developers is that the spec includes both storage protocols, which they are used to, and monitor display protocols, which require a significant amount of technical expertise well outside normal storage systems. This was partially due to hardware manufacturers retooling their Thunderbolt 1 devices after Thunderbolt 2 was announced and the rigorous testing necessary to certify Thunderbolt 2 devices.
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Still, getting actual products shipping seemed to take forever. Promise Technology was first to ship, with many new announcements made by a variety of manufacturers at the 2014 NAB Show. However, as you’ll learn, actual speeds are based on more than just the protocol connecting the storage to the computer. NOTE: The big benefit to Thunderbolt 2 is that it has twice the potential speed of Thunderbolt 1. Since, then, while RAID 0 configurations of Thunderbolt 1 were reasonably plentiful, finding a Thunderbolt 2 RAID 5 system took some looking.
#Softraid 5 review pro
Apple started shipping Thunderbolt 2 MacBook Pro computers in October, 2013. There is no word on the pricing of the ThunderBay FLEX 8 yet.Thunderbolt 2 was announced by Intel in June, 2013. The ThunderBay FLEX 8 is also available as an enclosure and from 16TB to 128TB solutions. You can purchase the ThunderBay 8 as an enclosure only (with no drives) for $1228.99, or in capacities from 16TB to 112TB. The OWC ThunderBay 8 and ThunderBay FLEX 8 will be available in Q1 this year. The ThunderBay FLEX 8 houses a 500W power supply so that it can handle every drive and expansion card with enough juice. That way, you can add audio and video capture cards, an SSD storage card, or an I/O card without the need to purchase another adapter box.
#Softraid 5 review plus
At the front of the ThunderBay FLEX 8, there are two USB-A ports, a USB Type-C port, and an SD 4.0 plus CF-Express card readers.įinally, there is one PCIe (x16) slot that can take a half-length, full-height, single-width card. Indeed, at the back of the unit, there are two Thunderbolt 3 ports and a DisplayPort 1.4 port that can support two 4K displays or one 8K display. The idea behind the ThunderBay FLEX 8 is that it is not merely an external hard drive, but more of a hybrid with docking capabilities. If you fully-load it, you can reach a total storage capacity of up to 128TB.
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#Softraid 5 review install
In the four bottom bays, you can install 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch SATA 6Gb/s drives. In the top four bays, you can install your choice of U.2 NVMe SSDs, 2.5-inch SATA 6Gb/s SSDs, or 3.5-inch SATA 6Gb/s HDDs.
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The ThunderBay FLEX 8 is what OWC qualifies as the “industry-first 3-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 storage, docking, and PCIe expansion solution.” This enclosure offers you eight drive bays. Image credit: OWC OWC ThunderBay FLEX 8 Features