OWC (www.macsales.com) has introduced 10, 20, 30, and 40TB SSD models of its ThunderBay 4 mini RAID. The new high-capacity SSD configurations are powered by a SoftRAID engine, which delivers disk-health monitoring, RAID rebuilds, and transfer speeds up to 1,314MB/s via a Thunderbolt 2 connection.
All this comes in a compact aluminum enclosure. The ThunderBay 4 mini now offers the highest capacity and fastest SSD configurations in its class. SoftRAID for ThunderBay supports RAID 0, 1, 4, 5, and 1+0, giving users the flexibility to create multiple arrays to suit the specific demands of their workflow. Users will also benefit from always-on real-time disk-health monitoring via the SoftRAID application, or email notifications when working remotely, according to OWC CEO Larry O’Connor.
Unlike traditional software RAID solutions, SoftRAID’s revolutionary volume optimization allows users to quickly configure their ThunderBay 4 mini for specific workflows, he adds. ThunderBay 4 mini RAID with SSDs are configured in RAID 4 for optimal performance. This provides the same level of data redundancy and fault-tolerance as RAID 5, but offers a 25% boost in read speeds for SSDs, according to O’Connor.
The SoftRAID engine enhances overall performance of the ThunderBay 4 mini, including RAID rebuild times up to 75% faster than hardware RAID, he adds.
With two Thunderbolt 2 ports, it supports daisy-chaining additional Thunderbolt devices or displays. Prices range from $579.99 to $1,699.99, depending on the configuration.