4 hours ago
The difficult part, as you’ve noticed, is that almost all of the popular Thunderbolt enclosures (including the OWC Thunderbay 8) rely on software RAID. They work well, but the RAID isn’t actually handled inside the enclosure, which makes things less portable and less reliable long term.
If you specifically want an 8 bay DAS with real internal RAID5, your best options are:
Areca ARC 8050T3 or ARC 8050T3U
This is the most professional solution. It uses true hardware RAID, it’s very reliable, and performance over Thunderbolt is excellent. It’s more expensive, but for business use and large datasets it’s the one most people eventually settle on because it avoids headaches later.
HighPoint RocketStor 6628A
Also real internal RAID. Cheaper than Areca, though the software and build quality aren’t quite as polished. Still a solid and proven option if you want hardware RAID without the premium price.
Most of the other 8 bay units on the market either use software RAID or don’t perform well enough for sustained workloads, which is why your choices feel limited.
If you specifically want an 8 bay DAS with real internal RAID5, your best options are:
Areca ARC 8050T3 or ARC 8050T3U
This is the most professional solution. It uses true hardware RAID, it’s very reliable, and performance over Thunderbolt is excellent. It’s more expensive, but for business use and large datasets it’s the one most people eventually settle on because it avoids headaches later.
HighPoint RocketStor 6628A
Also real internal RAID. Cheaper than Areca, though the software and build quality aren’t quite as polished. Still a solid and proven option if you want hardware RAID without the premium price.
Most of the other 8 bay units on the market either use software RAID or don’t perform well enough for sustained workloads, which is why your choices feel limited.