When Drobo introduced it had declared for chapter earlier this summer season, I used to be barely involved, however was hopeful that the corporate would proceed supporting its merchandise, particularly with issues like updates to macOS and Home windows.
Just lately, Drobo got here out with an announcement that put doubt on whether or not its items can be suitable with future OS updates, together with October’s macOS Ventura replace, which they’ve listed as “at present incompatible.”
So, I made a decision to do some homework, and look into a couple of choices that would doubtlessly exchange my Drobo 5D3 unit. First up? The OWC ThunderBay 4.
Editor’s notice: OWC despatched us the ThunderBay 4 to evaluate and maintain; nevertheless, all opinions about this product are our personal. Now we have not been advised what to say. We let you know this as we at all times need to be upfront and sincere with you.
Execs
- Very quick, benefiting from Thunderbolt 3 speeds (a devoted Thunderbolt 2 model can be out there)
- Affords pre-built items with RAID 0/1/4/5/1+0 or JBOD as much as 72TB
- Can join a 4K show by way of DisplayPort 1.2
- Can combine and match 3.5-inch and a couple of.5-inch drives
- Fan is fairly quiet; no louder than my Drobo 5D3
Cons
- Makes use of third-party SoftRAID XT software program, which is considerably cumbersome to arrange
- Is usually a little bit of a ache to lock the quilt to the unit
- Included Thunderbolt cable may be very quick
OWC ThunderBay 4 — Technical specs
All technical specs have been taken from Amazon:
- Storage capability: Configurations out there as much as 72TB
- Variety of bays: 4 x 2.5″/3.5″
- I/O: 2x USB-C (Thunderbolt 3 @ 40 Gb/s); 1x DisplayPort 1.2
- RAID: RAID 0, 1, 4, 5, 1+0, JBOD
- Switch charges: As much as 1527 MB/s
- Security measures: Kensington Safety Slot
- AC enter energy: 100-230 VAC, 50/60 Hz
- Working temperature: 50 to 95°F / 10 to 35°C
- Weight: 8.6 kilos
OWC ThunderBay 4 — Construct high quality
The outside of the ThunderBay 4 is fairly slick. That includes a steel exterior, the ThunderBay 4 will certainly maintain your drives protected. On the entrance is a grated cowl, that may be opened by way of the included key. This allows you to entry all 4 drive slots, which sit vertically.
The duvet generally is a bit cumbersome to get again on although; I discovered you must insert the underside first, after which push within the high. In comparison with my Drobo, I favored that the quilt was steel, however the magnetic attachment on the Drobo is extra handy.
The drives sit vertically and are connected to every slot with a pair of included screws. OWC contains loads of screws right here, at two completely different sizes, so that you’ll have greater than sufficient to connect your drives.
The again includes a vented space the place the fan is included, in addition to two USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 ports and a DisplayPort 1.2.
OWC ThunderBay 4 — Preliminary setup
I used the 0TB enclosure, as I already had a number of additional inner exhausting drives sitting round. I used to be in a position to connect three of those, because the fourth had a warning that it was on the verge of failure (which, surprisingly, Drobo Dashboard didn’t alert me of).
In the event you’re coming from a Drobo, you don’t want to fret about formatting these in Disk Utility or one other app. Merely use the included SoftRAID XT software to initialize every drive. Observe that you just’ll doubtless get a couple of system errors till you end the RAID setup, with macOS saying that it could possibly’t acknowledge the connected drives.
The entrance additionally options 5 LED indicators — one for every drive, after which a grasp LED signifying the facility state. These don’t signify the well being of a drive, relatively, SoftRAID XT will provide you with a warning in your laptop if there’s a problem with a drive’s well being. The LEDs solely signify energy state, connection and drive exercise.
For essentially the most safety, I like to recommend utilizing the RAID 1+0 possibility. This stripes your information evenly throughout your drives, and the info can be mirrored. It additionally sometimes provides te finest efficiency, and it principally combines RAID 0 and RAID 1 to supply one of the best safety. macOS additionally natively acknowledges this configuration. 4 drives are required for this selection, nevertheless.
The subsequent finest stage is RAID 5, referred to as “Stripe with Parity.” That is what I selected, because it provides quick learn speeds and good information safety. Three drives are required for a RAID 5 setup.
Setup by way of the included SoftRAID XT software generally is a bit complicated. However as soon as I bought my drives initialized, it was easy crusing. Throughout setup, you’ll even be requested to decide on a Stripe Unit Dimension. I went with the most important right here — 1 MB — as I typically need to edit video straight from my RAID unit.
OWC ThunderBay 4 — On a regular basis utilization
I’ve been utilizing the OWC ThunderBay 4 now for a couple of weeks, and have thus far been fairly impressed. Learn and write speeds are sooner than my Drobo 5D3. Whereas the SoftRAID XT software isn’t my favourite to make use of, it’s a broadly supported software. And the great factor is that if it ever goes away for some motive, you need to use any RAID program of your option to configure the OWC ThunderBay 4.
Whereas the preliminary setup isn’t as straightforward as a Drobo unit, the excellent news right here is that you just actually solely have to fret about setup as soon as.
I used to be impressed with SoftRAID’s potential to inform me {that a} drive was failing, as effectively. Drobo Dashboard confirmed that drive as being a wholesome drive, so it seems that SoftRAID XT has higher consciousness when it comes to drive well being.
Going ahead, the OWC ThunderBay 4 is probably going going to change into my every day driver (after I get a couple of new drives), whereas my Drobo will function a backup, so long as it continues to work.
