OWC Flex 1U4 4-Bay Rackmount Thunderbolt Storage, Docking and PCIe Expansion
SKU
OWCTB3F1U00000
$1,299.99
SKU
OWCTB3F1U00000
Condition:
- Drive diversity: use SATA/SAS and U.2/M.2 NVMe drives for up to 128TB of capacity and real-world Thunderbolt speeds up to 2750MB/s
- Drive flexibility: swap drives quickly and easily if/when needed
- Go Maximum: utilize U.2 NVMe SSDs - as well as the OWC ecosystem of U.2 drives and adapters - for incredible speed and flash density per bay
- Powerfully easy RAID: create, manage, and monitor advanced RAID sets with OWC SoftRAID
- Use it all: connect keyboards, mixers, cameras, displays, and mobile devices such as tablets with (2) USB-C 10Gb/s and (3) USB-A 10Gb/s ports
- See more: connect up to an 8K display to the DisplayPort 1.4 port
- Do more: add a half-length full-height single-width audio/video capture, 10Gb Ethernet, SSD storage, hardware RAID, or I/O card to the PCIe x16 lane (at x4 speed) slot
- Configurable: daisy chain up to five devices or add an additional display with the second Thunderbolt (USB-C) port
- Charge: keep your notebook powered with 85W via the upstream Thunderbolt port
Total Capacity
- 0TB
Display Support
- Up to two 4K displays @ 60Hz,
- or one 8K display @ 60Hz,
- or one 4K display @ 120Hz,
- or one 5K display @ 60Hz
Display Support by Port
- Thunderbolt 3 (Titan Ridge): Up to 8K @ 60Hz or 4K @ 120Hz via a native Thunderbolt 3 display or other display that supports USB-C connections and DisplayPort 1.4
- DisplayPort 1.4: Up to 8K @ 60Hz or 4K @ 120Hz
Hot Swap Support
- Yes
Hot Plug Support
- Yes
Certifications
- CE, FCC, VCCI, RCM, BSMI
Data Transfer Rate (Maximum)
- Thunderbolt 3 : Up to 40 Gb/s (or 5000 MB/s)
Plug and Play
- Yes
RAID Features
- Software RAID
Mac OS Compatibility
- macOS 10.15 Catalina
- macOS 11.x Big Sur
- macOS 12.x Monterey
PC OS Compatibility
- Not compatible with Windows PCs
Power Supply
- Internal UL-listed universal auto-switching power supply
AC Input
- 90-264V, 47-63Hz, 3.5A At 100V (Max.), 1.8A At 240V (Max.)
DC Output
- +12V, 25A
Wattage
- 300W
External Power Adapter
- No
Power Delivery
- One Thunderbolt 3 port with 85W power delivery
- One Thunderbolt 3 port with 15W power delivery
- Two USB-C ports with 15W power delivery
Number of Bays
- 4
Drive Bays
- 4 bays supporting: 2.5-inch SATA drives, 3.5-inch SATA drives, 2.5-inch U.2 drives, 3.5-inch U.2 drives, M.2 drives (with M.2 to U.2 adapter), 2.5-inch SAS drives (with SAS drive controller card), 3.5-inch SAS drives (with SAS drive controller card)
- Bays 1-2 each support x4 lanes PCIe, bays 3-4 each support x1 lane PCIe
Expansion Slots
- (1) Half-height, half-length PCIe 3.0 x16 (physical) slot running at PCIe 3.0 x4 lane performance
Device Ports
- (1) Host Port - Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) up to 40 Gb/s (5000 MB/s)
- (1) Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) Port
- (2) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C Ports up to 10Gb/s (1250MB/s) - USB 2.0/3.0 backwards compatible
- (3) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A Ports up to 10Gb/s (1250MB/s) - USB 2.0/3.0 backwards compatible
- (1) DisplayPort Port
Cooling
- (3) cooling fans
Security Slot
- No
Power Button
- Yes
Housing Color
- Black
Dimensions
- Height: 4.4 cm (1.7 in)
- Length: 45.6 cm (18.0 in)
- Width: 43.0 cm (16.9 in)
Weight
- 7.4 kg (16.31 lbs)
Rack Space
- 1U
Ambient Temperature
- Operating: 50ÃÂðF to 95ÃÂðF (10ÃÂðC to 35ÃÂðC)
- Non-Operating: -40ÃÂðF to 149ÃÂðF (-40ÃÂðC to 65ÃÂðC)
Humidity
- Operating: 8% to 90% non-condensing
- Non-Operating: 5% to 95% non-condensing
The Rackmount Workflow Game-Changer
Since the launch of the OWC ThunderBay desktop storage line in 2014, computer users across the planet have continued to fall in love with it. They embrace its massively powerful RAID capacity and intense performance fueled by time-tested OWC reliability. Its appeal skyrocketed when it was infused with industry-first FLEXibility to create ThunderBay Flex 8.
Now businesses, institutions, studios, and creatives can go beyond the desktop with the OWC Flex 1U4. This innovative 4-bay rackmount solution is ready to fuel your endeavors with the best combination of storage capacity, Thunderbolt transfer performance, drive flexibility, and device expandability. With FLEX in its name, you can count on the OWC Flex 1U4 to be your rackmount workflow game-changer.
Rack Up Workflow Flexibility
You will turn your expandability and connectivity dreams into reality when you add the OWC Flex 1U4 to your rack or cart. Use a mix of 2.5 or 3.5-inch SATA/SAS and U.2/M.2 NVMe drives with four quick-access, hot-swappable drive bays. Connect mixers, keyboards, cameras, and other gear to your content as well as charge mobile devices with an ample variety of Thunderbolt and USB ports. Add up to an 8K display via DisplayPort. And when you have a custom capture, recording, networking, or storage need, the OWC Flex 1U4 lets you install a PCIe card to conquer specialized tasks.
Future Ready
When your workflow needs change, the "FLEXpandability" of the OWC Flex 1U4 easily adapts. Add new drives, connect different devices, and install a half-length full-height single-width PCIe x16 card of your choice like a 10Gb Ethernet networking card or the blistering fast OWC Accelsior 4M2 SSD for expanded performance storage capacity. By not locking you into an inflexible single-task design, the OWC Flex 1U4 extends its useful life and maximizes your investment well into the future.
Ideal for All Rackmount Environments
The OWC Flex 1U4 is like a bolt-in productivity supercharger for new or existing rack environments powered by a rack Mac Pro, rack PC, MacBook Pro, PC notebook, or even a Mac mini. Whether you build your own custom drive and card configuration or select one of our convenient ready-to-run solutions, the OWC Flex 1U4 is ideal in a wide variety of settings:
- In School: perfect for taming ever-growing collections of digital files with easy integration and future drive capacity and performance scalability.
- At Work: adds Thunderbolt speed and swappable drives to server closets, server rooms, or colocation center backup capabilities.
- On Stage: handles all the storage and peripheral connectivity needs "front of house" pros require for live performances.
- On Set: easily fits into mobile DIT carts to capture multi-stream, hi-res footage at full framerate while daisy-chaining up to five additional Thunderbolt devices.
- In Studio: expands storage and connectivity options of fixed racks.
- At Home: great for installers creating a high-performance home entertainment server closet.
Do It U.2 It
A hallmark of OWC FLEX technology is the ability to use U.2 NVMe SSDs as well as the OWC ecosystem of U.2 drives and adapters. U.2 NVMe drives are specifically designed to maximize the PCIe bus and when combined with Thunderbolt, you will blast past fast with up to 2750MB/s real-world transfer speed. Whether you use your rackmount setup to complete massive backups faster, stream content during a live performance, edit large format video, or run high transactional and complex calculation applications, you can do it U.2 to it with the OWC Flex 1U4.
A Complete Swap and Share Ecosystem
The OWC Flex 1U4 goes with the flow when needing to move data outside or beyond the local network. With the OWC U.2 ecosystem, moving and sharing data is fast and easy. Swap out and ship a project from field to post in video production workflows. Move backup data to an offline colocation for backup workflows. The combination of OWC Flex 1U4 and the OWC U.2 ecosystem opens a new dimension to data transfer possibilities.
- OWC U2 ShuttleOne: Convert an NVMe M.2 "blade" style SSD into a swappable 2.5-inch U.2 SSD with the peace of mind that your drive - and its content - are protected by the full metal, heat dissipating adapter.
- OWC U2 Shuttle: Combine four NVMe M.2 SSDs into the world first 3.5-inch U.2 carrier shuttle to create a swappable, massive capacity RAID solution.
- OWC Helios 3S with Interchange System: Create an external Thunderbolt powered set to post U.2 solution that safeguards your data while lowering shipping costs.
- OWC Mercury Pro U.2 Dual: Put blazing fast Thunderbolt powered storage and backup on a desktop with a compact two bay footprint that can use U2 ShuttleOne and U2 Shuttles.
- OWC ThunderBay Flex 8: Take control of your media workflow with the world first 3-in-1 Thunderbolt storage, docking, and PCIe expansion desktop solution. Easily swaps U2 ShuttleOne and U2 Shuttles to/from the Flex 1U4.
Ready to Rack
Flex 1U4 comes complete with hardware for mounting into most racks and cabinets.
RAID Made Easy
Harness the full capability of your OWC Flex 1U4 drive array with the included SoftRAID XT, the most powerful, intuitive RAID management software on the market for macOS and Windows. SoftRAID RAID creation and management technology has been finely tuned to perfection with over 20 years of development to provide rock solid protection of your data and optimize drive performance. It is packed with features like multiple RAID options, validation and verification of drives, and predictive disk failure with SoftRAID Monitor.
SoftRAID provides a level of storage performance that you simply cannot get with hardware RAID and is ideal for anyone who needs to safely store and backup massive amounts of data, including educational institutions, government agencies, businesses, content creators, and M and E professionals. If you need even more power and flexibility, you can upgrade to SoftRAID Pro to spread volumes over two or more disk enclosures - impossible with hardware RAID - for incredible performance!
Certified for Demanding Use
We understand having confidence in gear reliability is paramount to creative professionals. That is why OWC Flex 1U4 solutions go through a multi-step performance certification prior to shipping. This ensures they arrive operating properly and immediately ready for demanding use.
Secure Your Connections
Unexpected disconnects during file transfers or a work session can be devastating. The OWC ClingOn (sold separately) easily reduces - if not eliminates - cable strain on the OWC Flex 1U4 Thunderbolt connection ports.
OWC, Trusted by Pros and Enthusiasts the World Over
We build our hardware to the highest standards of reliability and performance. Because 100% reliability is always the goal, we rigorously quality test and back our hardware with award-winning global customer support.
| Brand | OWC |
|---|---|
| Condition | New |
| Audio | |
|---|---|
| Noise Canceling | Yes |
| In the Box | |
|---|---|
| Box Contents | (1) OWC Flex 1U4 (1) 0.7M Thunderbolt Cable (1) Rack mounting hardware for 18-26" racks and cabinets (1) Assembly Manual and User Guide (1) SoftRAID Software Bundle (1) SoftRAID XT User Guide |
| Electronics | |
|---|---|
| GPS | Yes |
| Lock Slot | Yes |
| Beamforming Support | Yes |
| Warranty | 5 Year OWC Limited Warranty |
Shipping
Enjoy Free Standard Shipping on order of $50 or more to all state except Alaska, Hawai and Puerto Rico. See full Shipping Policies.
Return
Most unopened items sold by Melrose Inc. in new condition and returned within 30 days will receive a refund or exchange. The return window for items sold online begins once the order has been invoiced. Invoicing happens when any part of the order is shipped, delivered by a courier service or made ready for pick up.
Software is not returnable and not refundable. All sales are final. This is generally part of all webcarts selling software. It is buyer beware. The reason for this is once an end-user customer sees a License Code then that code is 'spoiled' because they can use it to gain access to the software. Once a License Code is registered by a customer that product is available to that customer and therefore the code cannot be returned.
See full Return Policy.