The Areca ARC-8050T5U-12N 216TB is a 12-bay professional desktop hardware RAID supplied with 12 x 18TB 7200rpm enterprise hard drives, providing 216TB of raw storage capacity.
Its N-Version tri-mode architecture also supports compatible U.2/U.3 NVMe, SAS or SATA devices at each bay, while dual Thunderbolt 5 / USB-C connectivity, a Broadcom tri-mode hardware RAID controller and four-lane SFF-8644 expansion provide a flexible professional storage platform.
Original price was: £ 11,875.00.£ 9,449.95Current price is: £ 9,449.95. | £ 11,339.94 inc VAT
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All our Areca RAIDs ship pre-configured & tested (RAID5 or RAID6, for Mac or PC). Please allow us 1-2 days to do this for you for free.
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– The UK’s Areca RAID Experts!The Areca ARC-8050T5U-12N 216TB is the 12-bay N-Version member of Areca's ARC-8050T5U Thunderbolt 5 family. This configuration combines twelve 18TB enterprise hard drives with Areca's tri-mode hardware RAID platform.
The 12N combines dual Thunderbolt 5 ports, USB 3.2 Gen 2 compatibility, DisplayPort 2.1, a Broadcom tri-mode RAID-on-Chip controller with ECC-protected cache and a four-lane SFF-8644 expansion port.
Twelve 18TB 7200rpm enterprise hard drives provide 216TB of raw capacity and are covered by a five-year drive warranty. Final usable capacity depends on RAID level and formatting. As a planning guide, RAID 5 provides approximately 198TB before formatting, RAID 6 approximately 180TB, and RAID 10 approximately 108TB.
Each of the twelve drive bays supports NVMe x1 using compatible U.2/U.3 media, or SAS/SATA storage. This differentiates the 12N from the SAS/SATA-only 12E and makes it suitable for high-capacity hard drives, solid-state storage or NVMe media.
The enclosure has two Thunderbolt 5 USB-C ports in total. One is used for the host connection and the other can be used to daisy-chain compatible Thunderbolt peripherals. Thunderbolt 5 provides up to 80Gb/s bidirectional bandwidth, with Bandwidth Boost up to 120Gb/s for supported display-intensive workloads. Connected to a compatible USB-only computer, the interface operates using USB 3.2 Gen 2 at up to 10Gb/s.
A Broadcom tri-mode RAID-on-Chip controller handles RAID processing independently of the host CPU and is paired with on-board SDRAM cache protected by ECC. Supported modes include RAID 0, 1, 1E, 3, 5, 6, 10, 30, 50 and 60 together with Single Disk and JBOD.
The SFF-8644 expansion port provides four SAS lanes for compatible expansion storage. Areca's current quick-install documentation supports connection of up to seven expander enclosures, with a maximum of 256 drives through the RAID storage.
A full-size DisplayPort 2.1 output supports high-resolution display workflows, while the second Thunderbolt 5 port can be used for compatible daisy-chained peripherals when the other port is connected to the host.
Controller-based AES 128-bit and 256-bit hardware encryption, self-encrypting-drive support, hot spares, disk scrubbing, array verification, online RAID migration and background initialization provide a broad set of data-protection and maintenance functions.
Configuration and monitoring are available through the front-panel LCD, in-band Thunderbolt management and the dedicated Ethernet management port. Areca's McRAID browser interface, ArcSAP, CLI, SNMP and SMTP notification options support local and remote administration. The Ethernet port is for RAID management rather than host storage connectivity.
The ARC-8050T5U-12N uses a 400W internal power supply in a 206 x 310 x 290mm desktop chassis weighing approximately 9.5kg before fitted-drive weight. Areca uses intelligent cooling with dual 2700rpm fans on the larger desktop chassis.
Rent a Raid can preconfigure and test the system before dispatch, including an appropriate RAID level for the intended Mac or Windows workflow, so the hardware RAID set can arrive ready for deployment.
Thunderbolt 5 host support is specified for macOS 15.3 or later and Windows 11 23H2 or later. Thunderbolt 4 is supported on macOS 14.x or later and Windows 11 or later; compatible Thunderbolt 3 Macs require macOS 15.0 or later. USB host operation is OS independent.
| Manufacturer | Areca Technology |
| Product | ARC-8050T5U-12N - 216TB |
| Configuration | 12 x 18TB enterprise hard drives fitted |
| Raw Capacity | 216TB |
| Approximate RAID 5 Capacity | 198TB before formatting / filesystem overhead |
| Approximate RAID 6 Capacity | 180TB before formatting / filesystem overhead |
| Approximate RAID 10 Capacity | 108TB before formatting / filesystem overhead |
| Drive Type | Enterprise HDD |
| Drive Speed | 7200rpm |
| Drive Warranty | 5-year warranty |
| Form Factor | Desktop 12-Bay |
| Drive Bays | 12 |
| Backplane Version | N-Version tri-mode |
| Drive Interface Per Bay | NVMe x1 (U.2/U.3), SAS or SATA |
| Host Ports | 2 x Thunderbolt 5 USB-C ports total |
| Thunderbolt 5 Bandwidth | Up to 80Gb/s bidirectional |
| Bandwidth Boost | Up to 120Gb/s for supported display workloads |
| USB-C Compatibility | USB 3.2 Gen 2 / USB-C 10Gb |
| Display Output | 1 x full-size DisplayPort 2.1 |
| RAID Controller | Broadcom tri-mode RAID-on-Chip hardware controller |
| Cache | On-board SDRAM with ECC protection |
| RAID Levels | RAID 0, 1, 1E, 3, 5, 6, 10, 30, 50, 60 |
| Additional Storage Modes | Single Disk, JBOD |
| Expansion | SFF-8644, 4 SAS lanes |
| Expansion Scale | Up to 7 compatible expander enclosures / 256 drives per current Areca quick-install guide |
| Hardware Encryption | Controller-based AES 128-bit / 256-bit |
| SED Support | Supported with compatible self-encrypting drives |
| Management | Front-panel LCD, in-band Thunderbolt, dedicated Ethernet out-of-band management, McRAID, ArcSAP, CLI, SNMP, SMTP |
| Cooling | 2 x 2700rpm intelligent cooling fans |
| Power Supply | 400W internal power supply |
| Dimensions | 206 x 310 x 290mm (8.1 x 12.2 x 11.4in) |
| Enclosure Weight | Approximately 9.5kg / 20.8lb before fitted-drive weight |
| Thunderbolt 5 OS Support | macOS 15.3 or later; Windows 11 23H2 or later |
| Thunderbolt 4 OS Support | macOS 14.x or later; Windows 11 or later |
| Thunderbolt 3 Support | Compatible Macs; macOS 15.0 or later |
| USB Host Support | OS independent |
| Included Data Cable | 1m active 120Gb/s Thunderbolt 5 USB-C cable |
In general, next working day delivery services (UK Mainland) are available on Areca equipment orders placed before 2pm (subject to stock availability).
We kindly advise you let us preconfigure each Areca RAID (as RAID5, RAID6 etc), so they arrive properly setup, ready to “plug’n’play”.
This is a free service, and takes 1-2 days prior to shipping.
Non-timed deliveries should be delivered between the hours of 9am and 6pm.
Orders placed after 2pm on Fridays and on weekends will be processed as normal the following Monday.
Orders placed on Bank Holidays will be processed the next working day.
**If urgent, please call one of our helpful account managers so they may double check everything for you, enabling you to place your order with confidence.**
*Please note: these product details are for guide purposes only, and may contain errors.*
*We always recommend double-checking the product specs and features on the manufacturer website, or contact us if unsure before ordering.*
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