Promise Pegasus5 M8 NVMe Thunderbolt 5 RAID DAS

The Pegasus5 M8 is a compact, all-flash 8-bay direct-attached storage (DAS) system that exclusively supports M.2 NVMe SSDs. It accommodates both standard 2280-length SSDs and 1.5-inch variants, allowing flexibility in selecting drives based on capacity, endurance, or thermal profile. The system supports a mix of TLC-based drives for high performance and QLC-based drives for increased capacity per dollar, giving users the option to tailor the configuration toward speed, cost-efficiency, or a balance of both. Each M.2 slot is connected via a high-speed PCIe backplane, allowing maximum parallel bandwidth to the controller for simultaneous multi-drive operations.

The system’s core connectivity is provided by Thunderbolt™ 5, which doubles the baseline throughput of Thunderbolt™ 4. In standard mode, it offers 40 Gbps bidirectional data bandwidth, while the Bandwidth Boost mode enables a combined total of up to 80 Gbps for asymmetric workloads—ideal for video-heavy pipelines. In addition to raw data throughput, Thunderbolt 5 also provides support for DisplayPort tunneling, enabling the M8 to drive external monitors (up to dual 6K or a single 8K display) through the same interface used for data. Furthermore, the port delivers significantly enhanced power, with the system supporting passthrough charging of up to 140W, subject to host-side capabilities and cable specification.

Internally, the M8 leverages PROMISE’s NVMeBoost™ and PromiseRAID™ technologies for RAID management, data acceleration, and system diagnostics. RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60 are supported across the full NVMe SSD array, providing a wide range of redundancy and performance configurations. PromiseRAID includes advanced features such as Predictive Data Migration (PDM), which periodically checks drive health using SMART telemetry and reallocates data proactively in the event of early failure indicators. This is paired with real-time monitoring, automatic rebuild processes, and background consistency checks—all accessible via the PROMISE Utility Pro software.

From a thermal and acoustic perspective, the M8 is designed with intelligent fan control that dynamically adjusts based on system temperature, minimizing noise during idle or low-load periods. The chassis incorporates airflow paths optimized for side-to-side or front-to-back movement depending on orientation, and thermal pads are used to dissipate heat from the M.2 SSDs to internal heatsinks. The power supply is internal, auto-switching between 100–240V AC, and the unit includes power-saving features such as host-synced sleep/wake, contributing to energy efficiency in extended deployment. The system is compatible with macOS 13 and later as well as Windows 11.

The Pegasus5 R12 and R12 Pro are tower-based storage systems designed primarily for desktop environments where higher raw capacity and mixed-drive support are required. The standard R12 model features 12 bays for 3.5-inch SATA HDDs, supporting up to 288TB using 24TB drives. It connects via Thunderbolt 4 and provides sequential performance of up to 3,000 MB/s. The unit includes dual Thunderbolt 4 ports—one upstream and one downstream—supporting daisy-chaining and external display connectivity. Internally, it runs on a quad-core 2.2 GHz storage processor with 8GB of DDR4 ECC memory, and supports a wide range of RAID levels including 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60, with optional hot spare functionality. Like the M8, it is managed via PROMISE Utility Pro and includes support for Predictive Data Migration.