OWC Archive Pro

OWC Archive Pro OWC Archive Pro Hero OWC Archive Pro Front OWC Archive Pro Back

OWC Archive Pro


Up to 18TB per LTO Tape

Or up 45TB compressed

30+Years

Tape storage lasts 30+ years

Quick Specs:

  • Thunderbolt (USB-C)
  • 2.5/3.5-inch universal drive bay
  • LTO Tape Drive
  • DisplayPort 1.4
  • Mac & Windows

Thunderbolt (USB-C) LTO Archiving Solution

  • Instant ROI: offers a 577% ROI with up to 55% lower costs vs HDD storage
  • Store More: up to 18TB native, up to 45TB1 compressed storage capacity per tape cartridge
  • Flexible: built-in IBM LTO-7, LTO-8, or LTO-9 drive options
  • Store Longer: 30+ years tape longevity
  • LTFS Compatible: archive files/folders with drag and drop ease
  • Compliance Ready: supports WORM cartridges required by legal and regulatory record keeping
  • Fast Tape Creation: up to 300MB/s native / 750MB/s1 compressed transfer rates
  • Compatible: Works with industry-leading archiving and management software

  • Performance & reliability at an exceptional value

  • Wide array of model configurations

  • OWC storage solutions consistently receive top ratings

  • Industry-leading warranty & support. Get help »


OWC Archive Pro

Preserve Huge Volumes of Data

M&E professionals, corporations, government branches, and small businesses are all facing the same challenge: how to manage an ever-increasing amount of more complex data. Higher resolution, complex audio, and diverse formats are the project norm. Organizational content is projected to grow 50-70% annually as more data is digitalized. Licensing, regulatory, and compliance requirements are becoming more stringent.

OWC Archive Pro Front & Back

The OWC Archive Pro is the answer to this challenge. This easily integrated tape backup and archiving solution is a mission-critical requirement for protecting and preserving huge volumes of data for longer periods with familiar drag-and-drop operation, and better economies of scale than disk-based storage. Ruggedly small with a built-in handle, the Archive Pro is able to go on-set or move among studio, department, or office computers for a shared data protection solution.

Learn more about archive strategies »

Configurable
Add up to a 16TB SSD in the universal 2.5/3.5-inch drive expansion bay

Expansive
Utilize the second Thunderbolt (USB-C) port2 to add up to five additional Thunderbolt devices, or your choice of a USB-C or DisplayPort device

See More
DisplayPort 1.4 for connecting up to an 8K display3

Charge While Working
85W of notebook charging 

Transportable
Compact form factor with built in handles for moving between set and studio

Complete
Includes LTO data tape, cleaning tape, and Thunderbolt cable

Worry-Free
Up to 3 Year OWC Limited Warranty with expert support4

Archiving Made Drag & Drop Easy

There’s a priceless convenience of familiarity in using the OWC Archive Pro to protect your data. By using archiving industry standard Linear Tape Open (LTO) tapes formatted with the Linear Tape File System (LTFS), the tapes can be accessed on your computer just like a hard drive or SSD. Files appear in folders and moving them to/retrieving them from tape is drag and drop easy. And compatibility has never been more simple…thanks to LTFS, LTO tapes can be read from a system running macOS, Windows, or Linux, so there’s no extra software to buy or proprietary hardware concerns.

Drag and Drop Easy

Advanced Yet Future-Ready

Because LTFS is an open, cross-platform system, and LTO tape is the dominant archiving medium that has continued to advance since being introduced in 2000, you can be confident knowing you'll be able to access your data with any brand of LTO hardware for decades to come. The Archive Pro uses the latest LTO-7, LTO-8, or LTO-9 tapes.

LTO-7, LTO-8 Compatible, LTO-9 Ready

Experience up to 55% Lower TCO

Compared to using hard drives for archival storage, the OWC Archive Pro offers an instant ROI, and pays for itself in no time by continually and dramatically lowering project and production costs.

image details below

ROI Comparison - HDD vs. LTO

A Tale of the Tape: 120TB of Project Data

Consider these examples:

  • Storing 120TB of project data on 10 x 12TB HDDs at $300 per drive would cost $3,000, while storing the same data on 10 x 12TB LTO-8 tapes at $135 per tape would only cost $1,350. That's a savings of 55% vs. the HDD solution!
  • Storing 120TB of project data on 20 x 6TB HDDs at $120 per drive would cost $2,400, while storing the same data on 10 x 6TB LTO-7 tapes at $56 per tape would only cost $1,120. That's a real-world savings of 53% vs. the HDD solution!

Expected Lifespan of Storage in Years

A 10-year Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Study performed by the Enterprise Strategy Group comparing the costs of long-term storage on disk, LTO tape, and cloud had a staggering revelation. It concluded that LTO tape-based archiving offers a 577% ROI — the highest among all media types!! That’s because LTO-tape offers the lowest cost per TB storage format combined with the longest life expectancy among all storage options.

image details below

Lifespan Comparison - HDD vs. Optical Media vs. SSD vs. LTO

Unpowered HDDs have a lifespan of about 7 years. The lifespan of optical media, like CDs and DVDs is around 10 years. The lifespan of SSDs is also around 10 years. By comparison, LTO tapes can last 30+ years – 3 to 4 times longer than these alternative storage formats.

Meets Stringent Regulations

Whether you need to keep sensitive data secure during transportation, or ensure irreplaceable data will be archive protected, the OWC Archive Pro enables healthcare, financial, and related industries to meet strict legal and regulatory procedures for data confidentiality and integrity. By using a WORM (Write Once, Read Many) LTO tape, you can store your data in a non-erasable, non-rewritable format to prevent accidental overwrite or malicious data alteration.

OWC Archive Pro Tapes Lock
OWC Archive Pro Industries

The Perfect Solution for A Variety of Industries

LTO Tape archiving is used by a wide variety of industries for diverse needs:

  • Anyone seeking offsite data storage that is separated from the read/write host.
  • Businesses desiring database and content backup protection against ransomware, cyber-attacks, and operations disruption due to natural disasters.
  • Local, State, and Federal Government agencies with ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) workflows; videos and files related to law/ordinance passage and day-to-day operations.
  • Healthcare providers and organizations with medical records and imaging data.
  • Educational institutions needing to keep a myriad of data, including research, produced by students, teachers, and professors accessibly protected while freeing up more costly storage options for short term use and backup.
  • Video surveillance operations with increasing number of higher resolution color cameras.
  • Motion picture industry production companies needing to meet bondable and insurable archive requirements.
  • Digital media companies freeing up production disk capacity to shorten production windows by reusing and editing existing footage for new productions.
OWC Archive Pro Workflow Diagram

Simple Workflow Integration and Expansion

The Archive Pro enables you to archive data seamlessly in your workflow via the included Thunderbolt cable connected to your Mac or PC. You can also optionally enhance your workflow by:

  1. Adding up to a 16TB SSD to the 2.5/3.5-inch drive expansion bay for extra storage and backup capacity.
  2. Connecting a USB 3.0, USB-C, or Thunderbolt (USB-C) device to the Archive Pro’s second Thunderbolt port for added functionalities.
  3. Adding a second display with up to 8K resolution via the DisplayPort 1.4 interface.
  4. Keeping your notebook charged with the 85W Thunderbolt port.

Choose your Software

Archive Pro requires separate LTO software to unlock access and write to its tape. Archive Pro works with other industry leading archiving and management software including:

  • Archiware P5
  • Hedge Canister
  • Pomfort Silverstack XT
  • Quantum CatDV
  • XenData6 Workstation
  • YoYotta LTFS
  • And more!
Available with Argest Backup Software
Netflix Data Management Requirements Chart

Use Case Spotlight:

Netflix Data Management Requirements

LTO solutions like the Archive Pro have become a workflow requirement for production companies like Netflix, which employing a 3:2:1 rule to safeguard OCF (original camera footage), provide off-site backup, and fulfill long-term archiving of series and films.

In every “rule,” Netflix lists LTO tapes as an acceptable archival  format, and a critical  component  in  meeting  their partner data management requirements.

Lineup of OWC Thunderbolt Products

Completes the OWC Solution

Thanks to the OWC Archive Pro, OWC now offers the film industry, corporations, government branches, and even small businesses a trustworthy “ingest to archive” single source. With portable data capture options like OWC ThunderBlade, OWC Express 4M2, and OWC Envoy Pro Elektron; desktop options like the OWC ThunderBay line-up; and internal drive options like the OWC Accelsior 4M2 and OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G 2.5-inch SSD, OWC is the one project source that does it all for all those that create data.

Thunderbolt Logo

Thunderbolt Made Easy

We make it easy to choose the right gear. Our Thunderbolt Certified products offer the same performance and functionality whether they are Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4. And if you’re rocking a beloved Thunderbolt 2 machine, we offer an adapter so you can plug into our universe of award-winning solutions. No hassles, no confusion. That’s the OWC Difference.

Apple Mac models with Thunderbolt 2/Thunderbolt ports can be connected using an Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter and a Thunderbolt 2 cable (available separately). This configuration provides data transfer at up to 20Gb/s but does not support notebook charging.

OWC ClingOn

Work with Ultimate Confidence

Active workspaces expose gear to unexpected bumps and shoves. OWC ClingOn custom cable stabilizers (sold separately) screw into the OWC Archive Pro’s housing to reduce – if not completely eliminate – cable strain on Thunderbolt and USB-C connections so you can work with ultimate confidence even in the highest foot traffic environments.

Pro Icon

Certified for Demanding Use

We understand having confidence in gear reliability is paramount to creative professionals. That’s why every Archive Pro solution undergoes a multi-step performance certification prior to shipping. This ensures your archiving solution arrives operating properly and immediately ready for demanding use.

OWC Thunderbolt 3 Cable

OWC Thunderbolt Cable Included

OWC Archive Pro solutions come with a certified 0.7 meter OWC Thunderbolt Cable. But if your workflow demands a different length to make the connection, OWC Thunderbolt (USB-C) Cables are the perfect choice.

OWC, Trusted by Pros & Enthusiasts the World Over

OWC, Trusted by Pros & 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 a 3 Year OWC Limited Warranty and award-winning customer support.

Learn More
  1. LTO-9 tapes can store up to 18TB native / 45TB compressed per tape with 2.5:1 data compression. LTO-8 tapes can store up to 12TB native / 30TB compressed per tape. LTO-7 tapes can store up to 6TB native / 15TB compressed per tape. Transfer rates up to 300MB/s native / 750MB/s compressed.
  2. Thunderbolt 2/Thunderbolt compatibility requires a certified Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 (mDP) adapter and a Thunderbolt 2 cable (available separately). This configuration provides data transfer at up to 20Gb/s but does not support notebook charging.
  3. Full DisplayPort 1.4 capabilities depends on host computer support of DisplayPort 1.4 specification through its Thunderbolt connection, host computer GPU capabilities, and connecting cable capabilities.
  4. Do not allow host system to sleep or close lid of notebook system when connected to a powered-on Archive Pro. Failure to disable or prevent system sleep mode may create excessive heat and void LTO drive warranty. See documentation included with product for additional details.