(Presumably, the redundancy of RAID 5 means we’re talking about 24TB of actual usable storage, since it comes with four 8TB, 7200RPM magnetic drives.)
The product page says the new Pegasus R4i in particular counts as a bona fide MPX Module, one that adds up to 32TB of storage in a prebuilt RAID 5 array, meaning your data can survive in case one of its four hard drives happens to fail. Promise, known for its Pegasus external RAID arrays and rack mount hard drive solutions, says it worked with Apple to announce versions that you can insert directly into the PCIe slots in the new Mac Pro. But we do have our first indication that the Mac Pro’s fancy new MPX Modules may not be a totally proprietary solution, in the form of two upcoming storage modules from Promise Technology that will be sold in Apple stores. Apple’s new Mac Pro is the supercar of desktop computers, but it’s also trying to be a modular, upgradable workstation, and it’s not yet clear how Apple has balanced those two things.
