Windows Installation Guide

• Thunderbolt Multipathing combines multiple connections to deliver maximum performance for Windows systems that support multiple Thunderbolt paths (see System Requirements below).
• Up to 15 Storage Containers, each with their own filesystem, RAID level, and password.
• Always-on XTS-AES-256 bit encryption with Hardware Secure Enclave.
• Multi-user connectivity for collaboration with up to 4× computers.
• Multi-platform workflow support for heterogeneous deployments.

System Requirements

• Windows 10 version 21H2 or Windows 11 version 22H2+.
• Built-in (on motherboard) and/or vendor-qualified Thunderbolt 3/4 or USB4 ports.
• Intel: Tiger Lake platforms or later.
• AMD: TRX50, WRX80, WRX90 platforms or later.

Examples of systems meeting these requirements: Known Supported Systems
(Please email help@iodyne.com if you're not sure if your PC supports Thunderbolt.)

Multipathing Note: Each Thunderbolt port must be on its own system bus to maximize the performance gains from Thunderbolt Multipathing. Intel NUCs and most Windows laptops use independent system buses for their Thunderbolt ports.  If you connect multiple ports on a PC with a single shared Thunderbolt bus, connections will work but performance will not increase.

• Check your computer's documentation to confirm Thunderbolt/USB4 support.
• Update all BIOS, firmware, and drivers related to Thunderbolt/USB4 support.
• Verify in your computer’s BIOS settings that Thunderbolt is enabled for all ports you intend to use:
  • Check Security settings to enable support without per-device approval.
  • Enable PCIe tunneling, if available.
  • For faster boot performance, disable support for Thunderbolt or USB booting.
• Download the latest Windows installer to your computer.
• After installation and reboot are complete, you may add multiple connections to enable Thunderbolt Multipathing. See Multipathing Note for how to achieve maximal performance.
• Storage Handoff is not yet supported on Windows. However, you can manually move containers between hosts by selecting Release Ownership from the Share menu to the right of the container list to detach from the sending computer. Then use Take Ownership to claim the container on the receiving computer.

Formatting Containers

After creating a new container in iodyne Utility, note the Disk Number in the Usage tab.  

Then start Windows Disk Management to format container volumes and assign drive letters.

To format the disk, follow these steps:

1. Allow Disk Management to initialize the Disk when prompted.  Select GPT (GUID) Partitioning.

2. Select the initialized Disk by right-clicking on the Unallocated bar to the right of the Disk Number, and then New Simple Volume from the popup menu.

3. We highly recommend formatting containers as NTFS. When combined with Pro Data's transactional guarantees, this provides the strongest reliability and optimal performance.  From the NTFS settings screen, select a 1MiB Allocation Unit Size rather than the Default, to optimize performance for large files (e.g. video workflows).

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Known Supported Systems

¹  "Works With" means a trusted partner has confirmed Pro Data attaches to the system and operates normally. 

²  "iodyne Tested" means we have tested the system in our lab with Pro Data and confirmed correct function.