The TowerRAID TR8UT+ is a 8-bay hardware RAID 00/30/50 storage tower that utilizes high performance USB 3.0 and eSATA interfaces to provide over 200MB/s in performance. The included USB 3.0 is backwards compatible with widely available USB 2.0 ports, which is a convenient feature when both USB 3.0 and eSATA connections are unavailable. With built-in RAID 00, 30, 50 and JBOD, the TR8UT+ provides hardware RAID redundancy protection against hard drive failures. The RAID engine is embedded within the enclosure and performs all RAID parity calculation to reduce CPU utilization from the host PC. RAID controller cards are unnecessary. To satisfy the need for performance demanding applications, the unit is bundled with a 2-port PCIe 2.0 x1 eSATA controller card with SATA 6.0 Gbps (6G) support (RR622 controller card). PCIe 2.0 is capable of providing twice the bandwidth of PCIe 1.0, allowing over 200MB/s in performance. The unit is also backwards compatible with PCIe 1.0 slots to provide eSATA connectivity for computers that do not have built-in eSATA ports. Designed with easy installation in mind, the TR8UT+ allows effortless installation by simply inserting the hard drive tray (with the hard drives installed) after opening the attractive ventilating door. The TR8UT+ is the ultimate RAID storage for all storage needs.