Will be returning my new Mac mini (M1, 2020) as it does not support legacy Promise Pegasus devices

[bxs]

Subject: Sigh - Will be returning my new Mac mini (M1, 2020) as it does not support legacy Promise Pegasus devices

Just realized (Found out per Promise Support) that Promise does not intend to support their legacy Pegasus devices such as what I have (TB1 and TB2 models) on the new M1 SoC models. They are however supported on the Mac Intel models.

The real reason for obtaining my Mac mini (M1, 2020) was not only to explore its claims made by Apple, but to replace my late 2016 15" rMBP13,3 that is used as my file server that has some 74 TB connected to it (a large part of this is on Pegasus devices). This would allow me to release the MBP from its permanent/stuck position and then to be available for being carried about the home and offsite and on the road.

I'm saddened by this as the Mac mini (M1, 2020) is a very capable Mac system in all other respects.

On the plus side, the Intel Mac mini does provide for an integrated 10G ethernet port which will be useful and eliminate the use of my Promise SANLink 3 TB3/USB-C -to- 10G adaptor that has to be used for my current MBP13,3 file server.

I'm very disappointed with Promise for saying they are not supporting the/my 'legacy' TB1 and TB2 Pegasus devices with the new Apple M1 Macs.

I cannot come up with a good reason why Promise has made this 'legacy' support decision, beyond maybe their marketing wanting to encourage their customer base to buy new Pegasus devices..... sigh. I must play the French board game Kapital to get a better understanding about this.

If you have a New Yorker subscription -> https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/...ing-and-play-a-board-game-about-class-warfare

[EDIT] If Promise holds to their decision not to support their 'legacy' Pegasus devices on the new Apple M1 models, I'm seriously ticked-off, and saddened, just to put it politely. Bah humbug....

 

[tdar]

Subject: Sigh - Will be returning my new Mac mini (M1, 2020) as it does not support legacy Promise Pegasus devices

Just realized (Found out per Promise Support) that Promise does not intend to support their legacy Pegasus devices such as what I have (TB1 and TB2 models) on the new M1 SoC models. They are however supported on the Mac Intel models.

The real reason for obtaining my Mac mini (M1, 2020) was not only to explore its claims made by Apple, but to replace my late 2016 15" rMBP13,3 that is used as my file server that has some 74 TB connected to it (a large part of this is on Pegasus devices). This would allow me to release the MBP from its permanent/stuck position and then to be available for being carried about the home and offsite and on the road.

I'm saddened by this as the Mac mini (M1, 2020) is a very capable Mac system in all other respects.

On the plus side, the Intel Mac mini does provide for an integrated 10G ethernet port which will be useful and eliminate the use of my Promise SANLink 3 TB3/USB-C -to- 10G adaptor that has to be used for my current MBP13,3 file server.

I'm very disappointed with Promise for saying they are not supporting the/my 'legacy' TB1 and TB2 Pegasus devices with the new Apple M1 Macs.

I cannot come up with a good reason why Promise has made this 'legacy' support decision, beyond maybe their marketing wanting to encourage their customer base to buy new Pegasus devices..... sigh. I must play the French board game Kapital to get a better understanding about this.

If you have a New Yorker subscription -> https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/...ing-and-play-a-board-game-about-class-warfare

[EDIT] If Promise holds to their decision not to support their 'legacy' Pegasus devices on the new Apple M1 models, I'm seriously ticked-off, and saddened, just to put it politely. Bah humbug....

What would happen it you bought the Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter? It presents TB2 to a device connected to a TB3 host.

 

[bxs]

What would happen it you bought the Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter? It presents TB2 to a device connected to a TB3 host.

That is what I'm using today. That is, I use the Apple USB-C - to - TB3 adapter. Works fine on Intel with the USB-C ports, but not on the Mac mini (M1, 2020).

 

[tdar]

This one?

Thunderbolt 3 USB C to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

www.apple.com

 

[bxs]

This one?

Thunderbolt 3 USB C to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

www.apple.com

Yes, exactly.

 

[Einz]

That sucks. I Have a 4 bay TB2 drive from OWC I bought when I had the trash can Mac Pro. I switched to the 2017 iMac and works with the Apple TB3 to TB 2 adapter. That old TB drive still works with the M1 Mini. I don't know why your Promise would not work?

 

[smoking monkey]

It seems that at some point the OP is going to have to confront this issue when there are no longer Intel Macs.
What is your plan then OP? Is it better to change now or prepare to change now OR wait until you have to change several years down the track?

I think we've all been confronted with a legacy issue. I had mine about 10 years ago when iWorks changed to pages or whatever it was and is now called. I had 100s of documents that had to be changed over. Took me about 1 year all up.

 

[joevt]

What if you connect the Promise to a Thunderbolt 3 dock that does work?

 

[svendobbelaere]

It seems that at some point the OP is going to have to confront this issue when there are no longer Intel Macs.
What is your plan then OP? Is it better to change now or prepare to change now OR wait until you have to change several years down the track?

I'm not the OP, but I have the following:

1 x Promise R6 V1 (Thunderbolt 1) with 2 TB hard drives.

2 x Promise R8 V2 (Thunderbolt 2) with 3 TB hard drives.

My plan going forward is simple:

1. **** Promise. Not buying anything from them ever again

2. Get 2 x 8 or 12 bay NAS devices, and use the drives from the R8 V2 in those.

Your mileage may vary

 

[SlCKB0Y]

Will be returning my new Mac mini (M1, 2020) as it does not support legacy Promise Pegasus devices

but to replace my late 2016 15" rMBP13,3 that is used as my file server that has some 74 TB connected to it

How about this, return the M1 Mac mini and pick up a new or used Intel Mac mini with 10gbe to attach your storage to. Sell the 2016 MBP as soon as possible and get a decently specced out M1 MBP?

That way you get to keep your storage, you will maximise the resale value of the 15" MBP and you'll get to experience the new M1 platform with probably a similar (or better) performance to your current MBP.

It's really hard to explain the feeling of using these M1 laptops - it's as if you have to totally recalibrate your understanding of what a laptop is capable of and the experience in using it. I looked up today and saw my battery at 20% and thought "where's my charger". Then I looked at iStat menus and the estimated battery remaining was more than 5 hours!

Add to this that it's cooler and faster than any Mac laptop I've previously owned and it honestly feels like magic.

 

[AndrewWx]

Did Apple say anything about this. It seems that they should say somewhere that the TB ports will not support TB 1 or 2. Is this just an oddity of Pegasus?

 

[Arctic Moose]

It seems that at some point the OP is going to have to confront this issue when there are no longer Intel Macs.
What is your plan then OP? Is it better to change now or prepare to change now OR wait until you have to change several years down the track?

By the time there are no Intel Macs to be had, new or used, that fulfill these needs I think it is pretty safe to assume that the peripherals will be long gone as well.

 

[bxs]

By the time there are no Intel Macs to be had, new or used, that fulfill these needs I think it is pretty safe to assume that the peripherals will be long gone as well.

Yes, I understand that new Intel-based Macs from Apple will not be offered in about 2 or 3 yrs from now. However, the Intel-based Macs will still be in the Apple customer base for probably another 7 to 10 yrs from now. So continuing with an Intel-based Mac such as the fresh/new Intel Mac mini offered today would be around a 7 yr investment and hopefully would support my Pegasus storage devices for that period of time, assuming they continue to be operable. Currently the Big Sur running on an Intel-based Mac fully supports my Pegasus TB1 and TB2 units (Pegasus1, Pegasus2, and the new Pegasus32 units). I have some 74 TB worth of data on four Pegasus R4(TB1/TB3), R6(TB2) and R8(TB2). At this time none of these are supported or at least are not being discovered on my new Mac mini (M1, 2020) running Big Sur.

My hope is that in short order Apple/Promise will sort this issue out, and further, the fix will be to allow all my Pegasus units (TB1, TB2 and TB3) to be discoverable and operational on the new Mac mini (M1, 2020). In earlier Big Sur builds this same issue arose and either Apple or Promise fixed it. From my knowledge on how they fixed it is similar to what is causing the problem today on the M1 Mac models.... so I feel somewhat comfortable with the hope all will be fixed.

However, if the fix forthcoming for the Pegasus units does not support the TB1 and TB2 models I will ditch my new Mac mini (M1, 2020) in favor of a new Intel-based Mac mini.

To replace my TB1 and TB2 Pegasus units with Pegasus32 units would mean having to cough up some $6,200 plus taxes. I can pay an extra $350 for buying a new Intel-based Mac mini with the return of my new Mac mini (M1, 2020), and have all my current Pegasus units fully supported and operational.

As I've said, I'd love to hang onto the Mac mini (M1, 2020), but will only do so if my current Pegasus units are fully supported on the M1 models.

 

[NT1440]

Sounds like they’re not using DriverKit, otherwise this would just work ?‍♂️

 

[repoman27]

FWIW, this was recently posted on the Promise forums:

Hi Barry and Andrew,

I had requested information in regards to Pegasus M1 support and I now have an answer.

Promise will support the M1 architecture on Big Sur. The verification on Pegasus2/Pegasus3/Pegasus32 will be done in the middle of Dec. Verification won't be done with the Pegasus1, but it should be compatible. And this is true, I have tested the latest Pegasus32 MAC driver with my old Pegasus1 R4 and it worked with no issues. The Promise Utility identified the unit and I was able to rebuild a drive that had died and read and write data.

 

[bxs]

Thank you..... Yes, "Barry" is me actually. This is good news. ?

 

[Spindel]

Do you need the high transfer speeds TB can offer?

Otherwise move to a NAS.

 

[bxs]

That makes little sense to me. To abandon my Promise Pegasus units that hold some 74 TB of data and to buy a NAS for $1000s is not something I would entertain at all..... and yes I need high-speed data transfers. My file server deliver data from my Pegasus units across a 10G LAN.... so I get 800 to 1000 MB/s transfer rates to speed along my workflows.... Time is money as they say in a paying business.

 

[Einz]

Did Apple say anything about this. It seems that they should say somewhere that the TB ports will not support TB 1 or 2. Is this just an oddity of Pegasus?

My 7 years old TB2 4 bay drive from OWC works fine with the adaptor on the M1 mini.

 

[bxs]

My 7 years old TB2 4 bay drive from OWC works fine with the adaptor on the M1 mini.

...and so do my TB2/TB3 OWC multi drive devices. Obviously a difference between OWC and Promise gear. Typically you need SoftRAID with OWC but not needed by Promise stuff.

 

[bxs]

In conclusion, I'll be waiting for the fix for this issue from Promise that is stated to arrive by mid Dec, 2020. If all works then I'll be very pleased to continue my use of the Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020), as it's a VERY fine piece of work.

Thanks for all the responses - all very helpful. Some times one just has to embark on a rage trip, right ?

 

[SlCKB0Y]

As I've said, I'd love to hang onto the Mac mini (M1, 2020), but will only do so if my current Pegasus units are fully supported on the M1 models.

All I would say is just be very mindful of the timing with regards to the lifecycle of your 15" MacBook Pro. A Mac laptop with a screen size larger than 13" (Eg 15" or 16") will be coming sooner rather than later and when they do, your resale value will fall off a cliff if your try to sell it too late.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

Some times one just has to embark on a rage trip, right ?

It's cathartic!

 

[proximity]

They released support for legacy devices a few weeks after the last update in this thread: https://forum.promise.com/thread/pegasus-r2-won-t-mount-on-new-m1-mac-mini/

Link to download M1 compatible driver: https://www.promise.com/DownloadFile.aspx?DownloadFileUID=6590

I'm running my Pegasus R6 with my M1 Mac Mini. Just short of 400 MB (yes, megabytes) pr sec read and write. But I'm having major issues. It disconnects and reconnects spontaneously constantly. I left the Mac over night and came back to so many notifications it was difficult to dismiss them all! Something is very wrong and it's absolutely not working.

UPDATE: After updating to the latest firmware for the Pegasus R6 (released back in 2017). It now seems stable when connected via the OWC Thunderbolt dock. It's stable when connected directly to the Mac Mini.

 

[mabok]

Subject: Sigh - Will be returning my new Mac mini (M1, 2020) as it does not support legacy Promise Pegasus devices

Just realized (Found out per Promise Support) that Promise does not intend to support their legacy Pegasus devices such as what I have (TB1 and TB2 models) on the new M1 SoC models. They are however supported on the Mac Intel models.

The real reason for obtaining my Mac mini (M1, 2020) was not only to explore its claims made by Apple, but to replace my late 2016 15" rMBP13,3 that is used as my file server that has some 74 TB connected to it (a large part of this is on Pegasus devices). This would allow me to release the MBP from its permanent/stuck position and then to be available for being carried about the home and offsite and on the road.

I'm saddened by this as the Mac mini (M1, 2020) is a very capable Mac system in all other respects.

On the plus side, the Intel Mac mini does provide for an integrated 10G ethernet port which will be useful and eliminate the use of my Promise SANLink 3 TB3/USB-C -to- 10G adaptor that has to be used for my current MBP13,3 file server.

I'm very disappointed with Promise for saying they are not supporting the/my 'legacy' TB1 and TB2 Pegasus devices with the new Apple M1 Macs.

I cannot come up with a good reason why Promise has made this 'legacy' support decision, beyond maybe their marketing wanting to encourage their customer base to buy new Pegasus devices..... sigh. I must play the French board game Kapital to get a better understanding about this.

If you have a New Yorker subscription -> https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/...ing-and-play-a-board-game-about-class-warfare

[EDIT] If Promise holds to their decision not to support their 'legacy' Pegasus devices on the new Apple M1 models, I'm seriously ticked-off, and saddened, just to put it politely. Bah humbug....

Hi.
I'm currently experiencing that moment of betrayal right now... my pegasus drive bay not working coz of m1 not supported.

Right now I'm using a networkking concept as a "gateway" for my mac mini m1 to access the hdd/ssd inside pegasus. *desperate measures*

mac m1 connect to router
old mac connect to router
pegasus drive bay connect to old mac

I did try installing a new driver but it will not mount up also.

Anyway,
Is there any alternative drive bay suitable for mac m1? I don't mind to upgrade the pegasus and move on.