# BeamDisk: everything in one file > Every page on beamdisk.app as markdown for AI agents: the home page, the benchmarks, download, pricing, business, contact, privacy, terms, the guides and every docs page. The index is https://beamdisk.app/llms.txt. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/ # BeamDisk > BeamDisk connects a Mac with Apple Silicon to iSCSI storage on a server or SAN. The disk shows up in Finder, Disk Utility and Time Machine like a drive plugged into the Mac, reads and writes at full 10 GbE speed, over 1.2 GB/s, and needs no kernel extension or change to the Mac's security settings. It's free to download and free for home use; business use needs a license. **Fast iSCSI for Macs with Apple Silicon.** BeamDisk is the first high-performance iSCSI initiator for Apple Silicon. Connect to your storage server or SAN, and its disks appear in Finder and Time Machine like local drives. No kernel extension, no Recovery-mode restarts, no lowered security. - Join the free TestFlight beta: https://beamdisk.app/download/ - Documentation: https://beamdisk.app/docs/ - Free for home use. No kernel extension. macOS 27 or later on Apple Silicon. ## Benchmarks **Measured, not promised.** Real runs on a Mac and a server over 10 GbE, replayed second by second. Every run lists what it ran on, and the method is published. ### Sequential read and write Reads and writes, each measured on its own, both run at over 99% of what 10 GbE can carry. Reads and writes were measured separately, one after the other; the chart overlays the two runs. - Read: 1,230 MB/s sustained, 1,237 MB/s peak - Write: 1,236 MB/s sustained, 1,237 MB/s peak The chart's ceiling is 1,237 MB/s: 10 Gigabit Ethernet Theoretical Max. Ran on: Mac: Apple M4, 16 GB; macOS: 27.0.1; BeamDisk: 1.0 (development build); Storage: Linux LIO iSCSI target on Debian 13, SATA SSDs; Network: 10GBase-T, MTU 9000, one session; Test: 1 MiB blocks, 8 in flight, 8 GiB file on APFS; reads and writes in separate 180 s runs. Date: 2026-10-25. ### Random read and write Random 16 KiB reads and writes, each measured on its own, at the memory page size of Macs with Apple Silicon. Reads and writes were measured separately, one after the other; the chart overlays the two runs. - Read: 20.2K IOPS sustained, 20.6K IOPS peak - Write: 24.0K IOPS sustained, 24.4K IOPS peak Ran on: Mac: Apple M4, 16 GB; macOS: 27.0.1; BeamDisk: 1.0 (development build); Storage: Linux LIO iSCSI target on Debian 13, SATA SSDs; Network: 10GBase-T, MTU 9000, one session; Test: 16 KiB blocks, 16 in flight for writes and 48 for reads, 2 GiB file on APFS; reads and writes in separate 180 s runs. Date: 2026-10-25. ### Mixed sequential Reading and writing at the same time, BeamDisk moved 1,844 MB/s in all, about 1.5 times what one direction of 10 GbE can carry; reads took the larger share. Reads and writes ran at the same time. - Together (reads and writes, each second's sum): 1,844 MB/s sustained, 1,928 MB/s peak - Read: 1,154 MB/s sustained, 1,210 MB/s peak - Write: 690 MB/s sustained, 725 MB/s peak The chart's ceiling is 1,237 MB/s: 10 Gigabit Ethernet Theoretical Max, each direction. Both directions at once, 10 GbE carries 2,474 MB/s. Ran on: Mac: Apple M4, 16 GB; macOS: 27.0.1; BeamDisk: 1.0 (development build); Storage: Linux LIO iSCSI target on Debian 13, SATA SSDs; Network: 10GBase-T, MTU 9000, one session; Test: 1 MiB blocks, 8 reads and 8 writes in flight at once, 8 GiB file on APFS, 180 s. Date: 2026-10-26. ### Mixed random, 70/30 A 70/30 mix of random 16 KiB reads and writes at the same time ran at 26.2K operations a second in all, more than either direction alone. Reads and writes ran at the same time. - Together (reads and writes, each second's sum): 26.2K IOPS sustained, 26.7K IOPS peak - Read: 18.3K IOPS sustained, 18.8K IOPS peak - Write: 7.8K IOPS sustained, 8.1K IOPS peak Ran on: Mac: Apple M4, 16 GB; macOS: 27.0.1; BeamDisk: 1.0 (development build); Storage: Linux LIO iSCSI target on Debian 13, SATA SSDs; Network: 10GBase-T, MTU 9000, one session; Test: 16 KiB blocks at random offsets, 70% reads, 32 in flight, 2 GiB file on APFS, 180 s. Date: 2026-10-26. ### Time Machine: iSCSI vs SMB The same first full backup of a Mac (71.4 GB, 1.8 million files) to the same SSD pool took 8 min 19 s over BeamDisk and 9 min 39 s over SMB: 14% less time. - BeamDisk (iSCSI): 143 MB/s on average, 391 MB/s peak, finished in 8 min 19 s - SMB: 123 MB/s on average, 355 MB/s peak, finished in 9 min 39 s Ran on: Mac: Apple M4, 16 GB; macOS: 27.0.1; BeamDisk: 1.0 (development build); Storage: TrueNAS, SATA SSD pool, no SLOG; Network: 10GBase-T, MTU 9000, one session; Test: First full backup of the same Mac (71.4 GB of Time Machine's data, 1,815,793 files), minutes apart: to an empty BeamDisk disk, then to a new Time Machine share over SMB, both on the same pool. Date: 2026-10-22. Your results depend on your server, its disks and your network. BeamDisk's built-in Test Speed measures your own setup in about a minute. Methodology: https://beamdisk.app/benchmarks/ ## No kernel extension **Installs like an app. Because it is one.** Kernel-extension initiators ask a lot of a Mac with Apple Silicon. BeamDisk asks for one switch. **The kernel-extension way:** Recovery, Reduced Security, two restarts. On every Mac. 1. Shut down, then press and hold the power button and choose Options to start up in Recovery. 2. Open Startup Security Utility and lower the Mac's security policy to Reduced Security, allowing kernel extensions from identified developers. 3. Restart, install the software, and allow its kernel extension in System Settings → Privacy & Security. 4. Restart again. Then repeat on every Mac. **The BeamDisk way:** One switch. No restart. Security unchanged. 1. Install BeamDisk from the Mac App Store. 2. Turn BeamDisk on in System Settings when it asks. Once. 3. Add your disks. No restart, and your Mac's security settings stay exactly as they were. - A sandboxed Mac App Store app. - Nothing to allow-list in your MDM's kernel-extension policy. - Nothing left behind in the system when you delete it. ## Features **Everything a disk should do.** - **Finds your disks**: Enter your server's address and BeamDisk lists every disk it offers this Mac, with its size. Tick the ones you want and name them. - **CHAP and mutual CHAP**: Authenticate to the server, and have the server prove itself too. Secrets live in your Keychain, on this Mac only. - **Rides out outages**: If the server stops answering, BeamDisk holds writes for up to 60 seconds (you choose 15 to 300) and reconnects by itself. Apps carry on as if nothing happened. - **One Mac at a time, enforced**: BeamDisk takes exclusive access to each disk, so a second computer can't write to it and corrupt it. It keeps that hold through reconnects. - **Time Machine to your server**: Use an iSCSI disk as a Time Machine destination, after a one-time setup in BeamDisk's settings. - **Live in the menu bar**: Throughput and IOPS right in the menu bar, split by read and write if you like, in MB/s, MiB/s or Gb/s. Graphs with p50 and p99 latency, kept for 7 days. - **Test Speed, built in**: Eight tests in about a minute, reading and writing files as apps do: sequential and random, reads and writes, latency and synced writes. Test files are removed afterwards. - **Gives space back**: Delete files on an APFS disk and BeamDisk returns the free space to your server: when the disk connects, or whenever you click Reclaim Free Space. - **Formats in a click**: A blank disk gets an APFS format tuned for network storage, or use Disk Utility for anything else. - **Tells you what happened, and when**: Notifications when the server stops responding, when a disk reconnects, or when another computer takes a disk. In the app, every message and every problem says when it happened. - **CRC32C digests**: Optional header and data checksums on every command, when your target supports them. - **Keeps working when you quit**: Disks stay connected when you quit the app, unless you choose to disconnect them. Connect at login, disk by disk. APFS and Mac OS Extended (Journaled) read and write. exFAT, FAT and NTFS disks attach read-only. The BeamDisk window: throughput, IOPS and latency for every disk, graphs kept for 7 days, and each disk's state in plain words. Here Projects reads at 1,230 MB/s, the rate sustained over 180 s on 10 GbE. ## For IT and fleets **Easy to approve. Easy to deploy.** - **No kernel extension to approve**: No Reduced Security, no Recovery-mode visits, no kernel-extension policy. The Mac keeps the security your MDM enforces. - **A sandboxed Mac App Store app**: Apple reviews and signs every release, and updates come through the App Store. - **Volume purchase**: A separate BeamDisk app for organizations, $25 per Mac, bought in volume through Apple Business Manager and assigned by your MDM like any App Store app. - **Licensing procurement understands**: Business use needs a license after the trial, one per Mac, bought in the app or in volume. The terms are on the pricing page, in plain words. - **Data safety you can explain**: Exclusive access stops two Macs writing one disk, flushes reach the server, brief outages are ridden out, and every state is visible. - **No account, no analytics**: BeamDisk connects only to your storage, and to Apple for purchases and updates. Every disk state has one glyph, one plain label and at most one thing to do. BeamDisk for business: https://beamdisk.app/business/ ## For homelabs **Built for the server in your closet, too.** - **Free for home use, forever**: Personal, non-commercial use stays free after the trial, with one server and unlimited disks on it. - **Bring your server**: BeamDisk speaks standard iSCSI. It's tested with TrueNAS and with Linux targets (LIO / targetcli). - **Time Machine over iSCSI**: Back up to your server as if it were a disk on your desk. - **See your network's real speed**: Test Speed shows what your server and network can do. Test Speed on 10 GbE to a Linux iSCSI target: 1,225 MB/s sequential write, 1,152 MB/s sequential read, about 19.5K random 16 KiB reads and 17.7K writes per second, and 0.45 ms read latency. ## Set up **Three steps to a network disk.** 1. **Install.** Get BeamDisk from the Mac App Store, and turn it on in System Settings when it asks. 2. **Add Disk.** Enter your server's address, and its CHAP secret if it uses one. Pick your disks. 3. **Use it.** The disk appears in Finder. Format a blank one as APFS in a click. Add your first disk, step by step: https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/add-a-disk/ ## Compatibility **What you need.** | | | | --- | --- | | Mac | Apple Silicon (M1 or later) | | macOS | macOS 27 or later | | Network | Wired Ethernet recommended; tested on 10 GbE | | Targets | Standard iSCSI. Tested: TrueNAS, Linux LIO / targetcli | | Authentication | None, CHAP, mutual CHAP | | Integrity | CRC32C header and data digests (optional) | | File systems | APFS, Mac OS Extended (Journaled): read and write. exFAT, FAT, NTFS: read-only | | Not in version 1 | Intel Macs, multipath (MPIO), one disk on two Macs at once | **Requirements.** A Mac with Apple Silicon on macOS 27 or later, and an iSCSI target on a storage server or SAN (tested with TrueNAS and Linux LIO). Wired Ethernet is recommended. ## For storage vendors **Qualify BeamDisk with your iSCSI targets.** Make storage servers, SANs or iSCSI target software? Get in touch to discuss qualifying BeamDisk with your targets. - **Free of charge**: We work with your team to do the qualification, at no cost to you. - **Fixed on our side**: What the testing turns up in BeamDisk, we fix. - **Listed as tested**: When your target passes, we list it as tested on our compatibility page, with the configuration we tested. Get in touch: https://beamdisk.app/contact/?category=vendor ## Pricing **Free for home. Licensed for work.** Download BeamDisk free and use every feature for 30 days. After that, home use stays free with one server and unlimited disks on it, and a one-time $25 purchase unlocks everything, for good. - **Free trial** ($0, every feature for 30 days): Everyone, at home or at work. Every feature, unlocked. No account, no card. - **Home** ($0, forever, after the trial): Personal, non-commercial use. Limited to 1 storage server. Unlimited disks on that server. No command-line tool. Personal/Home use only. - **Pro** ($25, once, in the app): Anyone, at home or at work. Every feature, permanently. Any number of servers and disks. The command-line tool. Business and Commercial use allowed. - **Business** ($25, per Mac, through Apple Business Manager): Organizations. The separate BeamDisk for Business app. Exactly what Pro unlocks. Bought in volume, assigned to Macs by your MDM. Using BeamDisk for work, at a business or for paid work at home, needs Pro or BeamDisk for Business after the trial, one purchase per Mac. Pricing and licensing: https://beamdisk.app/pricing/ ## Frequently asked questions ### Is there an iSCSI initiator for Macs with Apple Silicon? Yes. BeamDisk connects a Mac with Apple Silicon to iSCSI targets on a storage server or SAN, and runs on macOS 27 or later. ### Does BeamDisk need a kernel extension or Reduced Security? No. It installs from the Mac App Store like any app and asks you to turn it on once in System Settings. There's no Recovery-mode restart, and your Mac's security settings don't change. ### Which iSCSI targets does it work with? BeamDisk uses standard iSCSI. It's tested with TrueNAS and with Linux targets (LIO / targetcli). The [compatibility page](https://beamdisk.app/docs/reference/compatibility/) keeps the current list. ### Does BeamDisk work with Synology, QNAP, Unraid or Windows Server? They haven't been tested yet. BeamDisk uses standard iSCSI, and [What a target needs](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/requirements/) lists what a target must support. If you try one, [tell us](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/get-help/) how it goes. ### Can I use an iSCSI disk for Time Machine? Yes. Set it up once in BeamDisk's settings (it needs an administrator's approval), then choose the disk in Time Machine. [How to set it up](https://beamdisk.app/docs/time-machine/set-up/). ### How fast is BeamDisk? On 10 GbE to a Linux iSCSI target with SATA SSDs, BeamDisk read at 1,230 MB/s and wrote at 1,236 MB/s, each measured on its own, over 99% of what the link can carry, and did 20.2K random 16 KiB reads and 24.0K random 16 KiB writes per second. Reading and writing at the same time, it moved 1,844 MB/s in all, and 26.2K random 16 KiB operations a second at 70% reads. Your numbers depend on your server and network; BeamDisk's Test Speed measures them. [The benchmarks](https://beamdisk.app/benchmarks/). ### Do I need 10 GbE? No. BeamDisk works over any wired Ethernet link to your server, and the link sets the ceiling: about 118 MB/s on 1 GbE, 290 MB/s on 2.5 GbE and 1,180 MB/s on 10 GbE (1,237 MB/s with jumbo frames). The published benchmarks ran on 10 GbE. [Get the most from your network](https://beamdisk.app/docs/performance/tuning/). ### Can two Macs use the same iSCSI disk? Not at the same time. BeamDisk takes exclusive access, so a second computer is refused rather than corrupting the disk. Remove the disk on one Mac to use it on another. ### What happens if the network drops or the server restarts? BeamDisk holds writes for up to 60 seconds (adjustable from 15 to 300) and reconnects automatically. Apps only see errors if the outage lasts longer than that. ### Is BeamDisk in beta? Yes. BeamDisk is in a free public beta on TestFlight, with every feature unlocked, and the Mac App Store release is coming soon. [Join the beta](https://beamdisk.app/download/). ### Is BeamDisk free? Yes, during the TestFlight beta, with every feature unlocked. From the Mac App Store release, it's free to download, with every feature for 30 days. After that it stays free for home use, with one server and unlimited disks on it, and a one-time $25 in-app purchase unlocks every feature permanently. [Pricing](https://beamdisk.app/pricing/). ### Can I use the free version at work? No. Business and commercial use need a license after the trial, one per Mac: Pro ($25 in the app), or BeamDisk for Business for organizations. ### Does BeamDisk support CHAP? Yes, CHAP and mutual CHAP. Secrets are kept in your Keychain. ### Which file systems can I use on the disk? APFS and Mac OS Extended (Journaled) are read and write. exFAT, FAT and NTFS disks attach read-only. ### Does BeamDisk collect any data? No. There's no account and no analytics; it connects only to your storage, and to Apple for purchases and updates. ### Does it support multipath (MPIO) or Intel Macs? Not in version 1. ### Does BeamDisk work on macOS 26 Tahoe or earlier? No. BeamDisk needs macOS 27 or later, on a Mac with Apple Silicon. ### Can a Mac start up from an iSCSI disk with BeamDisk? No. BeamDisk connects disks once you've logged in, so a Mac can't start up from one, and they don't connect at the login window. ### Is the iSCSI traffic encrypted? iSCSI itself isn't encrypted; CHAP authenticates both ends. Keep storage traffic on a trusted network or VLAN, as with any iSCSI initiator. ### Is BeamDisk open source? No. BeamDisk is a commercial Mac App Store app: free to download and free for home use, with a license for work. ### Who makes BeamDisk? 3rd Bit Labs LLC, a software engineering company founded in 2017 ([3rdbitlabs.com](https://3rdbitlabs.com)). Questions go to the people who build BeamDisk, through the [contact form](https://beamdisk.app/contact/), or, for public discussion, on [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/3rdBitLabs/BeamDisk/discussions). ## Download **Beam your LUNs to your Mac.** Free to download. Free for home use. Join the free TestFlight beta: https://beamdisk.app/download/ --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/benchmarks/ # BeamDisk benchmarks > Each chart replays one recorded run, sample by sample, with the Mac, the server and the network it ran on. The method is below. ## Results ### Sequential read and write Reads and writes, each measured on its own, both run at over 99% of what 10 GbE can carry. Reads and writes were measured separately, one after the other; the chart overlays the two runs. - Read: 1,230 MB/s sustained, 1,237 MB/s peak - Write: 1,236 MB/s sustained, 1,237 MB/s peak The chart's ceiling is 1,237 MB/s: 10 Gigabit Ethernet Theoretical Max. Ran on: Mac: Apple M4, 16 GB; macOS: 27.0.1; BeamDisk: 1.0 (development build); Storage: Linux LIO iSCSI target on Debian 13, SATA SSDs; Network: 10GBase-T, MTU 9000, one session; Test: 1 MiB blocks, 8 in flight, 8 GiB file on APFS; reads and writes in separate 180 s runs. Date: 2026-10-25. ### Random read and write Random 16 KiB reads and writes, each measured on its own, at the memory page size of Macs with Apple Silicon. Reads and writes were measured separately, one after the other; the chart overlays the two runs. - Read: 20.2K IOPS sustained, 20.6K IOPS peak - Write: 24.0K IOPS sustained, 24.4K IOPS peak Ran on: Mac: Apple M4, 16 GB; macOS: 27.0.1; BeamDisk: 1.0 (development build); Storage: Linux LIO iSCSI target on Debian 13, SATA SSDs; Network: 10GBase-T, MTU 9000, one session; Test: 16 KiB blocks, 16 in flight for writes and 48 for reads, 2 GiB file on APFS; reads and writes in separate 180 s runs. Date: 2026-10-25. ### Mixed sequential Reading and writing at the same time, BeamDisk moved 1,844 MB/s in all, about 1.5 times what one direction of 10 GbE can carry; reads took the larger share. Reads and writes ran at the same time. - Together (reads and writes, each second's sum): 1,844 MB/s sustained, 1,928 MB/s peak - Read: 1,154 MB/s sustained, 1,210 MB/s peak - Write: 690 MB/s sustained, 725 MB/s peak The chart's ceiling is 1,237 MB/s: 10 Gigabit Ethernet Theoretical Max, each direction. Both directions at once, 10 GbE carries 2,474 MB/s. Ran on: Mac: Apple M4, 16 GB; macOS: 27.0.1; BeamDisk: 1.0 (development build); Storage: Linux LIO iSCSI target on Debian 13, SATA SSDs; Network: 10GBase-T, MTU 9000, one session; Test: 1 MiB blocks, 8 reads and 8 writes in flight at once, 8 GiB file on APFS, 180 s. Date: 2026-10-26. ### Mixed random, 70/30 A 70/30 mix of random 16 KiB reads and writes at the same time ran at 26.2K operations a second in all, more than either direction alone. Reads and writes ran at the same time. - Together (reads and writes, each second's sum): 26.2K IOPS sustained, 26.7K IOPS peak - Read: 18.3K IOPS sustained, 18.8K IOPS peak - Write: 7.8K IOPS sustained, 8.1K IOPS peak Ran on: Mac: Apple M4, 16 GB; macOS: 27.0.1; BeamDisk: 1.0 (development build); Storage: Linux LIO iSCSI target on Debian 13, SATA SSDs; Network: 10GBase-T, MTU 9000, one session; Test: 16 KiB blocks at random offsets, 70% reads, 32 in flight, 2 GiB file on APFS, 180 s. Date: 2026-10-26. ### Time Machine: iSCSI vs SMB The same first full backup of a Mac (71.4 GB, 1.8 million files) to the same SSD pool took 8 min 19 s over BeamDisk and 9 min 39 s over SMB: 14% less time. - BeamDisk (iSCSI): 143 MB/s on average, 391 MB/s peak, finished in 8 min 19 s - SMB: 123 MB/s on average, 355 MB/s peak, finished in 9 min 39 s Ran on: Mac: Apple M4, 16 GB; macOS: 27.0.1; BeamDisk: 1.0 (development build); Storage: TrueNAS, SATA SSD pool, no SLOG; Network: 10GBase-T, MTU 9000, one session; Test: First full backup of the same Mac (71.4 GB of Time Machine's data, 1,815,793 files), minutes apart: to an empty BeamDisk disk, then to a new Time Machine share over SMB, both on the same pool. Date: 2026-10-22. ## Methodology - **The path apps use.** Throughput (1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes) and operations per second are measured on the Mac, through a file on an APFS volume on a BeamDisk disk: the same path every app takes. - **Nothing flattered.** Tests bypass the Mac's file cache, so reads come over the network. The data is random, so the server's compression can't shrink it, and every read test reads data written beforehand. - **Sequential.** 1 MiB requests with 8 in flight on an 8 GiB file: reads and writes in separate runs of 180 seconds each, one after the other. - **Random.** 16 KiB requests at random offsets, the memory page size of Macs with Apple Silicon, on a 2 GiB file: reads and writes in separate runs of 180 seconds each, writes with 16 in flight and reads with 48. - **Mixed.** Reads and writes at the same time, for 180 seconds, each second's total their sum. Sequential: 1 MiB reads from one half of the 8 GiB file and 1 MiB writes to the other, 8 of each in flight. Random: 16 KiB requests at random offsets on the 2 GiB file, 70% of them reads, 32 in flight, the best total in a sweep from 8 to 64. - **Time Machine.** A first full backup of the same Mac to an empty disk, once over BeamDisk and once over SMB, to the same pool on the same server, from the same Mac on the same network. Timed from the backup's start until Time Machine reports it finished. - **The link.** 10 GbE carries 1,250 MB/s raw; after Ethernet, IP and TCP overhead, about 1,237 MB/s of data with the 9,000-byte jumbo frames these runs used (about 1,180 MB/s at the standard 1,500-byte MTU). The charts' ceiling is 1,237 MB/s. A single second can read a little above it: each request counts in the second it completes. - **Run it yourself.** BeamDisk's Test Speed (a disk's Options menu → Test Speed…) runs sequential and random tests against your own server in about a minute. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/download/ # Download BeamDisk BeamDisk is in beta on TestFlight, Apple's app for trying apps before they're released, and the beta is free to join. The official Mac App Store release is coming soon. [Join the free TestFlight beta](https://testflight.apple.com/join/jKcTwQ9D) ## Beta places are limited The TestFlight beta has a limited number of places. Once they're all taken, the link says the beta is full and you can't join for now. You can then wait for the beta to be expanded with more places, or for the Mac App Store release. The link stays the same, so try it again later. ## What you need A Mac with Apple Silicon on macOS 27 or later, and an iSCSI target on a storage server or SAN (tested with TrueNAS and Linux LIO). Wired Ethernet is recommended. To join the beta, you also need Apple's free [TestFlight](https://apps.apple.com/app/testflight/id899247664) app from the Mac App Store. ## Join the beta 1. Install [TestFlight](https://apps.apple.com/app/testflight/id899247664) from the Mac App Store. 2. On your Mac, open the [beta link](https://testflight.apple.com/join/jKcTwQ9D). TestFlight opens at BeamDisk: accept the invitation, then install it. 3. Open BeamDisk and [turn it on](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/install/), then [add your first disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/add-a-disk/). ## The Mac App Store release BeamDisk is coming to the Mac App Store soon, where anyone can download it, with no limit on places. When it's out, this page links there. What it will cost is on the [pricing page](https://beamdisk.app/pricing/). ## Beta feedback Send feedback from TestFlight, or [through the contact form](https://beamdisk.app/contact/?category=support). For public discussion with other testers, use [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/3rdBitLabs/BeamDisk/discussions). ## Questions about the beta ### Is the beta free? Yes. Every feature is unlocked in the beta, with nothing to buy. Prices start with the Mac App Store release: see [Pricing](https://beamdisk.app/pricing/). ### How long does a beta build work? Each TestFlight build works for 90 days after it's released to testers, and TestFlight offers every new build as it comes out. Turn on automatic updates for BeamDisk in TestFlight to get them without asking. ### Is the beta safe for important data? It's beta software, so keep a backup of anything that matters, as with any beta. ### How do I send feedback or report a problem? From TestFlight: select BeamDisk, then Send Beta Feedback. Or use the [contact form](https://beamdisk.app/contact/?category=support) as a Support request; [Get help](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/get-help/) lists what to include. For public discussion, use [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/3rdBitLabs/BeamDisk/discussions). ### What happens when BeamDisk comes to the Mac App Store? Install it from the Mac App Store, which this page links once it's out. Pricing starts then, with every feature free for the first 30 days. ### How do I leave the beta? Remove BeamDisk as [Remove BeamDisk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/uninstall/) describes, then click Stop Testing for BeamDisk in TestFlight. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/pricing/ # Free for home. Licensed for work. Download BeamDisk free and use every feature for 30 days. After that, home use stays free with one server and unlimited disks on it, and a one-time $25 purchase unlocks everything, for good. **BeamDisk is in beta on TestFlight, where every feature is free, with nothing to buy. These are the prices from the Mac App Store release.** [Join the beta](https://beamdisk.app/download/) ### Free trial Everyone, at home or at work **$0** every feature for 30 days - Every feature, unlocked - No account, no card ### Home Personal, non-commercial use **$0** forever, after the trial - Limited to 1 storage server - Unlimited disks on that server - No command-line tool - Personal/Home use only ### Pro Anyone, at home or at work **$25** once, in the app - Every feature, permanently - Any number of servers and disks - The command-line tool - Business and Commercial use allowed ### Business Organizations **$25** per Mac, through Apple Business Manager - The separate BeamDisk for Business app - Exactly what Pro unlocks - Bought in volume, assigned to Macs by your MDM [For business](https://beamdisk.app/business/) ## The plans, side by side | Plan | Price | For | Includes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | **Free trial** | $0, every feature for 30 days | Everyone, at home or at work | Every feature, unlocked. No account, no card. | | **Home** | $0, forever, after the trial | Personal, non-commercial use | Limited to 1 storage server. Unlimited disks on that server. No command-line tool. Personal/Home use only. | | **Pro** | $25, once, in the app | Anyone, at home or at work | Every feature, permanently. Any number of servers and disks. The command-line tool. Business and Commercial use allowed. | | **Business** | $25, per Mac, through Apple Business Manager | Organizations | The separate BeamDisk for Business app. Exactly what Pro unlocks. Bought in volume, assigned to Macs by your MDM. | ## Home use and business use **Using BeamDisk for work, at a business or for paid work at home, needs Pro or BeamDisk for Business after the trial, one purchase per Mac.** Home, non-commercial use stays free after the trial, with one server and unlimited disks on it. Pro unlocks every feature for anyone, permanently, and covers business use. Organizations that buy in volume use BeamDisk for Business, through Apple Business Manager: the same features as Pro, as a separate app. [Download BeamDisk free](https://beamdisk.app/download/) [BeamDisk for business](https://beamdisk.app/business/) ## Questions about pricing ### Do I pay anything during the beta? No. Every feature is free in the TestFlight beta, with nothing to buy. These prices start with the Mac App Store release. ### Is the purchase a subscription? No. Pro is a one-time in-app purchase ($25), and BeamDisk for Business is a one-time $25 per Mac. ### Do I need an account? No. Purchases go through your Apple Account. ### What happens when the trial ends? Home use stays free, with one storage server and unlimited disks on it. The command-line tool is part of Pro. Business use needs Pro or BeamDisk for Business. ### What counts as business use? Using BeamDisk for work, at a business or for paid work at home, needs Pro or BeamDisk for Business after the trial, one purchase per Mac. If BeamDisk is used for a company, for clients or for paid work, it's business use. ### How many Macs does one purchase cover? For personal use, Pro covers your Macs on your Apple Account. For business use, each Mac needs its own purchase: Pro, or a copy of BeamDisk for Business. ### What's the difference between Pro and BeamDisk for Business? Only how they're bought. Pro is an in-app purchase on an Apple Account. BeamDisk for Business is a separate app that organizations buy in volume through Apple Business Manager, since Apple doesn't sell in-app purchases that way. Both unlock the same features. ### How do organizations buy BeamDisk? Through Apple Business Manager: buy BeamDisk for Business in volume and assign it to Macs with your MDM, like any App Store app. ### Can I get a refund? Purchases are made through Apple, which handles refunds: request one at reportaproblem.apple.com. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/business/ # BeamDisk for business BeamDisk gives a fleet of Macs with Apple Silicon fast iSCSI storage without touching their security policy. It's a sandboxed Mac App Store app with no kernel extension, so there is nothing to allow-list, no Reduced Security to manage and no Recovery-mode visit to schedule. ## Security - **No kernel extension.** On Apple Silicon, a kernel extension only loads after the Mac is restarted into Recovery and its security policy is lowered to Reduced Security. BeamDisk needs neither, and the Macs keep the security your MDM enforces. - **A sandboxed Mac App Store app.** Apple reviews and signs every release, and updates come through the App Store. - **Credentials stay on the Mac.** CHAP and mutual CHAP secrets are stored in the Keychain, on that Mac only, and removed with the disk. - **No account, no analytics.** BeamDisk connects only to the storage you add, and to Apple for purchases and updates. ## Data safety - **One Mac per disk.** BeamDisk takes exclusive access to each disk with SCSI persistent reservations, so a second computer is refused rather than corrupting the file system. Your target needs to support persistent reservations (TrueNAS does). - **Outages are ridden out.** If the server stops responding, writes are held for up to 60 seconds (adjustable from 15 to 300) while BeamDisk reconnects; apps only see errors after that. - **Flushes reach the server.** When an app or macOS asks for its data to be safely stored, BeamDisk passes the request on to the server. - **Every state is visible.** The app shows each disk's state, live throughput, IOPS and latency, keeps 7 days of history, and notifies the user when a disk disconnects, reconnects or is taken by another computer. ## Deploying 1. **Buy and assign.** Buy BeamDisk for Business in volume through Apple Business Manager, and assign it to Macs with your MDM like any App Store app. 2. **Turn it on.** On each Mac, BeamDisk asks once to be turned on in System Settings. 3. **Allow the Macs on your storage.** Each Mac has its own initiator name, shown in BeamDisk under This Mac and in Settings → General. Allow it on the targets the Mac should use. 4. **Add the disks.** In BeamDisk, Add Disk finds the target's disks by address; CHAP secrets go in the Mac's Keychain. Not in version 1: managed configuration through MDM profiles, multipath (MPIO), encryption of iSCSI traffic (keep storage on a trusted network or VLAN), and Intel Macs. ## Licensing **Using BeamDisk for work, at a business or for paid work at home, needs Pro or BeamDisk for Business after the trial, one purchase per Mac.** Individuals can buy Pro in the app ($25). Organizations buy BeamDisk for Business, the separate app for volume purchase, at $25 per Mac. Both unlock the same features. [Pricing and licensing](https://beamdisk.app/pricing/). ## Requirements A Mac with Apple Silicon on macOS 27 or later, and an iSCSI target on a storage server or SAN (tested with TrueNAS and Linux LIO). Wired Ethernet is recommended. ## Talk to us Questions about deployment, licensing or a pilot: [get in touch](https://beamdisk.app/contact/?category=business). For public discussion with other BeamDisk users, use [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/3rdBitLabs/BeamDisk/discussions). --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/contact/ # Contact us Questions, problems and ideas go straight to the people who build BeamDisk. Choose what it's about, and we'll answer by email. For public discussion, use [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/3rdBitLabs/BeamDisk/discussions): other BeamDisk users can answer there, and the answers help the next person too. The form on this page asks for a category (Support request, Storage vendor qualification, Business and licensing, Feedback and ideas, Press or Something else), your name, your email address, your company (optional) and your message. It needs JavaScript, and Cloudflare Turnstile checks that a person is sending it. A link can choose the category: https://beamdisk.app/contact/?category=vendor opens it at Storage vendor qualification. The categories are support (Support request), vendor (Storage vendor qualification), business (Business and licensing), feedback (Feedback and ideas), press (Press), other (Something else). ## Support requests For a problem, include your Mac's model and macOS version, your BeamDisk version, your storage server and its software version, and what happened. [Get help](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/get-help/) lists everything that helps us answer quickly. Never send your CHAP secrets. ## For storage vendors Make storage servers, SANs or iSCSI target software? Get in touch to discuss qualifying BeamDisk with your targets. - **Free of charge.** We work with your team to do the qualification, at no cost to you. - **Fixed on our side.** What the testing turns up in BeamDisk, we fix. - **Listed as tested.** When your target passes, we list it as tested on our compatibility page, with the configuration we tested. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/privacy/ # Privacy policy Effective October 30, 2026. BeamDisk is made by 3rd Bit Labs LLC. In short: the app collects nothing about you or your data, and has no account. ## The BeamDisk app - **No account, no analytics, no tracking.** BeamDisk sends nothing to 3rd Bit Labs. - **It connects only to the storage you add**, at the addresses you enter, and to Apple through the App Store for purchases and updates. - **CHAP secrets** are stored in your Mac's Keychain, on that Mac only, and removed when you remove the disk. - **Performance history** (throughput, IOPS and latency) is kept for 7 days on your Mac, and never leaves it. - **Your data** travels between your Mac and your storage only. ## Purchases Purchases are made through the App Store with your Apple Account. Apple handles payment; 3rd Bit Labs doesn't receive your payment details. Apple's privacy policy applies to the App Store. ## This website The site is a set of static pages. It sets no cookies, and loads nothing from other sites except on the contact page, below. **Visitor counts.** The site counts visits with [Plausible Analytics](https://plausible.io/data-policy), through the site's own address: which pages are viewed, the referring site, and the browser, operating system and country. It uses no cookies and keeps no IP addresses or other personal data, so no visitor can be identified or followed across sites. ## The contact form - **What you send** (your name, email address, company if you give one, the category and your message) is emailed to 3rd Bit Labs and used only to answer you. - **The spam check.** The contact page uses [Cloudflare Turnstile](https://www.cloudflare.com/turnstile-privacy-policy/), an invisible CAPTCHA, to confirm you are a human before allowing you to submit the contact form. ## Contact Questions about privacy: [contact us](https://beamdisk.app/contact/). For public discussion, use [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/3rdBitLabs/BeamDisk/discussions). --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/terms/ # Terms of use Effective October 30, 2026. These terms are an agreement between you and 3rd Bit Labs LLC (“3rd Bit Labs”, “we”, “us”), a New Mexico limited liability company, the maker of BeamDisk. They cover the BeamDisk app, BeamDisk for Business, any test or beta version of them, their updates and documentation (together, “BeamDisk”), and the website at beamdisk.app (the “site”). ## In short - **Try everything free.** Every feature works during the free trial, at home or at work. - **Home use stays free** after the trial, with a limited set of features, for personal, non-commercial use only. - **Work needs a licence.** Using BeamDisk for a business, a nonprofit, a school, a government or paid work needs Pro or BeamDisk for Business after the trial, one purchase per Mac. - **Your data is yours, and so is its safety.** BeamDisk connects your Mac to storage you choose. Keep backups, and connect each disk to one Mac at a time. - **BeamDisk comes “as is”**, and our liability is limited, as far as the law allows. - **New Mexico law applies**, and disputes go to the courts in New Mexico or a small claims court. This summary helps you read the terms; it isn't a substitute for them. ## 1. Agreeing to these terms By downloading, installing or using BeamDisk, by choosing to agree when BeamDisk asks, or by using the site, you accept these terms. If you don't accept them, don't use BeamDisk or the site. If you use BeamDisk for an organization, such as your employer, a client, a school or an agency, you agree to these terms for that organization and confirm you have the authority to do so. “You” then means you and that organization. You must be old enough to enter into a binding contract where you live, or have a parent or guardian agree to these terms for you. These terms work alongside our [privacy policy](https://beamdisk.app/privacy/), which says what BeamDisk and the site collect, and alongside Apple's terms for the App Store and TestFlight. ## 2. Your licence BeamDisk is licensed, not sold. Subject to these terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to install and use BeamDisk on Apple-branded Macs that you own or control, as the App Store's Usage Rules allow, under one of the licences below. ### The free trial When you first install BeamDisk, you may use every feature, for personal or business use, for the trial period stated on our [pricing page](https://beamdisk.app/pricing/) at the time you install. The trial is offered once per person and, for business use, once per organization. Don't reset, extend or work around it. ### Home After the trial, you may keep using BeamDisk's free features for personal use only (section 3). The free features are those listed on the pricing page, and may change in updates. ### Pro Pro is a one-time in-app purchase made through the App Store. It unlocks every feature of BeamDisk, for personal or business use: - **Personal use:** on the Macs that use your Apple Account, and with family members only as far as the App Store's Family Sharing allows for that purchase. - **Business use:** on one Mac per purchase. Pro is not a subscription. It stays unlocked in later versions of BeamDisk, and we won't put a feature that Pro unlocks behind a further payment for people who bought Pro. We may still change or retire features as the app changes (section 9). ### BeamDisk for Business BeamDisk for Business is a separate app that organizations buy through Apple Business Manager or the App Store. It unlocks what Pro unlocks. Each copy is licensed for one Mac at a time. An organization may move a copy from one Mac to another, for example when replacing a Mac, through Apple Business Manager or its device management, but may not use one copy on more than one Mac at a time. ## 3. Personal use and business use **Personal use** means using BeamDisk for yourself and your household, for purposes that aren't commercial: your own files, photos, media, hobby projects and backups. A student using BeamDisk on their own Mac for their own studies is personal use. **Business use** means any other use, including use: - by, for or on behalf of a company, partnership, sole proprietorship or other business, whether or not it makes a profit; - for paid work, including freelance, contract and self-employed work done at home, or work for clients; - by or for a nonprofit or charitable organization; - by or for a school, college, university or other educational institution, including its staff and its Macs; - by or for a government, at any level, or any of its agencies; - on a Mac that an organization owns, manages or provides, or to reach storage that an organization owns or operates for its work. After the trial, business use needs a Pro purchase or a copy of BeamDisk for Business for each Mac it happens on. If you aren't sure which applies, [ask us](https://beamdisk.app/contact/?category=business). ## 4. Beta and test versions We may offer test versions of BeamDisk, for example through Apple's TestFlight. A test version: - is pre-release software that may have bugs, may lose or damage data, and may stop working when its build expires; - may unlock every feature at no charge for the length of the test; that doesn't continue into the released app, where the licences in section 2 apply; - is also subject to Apple's TestFlight terms; - should be used with storage you can afford to lose, or with data you have backed up. Don't publish or share a test version's build or invitation in ways that TestFlight doesn't allow. ## 5. Purchases, prices and refunds - **Through Apple.** All purchases are made through the App Store or Apple Business Manager, under Apple's terms. Apple processes payment, collects any applicable taxes, and handles refunds. Request a refund at [reportaproblem.apple.com](https://reportaproblem.apple.com). We can't issue refunds ourselves. - **Prices.** Prices are shown in the App Store at the time you buy, and may differ by country. We may change prices for future purchases; a change doesn't affect what you've already bought. - **Restoring.** If you reinstall BeamDisk or move to another Mac, restore your purchase with the same Apple Account to unlock Pro again. - **No account.** BeamDisk has no account with us. Your purchase is tied to your Apple Account, and keeping that account secure is up to you. ## 6. What you may not do You may not, and may not help or allow anyone else to: - copy, sell, rent, lend, lease, sublicense, distribute or otherwise make BeamDisk available to others, except as the App Store, Family Sharing or Apple Business Manager allow; - reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble BeamDisk, or try to derive its source code, except where the law expressly allows it despite this restriction, and then only as far as it allows; - modify BeamDisk, or make works based on it; - remove, disable, bypass or tamper with its licensing, its trial, its purchase checks or any other technical limit; - use the free features or the trial for business use beyond what section 2 allows; - use BeamDisk to reach storage, networks or data that you aren't authorized to reach, or to interfere with or disrupt any system; - use BeamDisk in breach of any law, or of the rights of others; - remove or alter any notice of copyright, trademark or other rights in BeamDisk; - use BeamDisk to build a competing product, or publish benchmark results for BeamDisk that you know misrepresent how it performs. ## 7. Your storage and your data BeamDisk connects your Mac to iSCSI storage that you, or someone who authorized you, provides. We don't provide, host or see that storage or its data. - **Authorization.** You are responsible for having the right to use each storage server, disk and network you connect to, and for any credentials, such as CHAP secrets, that you enter. - **Your data stays yours.** We claim no rights to the data you store or move with BeamDisk. - **Keep backups.** Storage, networks, Macs and software can all fail. Power loss, a network outage, a server fault, a macOS update or a bug in BeamDisk can cause data to be lost or damaged. Keep at least one up-to-date backup of anything you can't afford to lose, on storage separate from the disk it protects. A Time Machine disk is itself a backup, and is not a second copy of your data on its own server. - **One Mac per disk.** Unless a disk uses a file system designed to be shared, connecting the same disk to two or more computers at the same time can destroy its data. Make sure only one computer uses each disk at a time. - **Erasing is permanent.** Formatting or erasing a disk, in BeamDisk or elsewhere, permanently removes what was on it. BeamDisk asks you to confirm, and you are responsible for confirming only what you mean to erase. - **Your server's settings matter.** How safe your data is depends on your storage server too: its write caching, power protection, redundancy and settings. Our documentation gives guidance, but you are responsible for how your storage is set up. - **Not for high-risk uses.** BeamDisk isn't designed or tested for uses where a failure could lead to death, injury, or severe physical or environmental damage, such as medical devices, life support, aircraft or nuclear systems. Don't use it for them. ## 8. Changes BeamDisk makes to your Mac To work, BeamDisk asks you to grant permissions in macOS, such as turning BeamDisk on in System Settings, allowing it to attach disks, and allowing it to open at login. If you set up Time Machine with BeamDisk, it asks you to install its Time Machine profile, which an administrator approves. You can turn these off or remove them at any time; our [documentation](https://beamdisk.app/docs/) explains how, including how to uninstall BeamDisk. ## 9. Updates and changes to BeamDisk We may release updates that fix problems, add, change or remove features, or change what BeamDisk requires, such as the macOS version. Updates are delivered through the App Store and are covered by these terms. Some updates may be needed for BeamDisk to keep working, including with new versions of macOS. We may stop offering, updating or supporting BeamDisk, or any version of it, at any time; a copy you already have keeps working as long as macOS and your Mac allow, but we don't promise it will. ## 10. Support We offer support through the [contact form](https://beamdisk.app/contact/?category=support) and our documentation, on a reasonable-efforts basis. Unless we agree otherwise in writing, we don't promise a response time, a fix, or any particular level of service. Apple has no obligation to provide support for BeamDisk. ## 11. Feedback If you send us ideas, suggestions or bug reports, you grant us a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free licence to use them for any purpose, without owing you anything. We aren't required to use them. Don't send us anything confidential, or your CHAP secrets or other credentials. ## 12. Privacy BeamDisk has no account, no analytics and no tracking, and sends nothing about you or your data to us. Our [privacy policy](https://beamdisk.app/privacy/) describes what BeamDisk and the site do collect, and is part of these terms. ## 13. Apple, storage vendors and other third parties BeamDisk works with macOS, Time Machine and storage made by others. We don't control them, and we aren't responsible for their products, services, availability or changes. A product or vendor appearing in our documentation or compatibility list isn't an endorsement by them or of them, and doesn't mean we're affiliated with them. Apple, Mac, macOS and Time Machine are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their owners. ## 14. Ownership BeamDisk, the site and their content, including software, text, drawings, logos and the BeamDisk name, belong to 3rd Bit Labs or its licensors and are protected by intellectual property laws. Apart from the licence in section 2 and the use of our press kit as it describes, these terms give you no rights in them. We reserve all rights not expressly granted. ## 15. The website - **Information only.** The site's guides, documentation and answers are general information, offered in good faith. Your hardware, network and storage may differ from ours; check before relying on them. - **Benchmarks.** The benchmark results on the site are recordings of specific tests, under the conditions stated beside them. They show what BeamDisk did in those tests, not a promise of the speed you will get. - **The contact form.** Use it for genuine messages. Don't send spam, malware, or unlawful or abusive content. - **Links.** Links to other sites are for convenience. We don't control those sites and aren't responsible for them. - **Using the site.** Don't try to disrupt the site, overload it, or reach parts of it that aren't public. Reading, quoting and indexing its pages, including by search engines and AI assistants, is welcome. ## 16. Disclaimer of warranties BeamDisk and the site are provided “as is” and “as available”, with all faults. To the fullest extent the law allows, 3rd Bit Labs disclaims all warranties and conditions, whether express, implied or statutory, including any implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, quiet enjoyment and non-infringement. We don't warrant that BeamDisk will be uninterrupted or error-free, that it will work with any particular storage, network, Mac or version of macOS, that it will reach any particular speed, that defects will be corrected, or that it will never lose or damage data. No advice or information, oral or written, from us or our documentation creates a warranty not stated in these terms. Some places don't allow implied warranties to be excluded, so some of these exclusions may not apply to you. Where an implied warranty can't be excluded, it is limited to the shortest period the law allows. ## 17. Limitation of liability To the fullest extent the law allows: - 3rd Bit Labs and its members, managers, employees, contractors and agents will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, files or information; loss of profits, revenue, business or goodwill; cost of recovering data or of substitute products; or business interruption, arising out of or relating to BeamDisk, the site or these terms, however caused and on any theory of liability, even if we were told of the possibility of such damages; - our total liability for all claims arising out of or relating to BeamDisk, the site or these terms is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you paid for BeamDisk in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim, and (b) fifty US dollars (US$50). These limits apply even if a remedy fails of its essential purpose. They are part of the basis of the bargain between us: BeamDisk is offered at its price, or free, because of them. Some places don't allow some of these limits, for example on liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for gross negligence or wilful misconduct. Where that's so, they apply to you only as far as the law allows. ## 18. Indemnity If you use BeamDisk for business use, you (that is, the organization) will defend, indemnify and hold harmless 3rd Bit Labs and its members, managers and employees from any third-party claim, and the losses, damages and reasonable legal fees that follow from it, arising from your breach of these terms, your misuse of BeamDisk, or your use of storage, networks or data you weren't authorized to use. We will tell you promptly of such a claim and may take part in its defence with our own counsel. ## 19. Ending this agreement You may end this agreement at any time by deleting BeamDisk from all your Macs and no longer using the site. Your licence ends automatically, without notice, if you materially breach these terms; we may also end it by notice if you do. When it ends, you must stop using BeamDisk and delete it. Ending the agreement doesn't entitle you to a refund except as Apple's refund policy or the law provides. Sections 3, 6, 7, 11, and 13 through 22 survive the end of the agreement. ## 20. Disputes **Talk to us first.** Most problems can be solved without a formal claim. If you have one, please tell us through the [contact form](https://beamdisk.app/contact/?category=other) and give us a chance to put it right. **Governing law.** These terms, and any dispute arising out of or relating to BeamDisk, the site or these terms, are governed by the laws of the State of New Mexico, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules, and, where applicable, by U.S. federal law. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods doesn't apply. **Courts.** Any such dispute is brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in New Mexico, and you and we consent to their personal jurisdiction. Either of us may instead bring an individual claim in a small claims court, if it qualifies. **Where you live.** If you use BeamDisk as a consumer, this section doesn't take away the protection of the mandatory laws of the country where you live, or any right you have to bring a claim in its courts. ## 21. Apple and the App Store If you got BeamDisk from Apple's App Store, Apple Business Manager or TestFlight, the following also applies, and takes precedence over anything else in these terms that conflicts with it: 1. **Parties.** These terms are between you and 3rd Bit Labs only, and not with Apple Inc. (“Apple”). 3rd Bit Labs, not Apple, is solely responsible for BeamDisk and its content. 2. **Scope of licence.** Your licence is a non-transferable licence to use BeamDisk on any Apple-branded products that you own or control, as the Usage Rules in the App Store's Terms of Service allow, except that it may be accessed and used by other accounts associated with you through Family Sharing or volume purchasing where they apply. 3. **Maintenance and support.** 3rd Bit Labs is solely responsible for any maintenance and support of BeamDisk, as set out in these terms or as applicable law requires. Apple has no obligation whatsoever to provide any maintenance or support services for BeamDisk. 4. **Warranty.** 3rd Bit Labs is solely responsible for any product warranties, whether express or implied by law, to the extent not effectively disclaimed. If BeamDisk fails to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price, if any, to you. To the maximum extent the law allows, Apple has no other warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to BeamDisk, and any other claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs or expenses attributable to any failure to conform to any warranty are 3rd Bit Labs' sole responsibility, to the extent these terms don't disclaim them. 5. **Product claims.** 3rd Bit Labs, not Apple, is responsible for addressing any claims by you or any third party relating to BeamDisk or your possession or use of it, including (a) product liability claims; (b) any claim that BeamDisk fails to conform to any applicable legal or regulatory requirement; and (c) claims arising under consumer protection, privacy or similar laws. 6. **Intellectual property.** If a third party claims that BeamDisk or your possession and use of it infringes that third party's intellectual property rights, 3rd Bit Labs, not Apple, is solely responsible for the investigation, defence, settlement and discharge of that claim. 7. **Legal compliance.** You represent and warrant that (a) you aren't located in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government embargo, or that the U.S. Government has designated as a “terrorist supporting” country; and (b) you aren't listed on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties. 8. **Developer contact.** Questions, complaints or claims about BeamDisk go to 3rd Bit Labs LLC, New Mexico, USA, through the [contact form](https://beamdisk.app/contact/) at beamdisk.app/contact/. 9. **Third-party terms.** You must comply with any applicable third-party terms when using BeamDisk. 10. **Third-party beneficiary.** Apple and Apple's subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms, and on your acceptance of them, Apple will have the right (and will be deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce these terms against you as a third-party beneficiary. ## 22. General terms - **Export.** You will comply with all U.S. and other export control and sanctions laws that apply to BeamDisk, and won't export, re-export or transfer it in breach of them. - **U.S. Government users.** BeamDisk is “commercial computer software” and “commercial computer software documentation”, as those terms are used in the Federal Acquisition Regulation and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement. U.S. Government users acquire it with only the rights set out in these terms. - **Changes to these terms.** We may update these terms, for example when BeamDisk or the law changes. We will post the new terms here with a new date and, for a material change, tell you in BeamDisk or on the site before it takes effect, and may ask you to agree again. A change applies from its effective date and not to disputes that arose before it. If you don't agree to a change, stop using BeamDisk and the site; continuing to use them after a change takes effect means you accept it. - **Notices.** Notices to us go through the [contact form](https://beamdisk.app/contact/?category=other). We may give notices to you in BeamDisk, on the site, or by email if you have given us your address. - **Whole agreement.** These terms and the privacy policy are the whole agreement between you and us about BeamDisk and the site, and replace any earlier understandings about them. If your organization has signed a separate written agreement with us for BeamDisk, that agreement takes precedence where it conflicts with these terms. - **Severability.** If any part of these terms is found unenforceable, it is enforced as far as it can be, and the rest stays in effect. - **No waiver.** If we don't enforce a part of these terms, that doesn't waive our right to enforce it later. - **Assignment.** You may not assign or transfer these terms or your licence without our written consent, except as Apple's terms for purchases allow. We may assign them, for example to a company that acquires BeamDisk, with notice to you. - **Events beyond our control.** We aren't responsible for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control, such as outages, natural disasters, changes made by Apple, or failures of networks or third-party services. - **Your consumer rights.** Nothing in these terms limits any rights you have under consumer protection laws that can't be waived or limited by contract. - **Language and headings.** These terms are written in English, which controls if a translation differs. Headings and the summary at the top are for convenience only. “Including” means “including without limitation”. - **Relationship.** Nothing in these terms makes you and us partners, joint venturers, employees or agents of each other. ## 23. Contact Questions about these terms: [contact us](https://beamdisk.app/contact/). 3rd Bit Labs LLC, New Mexico, USA. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/iscsi-on-mac/ # iSCSI on a Mac with Apple Silicon > How to use iSCSI storage from a server or SAN on a Mac with Apple Silicon: macOS has no built-in iSCSI initiator, kernel-extension initiators need Reduced Security, and BeamDisk needs neither. macOS doesn't include an iSCSI initiator, the software that connects a computer to iSCSI storage. Windows and Linux do. To use an iSCSI target on a storage server or SAN, a Mac needs a third-party initiator. ## The options on Apple Silicon - **A kernel-extension initiator.** On a Mac with Apple Silicon, a kernel extension only loads after you restart into Recovery, lower the Mac's security policy to Reduced Security, approve the extension in System Settings and restart again, on every Mac. - **A file share instead.** SMB or NFS gives the Mac a shared folder rather than a disk. It's not iSCSI, and the server keeps the file system. - **BeamDisk.** A sandboxed Mac App Store app that connects to iSCSI targets with no kernel extension. The disk appears in Finder, Disk Utility and Time Machine like a local drive, and reads and writes at full 10 GbE speed. ## What you need - A Mac with Apple Silicon on macOS 27 or later. - An iSCSI target with at least one disk (LUN). BeamDisk is tested with TrueNAS and with Linux targets (LIO / targetcli): see [Set up TrueNAS](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/truenas/) and [Set up a Linux target](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/linux-lio/). - The target must allow your Mac's initiator name, which BeamDisk shows in its window under This Mac. ## Set up BeamDisk 1. **Install BeamDisk** from the Mac App Store, and turn it on in System Settings when it asks. 2. **Allow your Mac on the target.** Copy the initiator name from BeamDisk (This Mac, or Settings → General) and add it to the target's allowed initiators on your server. 3. **Add Disk.** In BeamDisk, click Add Disk and enter your server's address, and its CHAP user and secret if it uses CHAP. 4. **Find Disks.** Click Find Disks, tick the disks you want and name them. 5. **Add them.** Click Add 1 Disk (or Add 2 Disks, and so on). The first time, click Connect All, then Allow… when BeamDisk asks to attach disks. The disks appear in Finder; format an empty one as APFS with Format… on its page. The [full walkthrough](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/add-a-disk/) has every option. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does macOS have a built-in iSCSI initiator? No. Windows and Linux include one, but macOS doesn't, so a Mac needs third-party software to use an iSCSI target. ### Can I use iSCSI on an M1, M2, M3 or M4 Mac? Yes. BeamDisk runs on every Mac with Apple Silicon on macOS 27 or later, with no kernel extension. ### Do I need to lower my Mac's security to use iSCSI? Not with BeamDisk. Kernel-extension initiators need Reduced Security on Apple Silicon; BeamDisk is a sandboxed Mac App Store app and leaves the Mac's security settings as they are. ### Is an iSCSI disk the same as a network share? No. With SMB or NFS, the server manages the files and the Mac sees a shared folder. With iSCSI, the server provides a block device, the Mac formats it (APFS, for example), and it behaves like a disk plugged into the Mac. One Mac uses an iSCSI disk at a time. ### Should I use iSCSI or SMB on a Mac? Use a file share (SMB or NFS) when several computers need the same files at the same time. Use iSCSI when one Mac needs storage that behaves like its own disk, formatted by the Mac as APFS and usable as a Time Machine destination like a drive plugged into it. In BeamDisk's tests on 10 GbE, a first full Time Machine backup to a TrueNAS SSD pool finished in 8 minutes 19 seconds over iSCSI, against 9 minutes 39 seconds over SMB to the same pool. ### Which servers can I set up as an iSCSI target for a Mac? BeamDisk is tested with TrueNAS and with Linux's built-in LIO target, and has a setup guide for each. Other servers that speak standard iSCSI haven't been tested yet. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/press/ # BeamDisk press kit > Facts, descriptions, logos and a contact for writing about BeamDisk, the iSCSI initiator for Macs with Apple Silicon by 3rd Bit Labs: what it does, what it needs, what it costs, the beta, measured speed and the official brand files. ## BeamDisk in brief **In one line:** BeamDisk is an iSCSI initiator for Macs with Apple Silicon that needs no kernel extension. **In a paragraph:** BeamDisk connects a Mac with Apple Silicon to iSCSI storage on a server or SAN. The disk shows up in Finder, Disk Utility and Time Machine like a drive plugged into the Mac, reads and writes at full 10 GbE speed, over 1.2 GB/s,, and needs no kernel extension or change to the Mac's security settings. It's free to download and free for home use; business use needs a license. ## Fact sheet | | | |---|---| | **Name** | BeamDisk (one word, capital B and D) | | **Developer** | 3rd Bit Labs LLC, [3rdbitlabs.com](https://3rdbitlabs.com) | | **What it is** | An iSCSI initiator: it connects a Mac to disks (LUNs) on an iSCSI storage server or SAN | | **Runs on** | Macs with Apple Silicon (M1 or later), macOS 27 or later | | **Where to get it** | A free public beta on TestFlight now; the Mac App Store release is coming soon. [Download](https://beamdisk.app/download/) | | **Price** | Free during the beta. From the release: free to download with every feature for 30 days, then free for home use (one server, unlimited disks); Pro is a one-time $25 purchase; BeamDisk for Business is $25 per Mac through Apple Business Manager. [Pricing](https://beamdisk.app/pricing/) | | **Tested with** | TrueNAS, and Linux LIO targets (targetcli). [Compatibility](https://beamdisk.app/docs/reference/compatibility/) | | **Security** | A sandboxed Mac App Store app: no kernel extension, no Reduced Security, no Recovery-mode restarts | | **Privacy** | The app has no account and no analytics. [Privacy policy](https://beamdisk.app/privacy/) | | **Documentation** | [beamdisk.app/docs](https://beamdisk.app/docs/) | | **Everything in one file** | [beamdisk.app/llms-full.txt](https://beamdisk.app/llms-full.txt), every page of this site as text, for research tools and AI assistants | ## What's new about it - **No kernel extension.** On a Mac with Apple Silicon, a kernel-extension initiator only loads after a restart into Recovery, a lower security policy (Reduced Security) and another restart, on every Mac. BeamDisk installs from the Mac App Store and asks to be turned on once in System Settings. - **Measured speed.** On 10 GbE, BeamDisk read at 1,230 MB/s and wrote at 1,236 MB/s, each measured on its own for 180 seconds: over 99% of what the link can carry. Every run is published with the Mac, the server and the method: [Benchmarks](https://beamdisk.app/benchmarks/). - **Time Machine to a server.** An iSCSI disk works as a Time Machine destination like a drive plugged into the Mac. In BeamDisk's tests on 10 GbE, a first full backup (71.4 GB, 1.8 million files) to a TrueNAS SSD pool took 8 minutes 19 seconds, against 9 minutes 39 seconds over SMB to the same pool. - **Made for fleets.** Organizations buy it in volume through Apple Business Manager and deploy it with their MDM, with nothing to approve in a kernel-extension policy. [BeamDisk for business](https://beamdisk.app/business/) ## Logos and icon - [App icon, 1024 × 1024 PNG](https://beamdisk.app/press/beamdisk-icon-1024.png) - [Logo mark, SVG](https://beamdisk.app/press/beamdisk-logo.svg) - [Logo and name for light backgrounds, transparent PNG](https://beamdisk.app/press/beamdisk-lockup-dark-text.png) - [Logo and name for dark backgrounds, transparent PNG](https://beamdisk.app/press/beamdisk-lockup-white-text.png) - [Share image, 1200 × 630 PNG](https://beamdisk.app/og.png) The logo is always shown in its colors, sky blue (#4FB0F7) and royal blue (#1F50D8). Please don't recolor, redraw or crop it. ## About 3rd Bit Labs 3rd Bit Labs LLC is a software engineering company, founded in 2017, that builds BeamDisk. [3rdbitlabs.com](https://3rdbitlabs.com) ## Press contact Write through the [contact form](https://beamdisk.app/contact/?category=press), choosing Press, for briefings, interviews and questions. For public discussion, BeamDisk's users meet on [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/3rdBitLabs/BeamDisk/discussions). ## Frequently asked questions ### Who makes BeamDisk? 3rd Bit Labs LLC, a software engineering company founded in 2017. ### Can I try BeamDisk now? Yes. BeamDisk is in a free public beta on TestFlight, for Macs with Apple Silicon on macOS 27 or later, and the Mac App Store release is coming soon. ### How do I reach 3rd Bit Labs about BeamDisk? Through the contact form at beamdisk.app/contact/, choosing Press. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/time-machine-iscsi/ # Time Machine over iSCSI > Back up a Mac with Time Machine to an iSCSI disk on your server with BeamDisk: connect an empty disk, install BeamDisk's Time Machine profile once, and choose the disk in Time Machine. With BeamDisk, a disk on your server can be a Time Machine destination, just like a drive plugged into the Mac. ## What you need - BeamDisk on a Mac with Apple Silicon, macOS 27 or later. - An empty disk on your server for this Mac, connected with BeamDisk ([Add your first disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/add-a-disk/)). Give it room: Time Machine keeps many versions. - An administrator's password, to install the profile and to change Time Machine's settings. ## Set it up 1. **Connect an empty disk** with BeamDisk, and format it with Format…, with Format it for Time Machine backups checked. 2. **Install the profile.** In BeamDisk's Settings → Time Machine, click Install Profile…, and System Settings opens at Device Management: under Downloaded, double-click "BeamDisk: Time Machine support", click Install…, then Install, and enter an administrator's password. 3. **Choose the disk.** Click Open Time Machine Settings, click +, and choose the disk. Time Machine may create its own backup volume on the disk, named after the disk with a number, such as "Backups 1". Backups then run on Time Machine's usual schedule. The [Time Machine guide](https://beamdisk.app/docs/time-machine/set-up/) covers restoring and what to expect. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can Time Machine back up to an iSCSI disk? Yes, with BeamDisk. After a one-time setup in BeamDisk's settings, the iSCSI disk can be chosen as a Time Machine destination like a disk plugged into the Mac. ### How fast is a Time Machine backup over iSCSI? In BeamDisk's tests on 10 GbE to a TrueNAS SSD pool, the first full backup of a Mac (71.4 GB, 1.8 million files) took 8 minutes 19 seconds, against 9 minutes 39 seconds for the same backup over SMB to the same pool. Later backups copy only what changed; one with 5.8 GB of new files took about a minute either way. ### Why does Time Machine ask for an administrator password? While BeamDisk's Time Machine profile is installed, Time Machine settings ask for an administrator's password before changes. ### Can several Macs back up to one iSCSI disk? No. BeamDisk gives each disk to one Mac at a time, so give every Mac its own disk on the server. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/ # BeamDisk documentation > How to install BeamDisk, connect a Mac with Apple Silicon to iSCSI storage on a server or SAN, use the app, back up with Time Machine, tune performance, deploy it to a fleet and fix problems. Last updated: 2026-10-30 BeamDisk connects a Mac with Apple Silicon to iSCSI storage on a server or SAN. The disk shows up in Finder, Disk Utility and Time Machine like a drive plugged into the Mac, with no kernel extension and no change to the Mac's security settings. ## Start here - [Install BeamDisk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/install/): Get the app and turn it on, once. - [Add your first disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/add-a-disk/): Connect to a target on your server and choose its disks. - [Back up with Time Machine](https://beamdisk.app/docs/time-machine/set-up/): Use an iSCSI disk as a Time Machine destination. - [Set up TrueNAS](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/truenas/): Make an iSCSI target and disk for your Mac on TrueNAS. ## What you need - A Mac with Apple Silicon on macOS 27 or later. - An iSCSI target on a storage server or SAN. BeamDisk is tested with TrueNAS and with Linux LIO targets; see [Compatibility](https://beamdisk.app/docs/reference/compatibility/). - A wired network connection to the storage is recommended. ## Find your way - **Getting started**: [install](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/install/), [add a disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/add-a-disk/), [a quick tour](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/first-look/), and [removing BeamDisk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/uninstall/). - **Using BeamDisk**: [the menu bar](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/menu-bar/), [the window and the Overview](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/overview/), [a disk's page](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/disk-page/), [messages and notifications](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/messages/) and [keyboard shortcuts](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/shortcuts/). - **Disks**: [formatting](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/format/), [connecting and ejecting](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/connect-and-eject/), [file systems](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/file-systems/), [outages](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/outages/), [power-loss protection](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/power-loss-protection/), [one Mac per disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/exclusive-access/), [free space](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/free-space/), [growing a disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/grow/) and [Spotlight](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/spotlight/). - **Your storage server or SAN**: [TrueNAS](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/truenas/), [a Linux target (LIO)](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/linux-lio/) and [what a target needs](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/requirements/). - **Performance**: [Test Speed](https://beamdisk.app/docs/performance/test-speed/) and [getting the most from your network](https://beamdisk.app/docs/performance/tuning/). - **Deploying to a fleet**: [Apple Business Manager, MDM and initiator names](https://beamdisk.app/docs/deployment/fleet/). - **Troubleshooting**: [Add Disk can't find disks](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/cant-find-disks/), [a disk won't connect](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/wont-connect/), [disk states](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/disk-states/), [a disk won't eject](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/cant-eject/) and [getting help](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/get-help/). - **Reference**: [settings](https://beamdisk.app/docs/reference/settings/), [compatibility](https://beamdisk.app/docs/reference/compatibility/) and [iSCSI terms](https://beamdisk.app/docs/reference/glossary/). --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/install/ # Install BeamDisk > Install BeamDisk on a Mac with Apple Silicon, turn it on in System Settings, and allow it to attach disks and use the local network. No kernel extension, no restart. Last updated: 2026-10-28 BeamDisk is a Mac App Store app for Macs with Apple Silicon on macOS 27 or later. It needs no kernel extension, no restart and no change to your Mac's security settings. Setting it up takes three permissions, each asked for once. ## Install and turn it on 1. Install BeamDisk from the Mac App Store (during the beta, from TestFlight: see [Download](https://beamdisk.app/download/)), then open it. Its window opens, and its item appears in the menu bar. 2. The window shows **Turn on BeamDisk in System Settings, so it can connect your disks.** Click **Open System Settings** and switch on **BeamDisk**. When you come back, BeamDisk sees the change by itself. 3. [Add your first disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/add-a-disk/). If macOS asks whether BeamDisk may find devices on your local network, click **Allow**: that's how BeamDisk reaches your server. 4. The first time BeamDisk connects, the window shows **Allow BeamDisk to attach your disks. You only need to do this once.** Click **Allow…** and confirm. That's all. There's nothing to install in the system and nothing to restart, and your disks appear in Finder. ## Open at login To have your disks connect when you log in, turn on **Open at Login** in BeamDisk's Settings → General, or in the quick menu. If macOS asks, approve BeamDisk in System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions. Each disk also has its own **Connect at login** switch: see [Connect, eject and remove disks](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/connect-and-eject/). ## If you skipped a step - **BeamDisk is off in System Settings.** The window's banner and the quick menu's first item, **Turn On BeamDisk in System Settings…**, take you there. - **Local network access was refused.** Add Disk says **BeamDisk isn't allowed to use the local network.** Turn BeamDisk on in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network, then try again. - **Allow… was cancelled.** The banner stays until you allow it, and BeamDisk can't attach disks meanwhile. ## Next - [Add your first disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/add-a-disk/) - [A quick tour](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/first-look/) --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/add-a-disk/ # Add your first disk > Connect BeamDisk to an iSCSI target on your server: enter its address and CHAP details, choose and name its disks, connect at login, and use them in Finder. Last updated: 2026-10-30 BeamDisk finds the disks a server offers your Mac from the server's address. You choose which to use and what to call them. Add Disk works in three steps: **Server**, **Disks** and **Connect**. ## Before you start - Your server has an iSCSI target with at least one disk (a LUN). [Set up TrueNAS](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/truenas/) shows how. - The target allows this Mac's **initiator name**. BeamDisk shows it at the top of Add Disk, under **This Mac** in the window's sidebar, and in Settings → General, each with a button that copies it. Add it to the target's allowed initiators on your server. - If the target uses CHAP, have its user and secret at hand. ## Add the disk 1. Click BeamDisk in the menu bar to open its window, then click **Add Disk** (⌘N). 2. Enter your server's **Address**, such as `storage.local` or `10.0.1.20`. Leave **Port** at 3260 unless your server uses another. 3. Choose **Authentication**. **None**: the server checks only this Mac's initiator name. **CHAP**: enter the **CHAP user** and **Secret** your server expects. **Mutual CHAP**: also enter the server's own user and secret under **Verify the server too**, so the server proves who it is. 4. Click **Find Disks**. BeamDisk asks the server for its targets and lists every disk it offers this Mac, under its target, with its LUN number, size and sector size. 5. Tick the disks you want. Give each a name (letters, numbers, - and _); BeamDisk suggests one from the target's name. Leave **Connect at login** on to have the disk connect when you log in. 6. Click **Add 1 Disk** (or **Add 2 Disks**, and so on). The last step shows each disk as it connects and attaches, then click **Done**. Each disk is inspected before it appears in Finder. A disk with nothing on it yet reads **Empty disk**, with **Format…** beside it: see [Format a new disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/format/). A disk with a file system macOS reads opens in Finder like a drive plugged into the Mac. ## Your first disk The first time, BeamDisk isn't connected yet, so the last step says **Disks connect when you click Connect All.** Click **Done**, then **Connect** on the Overview (or **Connect All** in the toolbar). The first time BeamDisk connects, it asks once to **Allow BeamDisk to attach your disks**: click **Allow…** and confirm. See [Install BeamDisk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/install/). ## Good to know - **Connect at login** disks connect whenever BeamDisk opens. For that to happen when you log in, turn on **Open at Login** in Settings → General. - **Secrets** are stored in your Keychain, on this Mac only. A disk's secret is removed when you remove the disk, unless another disk on the same target still uses it. - **CHAP only where it's needed.** A target that lets this Mac in without CHAP is added without it, even if you entered CHAP details for the server. If you chose None and the server wants CHAP, Add Disk switches to CHAP and asks for the user and secret. - **A target with CHAP details of its own.** If the server sets CHAP per target, a target that refuses the server's details is listed with **Enter Details…**. Enter its own and click **Try Again**: its disks are listed and added with them. Change them later with [Change Login](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/servers/#change-a-targets-login). - **Disks already on this Mac** are listed as **Already added as** their name, and can't be added twice. That holds when you add the server again under another address, such as its IP address instead of its name: BeamDisk knows a disk by the ID the server reports for it, and lists it as **Added as** its name **from** the other address. - **4 KiB sectors.** A disk with 4,096-byte sectors carries a note: **4 KiB sectors: opens read-only if it holds a Windows or Linux file system.** See [File systems](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/file-systems/). - **Names** must be different from every other disk's name on this Mac, ignoring case. BeamDisk says so if two clash. - **Missing a target?** The server may not allow this Mac's initiator name for it. If a target is listed but its disks aren't, BeamDisk says why, in a note under the list. If Find Disks can't reach the server or finds nothing, the message under the form says why: see [Add Disk can't find my disks](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/cant-find-disks/). ## More disks from a server Once you've added disks from a server, Add Disk starts with it: choose the server and click **Find Disks**, and it's asked with the details it was added with. **Another server…** opens the form for a new one. On a server's page, **Add Disk** goes straight to that server's disks, and **Add…** beside a disk there ticks it for you. See [A server's page](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/servers/). ## Next - [Back up with Time Machine](https://beamdisk.app/docs/time-machine/set-up/) - [Get the most from your network](https://beamdisk.app/docs/performance/tuning/) - [A quick tour](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/first-look/) --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/first-look/ # A quick tour > Where BeamDisk shows your disks: the menu-bar item and its quick menu, the window's Overview, each disk's page, and Settings, in two minutes. Last updated: 2026-10-25 BeamDisk lives in the menu bar. Click it to open the window; right-click (or Control-click) it for the quick menu. A Dock icon appears only while a window is open. ## The menu bar The item shows BeamDisk's glyph and, by default, live throughput: writes (↑) above reads (↓), in MB/s. An amber dot means a disk is reconnecting and BeamDisk is holding its writes; red means a disk needs you. The quick menu lists every disk with its live numbers, and has **Add Disk…**, **Connect All**, **Disconnect All**, **Settings…** and the ways to quit. [The menu bar and the quick menu](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/menu-bar/) ## The window The sidebar lists each server, by the name you gave it or its address, with its disks under it; click a server for [its page](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/servers/). The **Overview** puts the disks that need you first, then four tiles (**Throughput**, **IOPS**, **Latency** and **Disks**), throughput and IOPS charts for the last 5 minutes, hour, day or week, and a table of every disk. At the bottom of the sidebar are BeamDisk's latest message, with how long ago it was, and **This Mac**, your initiator name. [The window and the Overview](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/overview/) ## A disk's page Click a disk for its live numbers (throughput, IOPS, p50 and p99 latency, errors and flushes), its history, how its latency is spread, its connection, and its settings: **Connect at login**, **Power-loss protection** and **Spotlight**. Its toolbar has **Show in Finder**, **Eject** or **Attach**, and an Options menu with **Remount**, **Reclaim Free Space**, **Test Speed…**, **Erase and Reformat…** and **Remove…**: see [A disk's page](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/disk-page/). ## Settings Four tabs: **General** (login, quitting, notifications, this Mac's initiator name), **Menu Bar** (the readout), **Connection** (how long writes are held, digests, memory for reads) and **Time Machine** (the one-time setup). [Settings](https://beamdisk.app/docs/reference/settings/) ## Times on everything Every message and every problem says when it happened: **5 min ago**, **Since 9:12 PM · 25 min**. [Messages and notifications](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/messages/) --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/uninstall/ # Remove BeamDisk > How to stop using BeamDisk on a Mac: stop Time Machine backups to its disks, remove the Time Machine profile, remove your disks and their CHAP secrets, and delete the app. Last updated: 2026-10-23 Removing BeamDisk from a Mac leaves your disks and their data on the server, where another Mac can use them. ## Remove it 1. If Time Machine backs up to a BeamDisk disk, open System Settings → General → Time Machine and remove that disk from the backup disks. 2. If BeamDisk's Time Machine profile is installed, open System Settings → General → Device Management, select **BeamDisk: Time Machine support** and remove it. macOS asks for an administrator's password. 3. In BeamDisk's window, eject each disk and choose **Remove…** from its Options menu. This also deletes its CHAP secret from your Keychain. 4. Choose **Disconnect All and Quit** from the quick menu. 5. Delete BeamDisk from the Applications folder. ## Moving to another Mac You don't need to remove BeamDisk to move a disk: remove the disk on one Mac, then add it on the other. See [One Mac per disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/exclusive-access/). --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/menu-bar/ # The menu bar and the quick menu > BeamDisk's menu-bar item: its live throughput and IOPS readout, the amber and red badges, its tooltip, and every item in the quick menu. Last updated: 2026-10-25 BeamDisk lives in the menu bar. Its item shows the app's glyph, two discs under a beam of light, and, if you like, live numbers for all your disks. - **Click** the item to open BeamDisk's window. - **Right-click** or **Control-click** it for the quick menu. BeamDisk has a Dock icon only while one of its windows is open. When it starts at login, it stays in the menu bar; when you open it yourself, the window opens too. ## What the item shows Settings → Menu Bar chooses the readout, and its preview shows the item on a light and a dark menu bar. | Setting | Choices | |---|---| | **Show in menu bar** | **Icon Only**, **Throughput** (the default), **IOPS**, or **Both** | | **Split read and write** | On (the default): writes (↑) above reads (↓), in two small lines. Off: one total. | | **Units** | **MB/s** (the default), **MiB/s** or **Gb/s** | Throughput is in decimal megabytes, as Finder counts them. IOPS (reads and writes per second) are rounded the short way: 620, 8.4K, 36K. Each number has a slot as wide as its widest value, so the item keeps its width as the numbers change. ## The badge With **Show a badge when a disk is reconnecting** on (the default), a dot on the glyph tells you something needs a look: - **Amber**: a disk is reconnecting while BeamDisk holds its writes, is trying again to reach its server, or needs a remount. Usually it sorts itself out. See [When the server stops responding](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/outages/). - **Red**: a disk needs you. Apps are seeing errors on it, it can't connect, or another computer took it. Open the window to see which, and why. Hover over the item for a tooltip with the totals (Read, Write and IOPS), how many disks are connected, and what the badge means. ## The quick menu From top to bottom: - **Turn On BeamDisk in System Settings…**, only while BeamDisk is switched off there. - **The header**: how many disks are connected (**3 of 3 connected**), a line of the last minute's reads and writes for all disks, and the totals: **Read**, **Write** and **IOPS**. Right after BeamDisk starts, the line reads **Collecting data…** for a moment. - **Your disks**, under the server each lives on (the name you gave it, or its address, with the port left out when it's the standard 3260). Each row shows the disk's state, its name, its last minute, and its throughput and IOPS. Under the name: **Read-write** or **Read-only** for a disk in use, **Empty disk** or **Not attached** when there's nothing to show, and for a disk in trouble, what's wrong and for how long (**Can't connect · 26 min**). A disk that's reconnecting counts its hold time: **Holding writes · 12 of 60 s**. Click a disk to open its page. - **Show in Menu Bar**: **Icon Only**, **Throughput**, **IOPS** or **Throughput and IOPS**, and **Split Read and Write**. - **Open at Login** and **Notify When a Disk Disconnects**, ticked when they're on. - **Add Disk…** (⌘N), **Open Window** (⌘O), **Connect All**, **Disconnect All** and **Settings…** (⌘,). Connect All is dimmed when there's nothing to connect; Disconnect All when nothing is connected. - **Disconnect All and Quit**, and **Quit** (⌘Q). Under Quit, a line says what quitting does: **Disks stay connected**, or **Disconnects all disks** if you chose that in Settings → General. The menu keeps itself current while it's open: a disk that's added, removed or connected shows up without reopening it. ## Related - [The window and the Overview](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/overview/) - [Connect, eject and remove disks](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/connect-and-eject/) - [Settings](https://beamdisk.app/docs/reference/settings/) --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/overview/ # The window and the Overview > BeamDisk's window: the sidebar of servers and disks, the toolbar, and the Overview's alerts, totals, five-minute to seven-day charts and table of every disk. Last updated: 2026-10-25 Click BeamDisk in the menu bar to open its window. It has a sidebar on the left and, beside it, the **Overview** of all your disks, a [server's page](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/servers/) or a [disk's page](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/disk-page/). The window first opens at about 1,280 × 880 points, or smaller on a smaller screen, and remembers the size you give it. Its smallest size is 960 × 640. ## The sidebar - **Overview** at the top, with the total throughput of all your disks. - **Each server**, by the name you gave it or its address, with its disks under it and their throughput together, or what needs a look instead: **2 new**, **Checking…**, **1 reconnecting**, **Can’t reach**, **Login refused** or **No disks**. Click it for [its page](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/servers/). Hover over it for its full address and port. - **Each disk** with its state's glyph and, while it's in use, its throughput. A disk that isn't in use shows its state instead (**Empty**, **Not attached**), in amber or red when it's in trouble. Hover over a disk for its state, what it means, and since when. - **The footer**: BeamDisk's latest message, how long ago it was, and a clock button that lists the recent ones ([Messages and notifications](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/messages/)). Under it, **This Mac** shows this Mac's initiator name, with a button that copies it. ## Banners Two one-time setup steps show as banners above the page until they're done: - **Turn on BeamDisk in System Settings, so it can connect your disks.** Click **Open System Settings** and switch BeamDisk on. - **Allow BeamDisk to attach your disks. You only need to do this once.** Click **Allow…** and confirm. ## The toolbar The title reads **Overview**, with a summary under it, such as **6 disks on 2 servers · 5 connected**. On the right: - **The time range** for the charts: **5 min**, **1 h**, **24 h** or **7 d**. - **Connect All** and **Disconnect All**. See [Connect, eject and remove disks](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/connect-and-eject/). - **Settings** (⌘,) and **Add Disk** (⌘N). Hover over a button for what it does. ## What needs you Disks in trouble come first, worst first, one row each: the disk's name and what happened, since when (**Since 9:12 PM · 25 min**), and the one thing to do about it: **Try Again**, **Remount**, **Take Over…** or another. A disk that's reconnecting shows a bar filling up over the hold time. If more than two disks need you, a line says how many more, and the table below has them all. While BeamDisk isn't connected to your disks, the page says **Your disks aren't connected.** with a **Connect** button. ## The totals Four tiles sum up every disk: | Tile | Shows | |---|---| | **Throughput** | Reads and writes together, with each below it, over the last second. | | **IOPS** | Reads and writes per second, with each below it. | | **Latency** | How long reads and writes took over the last 5 seconds: p50 (half finish faster than this) in large, p99 (all but 1 in 100 do) below. | | **Disks** | How many are connected (**4 of 6 connected**), with **All connected** or what's wrong with the others, such as **1 reconnecting**. | ## The charts Throughput and IOPS share one time axis, reads in the lighter blue and writes in the darker one. Beside each chart, its legend shows the latest values; move the pointer over a chart and both legends follow it, with a tooltip on the throughput chart. | Range | Each point is | |---|---| | **5 min** | one second | | **1 h** | a 12-second average | | **24 h** | a 5-minute average | | **7 d** | a 30-minute average | BeamDisk keeps this history for 7 days, on this Mac only. ## The table Every disk, grouped by server. A server's row shows **· CHAP** if its disks log in with CHAP, and the sum of their reads, writes and IOPS; click its name for its page. | Column | Shows | |---|---| | **Disk** | Its name and its target's short name. | | **State** | Its state, with a note when there's one: the hold time so far while it's reconnecting (**24 of 60 s**), when it next tries to connect (**in 20 s**), **4 KiB sectors** for a disk opened read-only for that reason, and **Format…** for an empty disk. | | **Size** | Its capacity, as Finder counts it. | | **Read MB/s**, **Write MB/s**, **IOPS** | Live, while the disk is in use. | | **p99 ms** | The 99th-percentile latency of the last 5 seconds. | | **Last 60 s** | A line of its last minute of throughput. | In a narrow window, the table drops **Last 60 s**, then **p99 ms**. Click a disk to open its page. Right-click it for **Show Details** and its state's action. With no disks yet, the Overview says **No disks yet** and offers **Add Disk**. ## Related - [A disk's page](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/disk-page/) - [What a disk's state means](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/disk-states/) --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/servers/ # A server's page > Everything BeamDisk shows for one storage server: its disks' throughput and latency together, its sessions, every target and disk it offers this Mac, what's new on it, and Check for New Disks, Edit Server and Remove Server. Last updated: 2026-10-30 Every server you add disks from has a row in the window's sidebar, with its disks under it. Click it to open its page. The title is the server's name, or its address, with a summary under it, such as **8 targets · 6 disks added · 1 reconnecting**. ## In the sidebar A server's row shows its disks' throughput together, or what needs a look instead: | Shows | Means | |---|---| | **2 new** | The server offers disks that aren't added yet, found since its check before. They're no longer new once you've been to its page. | | **Checking…** | BeamDisk is asking the server for its targets. | | **1 reconnecting** | A target's session is reconnecting, and its disks hold their writes meanwhile. | | **Can’t reach** | Every session with the server is reconnecting. | | **Login refused** | The server refused a target's login: it doesn't allow this Mac's initiator name, or it refused the CHAP details. | | **No disks** | No disk is added from it yet. | ## The toolbar - **Check for New Disks** (⌘R) asks the server which disks it offers this Mac now. - **Server Actions** (**…**): **Edit Server…**, **Check for New Disks** and **Remove Server…**. - **Settings**, and **Add Disk**, which opens with this server's disks. ## When something needs you A banner at the top says what's going on, since when, and the one thing to do about it: | Banner | What to do | |---|---| | **Not allowed** | The server doesn't allow this Mac's initiator name for a target. Allow it there, then click **Try Again**. | | **CHAP refused** | The server refused the CHAP user or secret. Click **Edit Server…** and enter the ones set on the server, or **Change Login…** when the target has details of its own. | | **Can’t reach** the server | No answer from it: every session is reconnecting, and writes are held for up to the hold time. **Disconnect All** ejects its disks. | | A target **reconnecting** | One target's session is reconnecting; the others are fine. **Disconnect** ejects its disk. | | **2 new disks** | Click **Add Disks…** to add them. | | **Couldn’t check** | Why the server couldn't list its targets, such as wanting CHAP for it. **Edit Server…** or **Check Again**. | | **New login settings** | New CHAP details, or digests changed in Settings, saved and used at each target's next login. **Reconnect and Apply Now** uses them now. | | **No disks added** | Click **Add Disks…**. | ## The totals | Tile | Shows | |---|---| | **Throughput** | Its disks' reads and writes together, over the last second. | | **Latency** | How long its disks' reads and writes took over the last 5 seconds, p50 in large and p99 below. | | **Sessions** | How many of its targets with disks added are logged in (**4 of 6 up**), and which isn't. | | **Disks** | How many are added from it, and how many it offers that aren't (**3 not added · 2 new**). | ## Targets Every target the server offers this Mac, as its last check found it, with every disk added from it. Beside the title, when the server was last checked (**Checked 2 min ago**), and just after a check, what it found (**found 1 new disk**, **nothing new**). | Column | Shows | |---|---| | **Target** | Its short name, and its full name when there's room. | | **Session** | The target's session, which its disks share: **Up 7 h 15 min · 1 reconnect**, **Reconnecting · 24 of 60 s**, **Login refused**, or **Not logged in** for a target with no disk added. | | **LUN** | The disk's number on the target. | | **Size** | Its capacity, as Finder counts it. | | **Disk** | The disk it's added as, with its state's glyph; or **Not added**, with **New** when it's new since the check before. | Click a disk's row to open its page. **Add…** opens Add Disk with that disk ticked. A target that refused the server's CHAP details has **Log In…**, which opens Add Disk with a form for its own (see [Change a target's login](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/servers/#change-a-targets-login)). BeamDisk also checks a server by itself, quietly: when its page or Add Disk opens and the last check is more than 10 minutes old, and when a target this Mac is logged in to reports that its disks changed. ## Connection and Access - **Connection**: the server's **Address**, its **Portal** (the address it's at now, and the port), **Authentication** (**CHAP · user** and the user, **Mutual CHAP** or **None**, and **Own login** with the targets that have CHAP details of their own), **Digests** and **Product**, what the server says its disks are. **Edit…** opens Edit Server. - **Remove Server…**, at the bottom, once its disks are ejected. - **Access**: this Mac's initiator name, with **Copy**. A server offers this Mac only the targets that allow it: **Missing a disk? Allow this name for its target on the server, then check again.** ## Edit a server 1. On the server's page, click **Edit…**, or choose **Edit Server…** in **…**. 2. Change its **Name** (shown in the sidebar and wherever BeamDisk names the server; left empty, its address shows), its **Address** and **Port**, or its **Authentication**. 3. Click **Save**. BeamDisk checks new login details or a new address with the server first. If the server refuses them, nothing is saved, and your disks keep the details that work. - **New login details** are used the next time each target logs in, and your disks stay connected until then. **Reconnect and Apply Now** logs them in again now: reconnecting pauses each disk for a moment. - **Targets with CHAP details of their own** keep them: new details for the server don't change them, and Edit Server names those targets. - **A new address** asks first: **Change Address** ejects the disks attached now for a moment, connects the server's disks again at the new address, and attaches them again. Quit apps using them first. Before it asks, BeamDisk checks that each disk at the new address is the one you use now, by the ID the server reports for it and its sector size, since a second server set up the same way can offer other disks under the same target names and LUNs. Nothing changes if one isn't, while a disk is in use, or while the server has stopped answering and a disk still holds writes for it. A disk whose contents macOS can't read at the new address isn't attached, and BeamDisk says so. ## Change a target's login Some servers set CHAP per target, so their targets have different users and secrets. A target logs in with the server's details unless it has its own: 1. On the server's page, choose **Change Login** in **…** and the target, or right-click the target's row and choose **Change Login…**. 2. Choose **The server's details**, or **Details of its own** with its **Authentication**, **CHAP user** and **Secret**. 3. Click **Save**. BeamDisk checks them with the target first. If the target refuses them, nothing is saved. Its disks use them the next time the target logs in, and stay connected until then; **Reconnect and Apply Now** in the banner logs them in again now. The server's other targets keep theirs. To add disks from a target that refuses the server's details, click **Log In…** on its row, or **Enter Details…** beside it in Add Disk. ## Remove a server Eject its disks, then choose **Remove Server…** and confirm. Its disks are removed from BeamDisk too, with their CHAP secrets; their data stays on the server, and you can add them again later. ## Related - [The window and the Overview](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/overview/) - [A disk's page](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/disk-page/) - [Add your first disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/add-a-disk/) --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/disk-page/ # A disk's page > Everything BeamDisk shows for one disk: its live throughput, IOPS, latency, errors and flushes, its history and latency distribution, its connection, its settings and its actions. Last updated: 2026-11-02 Click a disk in the window's sidebar, in the Overview's table or in the quick menu to open its page. The title is the disk's name, with its server and LUN under it, such as **storage.local · LUN 0**. ## The toolbar - **The state**, as a pill (**Connected**, **Reconnecting**…). Hover over it for what it means and since when. - **The time range** for the charts: **5 min**, **1 h**, **24 h** or **7 d**, while the disk is connected. - **Show in Finder**, which opens the disk's volume. - **Eject**, or **Attach** for a disk that isn't attached. - **Options** (**…**): **Try Again** (for a disk that isn't connected), **Remount**, **Reclaim Free Space** (APFS disks), **Test Speed…**, **Erase…**, **Erase and Reformat…**, **Connect at Login**, and **Remove…**, which needs the disk ejected first. - **Settings** and **Add Disk**. ## When something needs you If the disk's state has something to say, a banner at the top says it, with since when (for a problem) and the one thing to do: **Remount**, **Eject**, **Format…**, **Try Again**, **Take Over…**, **Attach Again**, **Use the New Space…** or **Attach**. [What a disk's state means](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/disk-states/) lists them all. ## Now A strip across the top shows what the disk is doing, with **Live** beside the title while the numbers update: | Figure | What it is | |---|---| | **Throughput** | Reads plus writes over the last second, with **Read** and **Write** beside it. | | **IOPS** | Reads and writes per second, over the last second. | | **Latency p50** | Half of the reads and writes in the last 5 seconds finished faster than this. Reads and writes are shown apart below it. | | **Latency p99** | All but 1 in 100 of the reads and writes in the last 5 seconds finished faster than this. | | **Errors** | Reads and writes that failed and were reported to apps, over the chart's time range. Anything above 0 shows in red. | | **Flushes** | Requests to the server to save what it has received so far, per second, with the average over the time range. Apps and macOS send them to make data safe. | ## History The chart shows one figure at a time over the time range: **Throughput**, **IOPS** or **Latency** (with **p50** or **p99**), reads and writes as two lines. Its legend shows the latest values; move the pointer over the chart to read any moment. Each point is a second at 5 min, and an average over 12 seconds, 5 minutes or 30 minutes at the longer ranges. History is kept for 7 days on this Mac. **Latency distribution** shows how long the disk's reads and writes took over the time range, as the share of them in each band from under 64 µs to a second or more: reads above the axis, writes below it, with the p50 and p99 marked. Its title counts the reads and writes it covers. A disk whose reads cluster far to the right is waiting on its server or network: see [Get the most from your network](https://beamdisk.app/docs/performance/tuning/). ## Connection | Row | Shows | |---|---| | **Server** | The server it's on. Click it for [the server's page](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/servers/). | | **Target** | The target's full name, with a button that copies it. | | **LUN** | The disk's number on the target. | | **Session** | How long it has been logged in to the server, and how many times it has reconnected since BeamDisk connected it (**Up 7 h 15 min · 1 reconnect**). Disks on one target share its session: then the row names the others (**Up 6 d 4 h · shared with Scratch**). | | **Authentication** | **CHAP** or **None**. | | **Digests** | Whether CRC32C checksums are in use: **CRC32C header + data**, **CRC32C header**, **CRC32C data** or **None**. | | **New settings** | Only when a setting waits for the disk's next login to the server. **Reconnect and Apply Now** applies it now, and reconnects the disks that share its session too; if the server refuses it, the row says why, and the previous settings stay in use. | | **Last event** | The last thing the server or the connection reported, when, and how long ago, such as **The server reported a reset or restart.** | Under them: - **Connect at login**: connect and attach this disk whenever BeamDisk opens; with Open at Login on, that's when you log in. - **Power-loss protection**: **Automatic**, **On** or **Off**, with a note on what it's doing and why. See [Power-loss protection](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/power-loss-protection/). At the bottom, a line repeats how long writes are held if the server stops responding. ## Disk | Row | Shows | |---|---| | **Capacity** | Its size, as Finder counts it. | | **Sector size** | 512 B or 4 KiB. | | **Contents** | What's on it: **APFS**, **Empty**, **Formatting…**, or another file system. | | **Access** | **Read-write**; **Read-only**, or **Read-only (4 KiB sectors)** for a disk opened read-only for that reason; or **Not shown** for a disk macOS can't read. | | **Mounted at** | Where its volume is, while it's mounted. | Under them: - **Spotlight**: whether Spotlight searches this disk. See [Spotlight on a disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/spotlight/). - **Free space on the server**, on APFS disks: when BeamDisk last gave space back and how much, and **Reclaim Free Space**. See [Give free space back to the server](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/free-space/). - **Notes** about what BeamDisk found on the disk when it connected, if any, such as a damaged partition table. - At the bottom, **Show in Finder**, **Eject** (or **Attach**, or **Format…** for an empty disk) and **Remove…** ## A disk that isn't connected A disk that's connecting, retrying or refused shows why instead of charts: its state, since when, what happened in plain words and, under it, the technical detail. If the server doesn't allow this Mac, it shows this Mac's initiator name with a button that copies it. Then **Try Again**, **Take Over…** (for a disk another computer has) and **Remove…**, and a card, **On the server**, with where the disk is. See [A disk won't connect](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/wont-connect/). --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/messages/ # Messages and notifications > How BeamDisk tells you what happened and when: the latest message and its history in the window, times on every problem, alerts, and the notifications it sends when a server stops responding or a disk comes back. Last updated: 2026-10-25 Everything BeamDisk reports says when it happened, so a server reset 30 seconds ago reads differently from one six days ago. ## The latest message The window's sidebar shows BeamDisk's latest message at the bottom, above **This Mac**: what it just did or couldn't do, such as **Projects attached.** or **Disconnected.**, and how long ago (**5 min ago**). Hover over the time for the full date and time. A small spinner beside it means BeamDisk is busy. ## Recent messages Click the clock button beside the latest message for **Recent messages**: the last 50, newest first, each with its time and how long ago (**9:12:07 PM · 5 min ago**; older ones read **Yesterday 9:12:07 PM** or **Oct 20, 9:12:07 PM**). They're kept when BeamDisk quits. The text can be selected and copied, which helps when you [ask for help](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/get-help/). ## Times on problems A disk in trouble says since when, wherever its state is shown at length: **Since 9:12 PM · 25 min** in the Overview's alerts and at the top of its page. In the quick menu, its row gives the length alone (**Can't connect · 26 min**). Other times you'll see: - **Session** on a disk's page: how long it has been logged in. - **Last event** on a disk's page: when the server last reported something. - **Free space on the server**: when space was last given back. - **Test Speed**: when the test finished. - **Settings → Connection**: when a server refused a new setting. - **Settings → Time Machine**: since when BeamDisk has been waiting for you to approve its profile. ## Alerts When something you asked for fails in a way that needs you, BeamDisk also shows an alert, for example **Couldn't disconnect**, with what's in the way and what to do. See [A disk won't eject or disconnect](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/cant-eject/). ## Notifications With **Notify when a disk disconnects or reconnects** on in Settings → General (it's on to begin with, and also in the quick menu as **Notify When a Disk Disconnects**), BeamDisk sends a notification when: | Notification | What it means | |---|---| | **Projects: the server stopped responding** | Writes are held while it reconnects. | | **Apps see errors on Projects** | The server has been unreachable longer than the hold time. BeamDisk is still reconnecting. | | **Another computer took Projects** | Reads and writes to it fail on this Mac until you take it back or eject it. | | **Projects reconnected** | The server is responding again. | macOS asks once whether BeamDisk may send notifications, the first time there's something to say. If they're turned off for BeamDisk in System Settings, Settings → General says so and offers **Open Notification Settings**. ## Related - [When the server stops responding](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/outages/) - [One Mac per disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/exclusive-access/) --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/shortcuts/ # Keyboard shortcuts > BeamDisk's keyboard shortcuts in its window, its menus and the quick menu, and the keys its sheets answer to. Last updated: 2026-10-25 BeamDisk's menus (BeamDisk, Edit and Window) show in the menu bar while its window is in front. ## In the window | Keys | Does | |---|---| | ⌘N | **Add Disk** | | ⌘R | **Check for New Disks**, on a server's page | | ⌘, | **Settings…** | | ⌘W | Close the window | | ⌘M | Minimize the window | | ⌘H | **Hide BeamDisk** | | ⌥⌘H | **Hide Others** | | ⌘Q | **Quit BeamDisk**. Disks stay connected unless you chose otherwise in Settings → General. | In text fields, ⌘Z, ⇧⌘Z, ⌘X, ⌘C, ⌘V and ⌘A undo, redo, cut, copy, paste and select all. ## In the quick menu Right-click or Control-click BeamDisk in the menu bar, then: | Keys | Does | |---|---| | ⌘N | **Add Disk…** | | ⌘O | **Open Window** | | ⌘, | **Settings…** | | ⌘Q | **Quit** | ## In sheets Return chooses the highlighted button (**Find Disks**, **Add 2 Disks**, **Start Test**, **Format**, **Done**…), and Escape cancels or closes. A sheet that erases something, such as **Erase and Format** or **Take Over**, waits until you've typed the disk's name. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/format/ # Format a new disk > Format an empty iSCSI disk as APFS in BeamDisk, tuned for network storage or for Time Machine, erase a disk back to empty, erase and reformat it, or use Disk Utility for another format. Last updated: 2026-11-02 A new disk from your server is empty, and its state reads **Empty disk**. BeamDisk can format it as APFS, with a format tuned for disks on a storage server: random writes run up to about three times faster than on Disk Utility's standard format. ## Format an empty disk 1. Click **Format…**: it's beside the disk in the Overview's table, at the top of the disk's page, and in Add Disk's last step. 2. For a disk that will hold Time Machine backups, check **Format it for Time Machine backups**. See [For Time Machine](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/format/#for-time-machine). 3. Otherwise, to have Spotlight search the disk, check **Let Spotlight search this disk**. It's off unless you do: see [Spotlight on a disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/spotlight/). 4. Click **Format**. The disk reads **Formatting…** for a moment, then appears in Finder. The volume takes the disk's name; rename it in Finder if you like. Before attaching the new volume, BeamDisk gives the old contents' space back to the server. ## For Time Machine Time Machine needs standard APFS. On the format tuned for storage servers, a backup can stop with an error when some kinds of file that are already backed up change, and then every later backup stops at that file. **Format it for Time Machine backups** formats the disk as standard APFS instead. It's already checked in Erase and Reformat… for a disk that holds backups. ## Another format For anything else, such as Mac OS Extended or exFAT, click **Use Disk Utility…** in an empty disk's Format sheet. BeamDisk attaches the disk and opens Disk Utility: select the new disk, click **Erase**, and choose a format, as **Erase** in the sheet is dimmed until you do. See [File systems](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/file-systems/) for what each format can do with BeamDisk. A disk with something on it has to be empty first, so [erase it](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/format/#erase-a-disk) in BeamDisk. Disk Utility can't do that for a disk BeamDisk formatted: erasing the volume there keeps BeamDisk's format, and erasing the container or the whole disk deletes the volume and then fails. > **BeamDisk's format or Disk Utility's?** > > In tests, random writes ran up to about three times faster on BeamDisk's format than on Disk Utility's standard APFS format, where their speed depends on where macOS places each file. Copying files in Finder took the same time on both. The trade-off is space: a folder of many small files takes more room on BeamDisk's format. ## Erase a disk **Erase…**, in a disk's Options menu, erases everything on the disk and leaves it empty, so you can format it any way you like: in BeamDisk, in Disk Utility, or from another computer. 1. Quit the apps using the disk. BeamDisk ejects it first. 2. Choose **Erase…** from the disk's Options menu. 3. Read the warning: **Everything on Projects is erased, on the server too. This can't be undone.** If the disk holds Time Machine backups, it says so, and that Time Machine has to be set up for it again. 4. Type the disk's name to confirm, then click **Erase**. The disk then reads **Empty disk**. Its old space goes back to the server in the background, and you can format the disk straight away. Erase… takes any connected disk, including one BeamDisk opens read-only and one that shows **Unreadable here**. Make sure no other computer uses a disk like that. It isn't a secure erase. On a server that doesn't take free space back, the old data stays in the disk's blocks on the server until something overwrites them. ## Erase and reformat a disk **Erase and Reformat…**, in a disk's Options menu, erases everything on the disk and formats it again, as above: tuned for storage servers, or with **Format it for Time Machine backups** checked, for Time Machine. 1. Quit the apps using the disk. BeamDisk ejects it first. 2. Choose **Erase and Reformat…** from the disk's Options menu. 3. Read the warning: **Everything on Projects is erased, on the server too. This can't be undone.** If the disk holds Time Machine backups, it says so, and that Time Machine has to be set up for it again. 4. Type the disk's name to confirm, then click **Erase and Format**. Erase and Reformat… is dimmed while a disk isn't connected, and for any disk BeamDisk opens read-only, such as exFAT, FAT or NTFS, or one written with 4 KiB sectors by another system. To reuse one, [erase it](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/format/#erase-a-disk) first. Disks that macOS can't read (Linux or ZFS file systems, for example) show **Unreadable here** and are never attached, so they can't be erased by mistake: only Erase…, with the disk's name typed to confirm, erases one. See [File systems](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/file-systems/). --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/connect-and-eject/ # Connect, eject and remove disks > What connected and attached mean in BeamDisk, and how to connect at login, eject, attach, remount, disconnect everything, quit, and remove a disk from a Mac. Last updated: 2026-10-27 A disk in BeamDisk can be **connected**, which means BeamDisk is logged in to it on the server, and **attached**, which means it's on this Mac, in Finder and Disk Utility. Normally a disk is both. Ejected, it stays connected, its state reads **Not attached**, and other computers can use it until it's attached here again. ## Connect at login For your disks to come back by themselves when you log in, two switches need to be on: - **Open at Login**, in Settings → General or the quick menu, so BeamDisk starts with your Mac. If macOS asks, approve BeamDisk in System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions. - **Connect at login** for each disk: in Add Disk, on the disk's page, or in its Options menu. At login, BeamDisk stays in the menu bar, connects to your servers and attaches the disks marked Connect at login. ## Connect All and Disconnect All **Connect All**, in the window's toolbar and the quick menu, connects to your servers, attaches the disks marked Connect at login, and tries again for any disk that couldn't connect. It's dimmed when there's nothing left to do. **Disconnect All** ejects every disk, then disconnects from the servers. Before it logs out, BeamDisk makes sure each server has stored everything written to it, and gives up its hold on each disk, so another Mac can use it. If something is still using a disk, BeamDisk ejects the others but stays connected, and says which disk is in use. See [A disk won't eject or disconnect](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/cant-eject/). ## Eject a disk 1. Quit the apps using the disk. 2. Open the disk's page in BeamDisk's window and click **Eject**, in the toolbar or at the bottom of the Disk card. The disk leaves Finder but stays connected, and only this Mac can use it. Click **Attach** to put it back. ## Remount a disk **Remount**, in a disk's Options menu, ejects the disk and attaches it again. Use it when a disk says **Remount needed** after a long outage, so macOS checks its volume afresh. See [When the server stops responding](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/outages/). ## Remove a disk from this Mac Removing a disk makes this Mac forget it. The disk and its data stay on the server. 1. Eject the disk (above). **Remove…** stays dimmed until it's ejected. 2. Choose **Remove…** from the disk's Options menu, or click it on the Disk card. 3. Click **Remove** to confirm. BeamDisk disconnects the disk and deletes its CHAP secret from your Keychain, unless another disk on the same target still uses it. To use the disk on another Mac, see [One Mac per disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/exclusive-access/). ## When you quit Settings → General → **When you quit** decides what quitting BeamDisk does: - **Keep disks connected (recommended)**: your disks stay available to Finder and Time Machine after you quit, like the iSCSI initiator services on Windows and Linux. Open BeamDisk again to see them. - **Disconnect all disks**: quitting disconnects everything first, as Disconnect All does. Either way, **Disconnect All and Quit** in the quick menu disconnects everything and quits, this once. If a disk can't be ejected, BeamDisk stays open and says which. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/file-systems/ # File systems > Which file systems BeamDisk reads and writes on an iSCSI disk: APFS and Mac OS Extended (Journaled) read-write; exFAT, FAT and NTFS read-only; disks from Windows or Linux with 4 KiB sectors read-only; others left unattached. Last updated: 2026-11-02 Each disk is inspected before it appears in Finder, and what's on it decides how this Mac can use it. | On the disk | In BeamDisk | |---|---| | APFS | Read and write | | Mac OS Extended (Journaled) | Read and write | | exFAT, FAT, Mac OS Extended (not journaled) | Read-only | | NTFS | Read-only: macOS can only read NTFS | | Nothing yet | **Empty disk**: [format it](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/format/) | | Linux, ZFS, VMware and other file systems macOS can't read | Not attached: **Unreadable here** | A disk that shows **Unreadable here** stays connected but is never attached, so it can't be erased by mistake. Its Contents row says what BeamDisk found, where it can tell. To reuse it, or a disk BeamDisk opens read-only, choose [**Erase…**](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/format/#erase-a-disk) from its Options menu. Some things are APFS-only: [giving free space back to the server](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/free-space/), and [using new space](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/grow/) after a disk grows. For a disk you'll use only from Macs, use APFS: [Format a new disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/format/). ## Sector size Disks have 512-byte or 4,096-byte (4 KiB) sectors, set on the server. BeamDisk reads and writes both, with one exception: - **A disk written with 4 KiB sectors by Windows, Linux or another initiator** opens read-only. Its state reads **Read-only**, with **4 KiB sectors** beside it in the Overview, and Add Disk warns about it before you add it. - **A 4 KiB disk formatted on this Mac** can then only be read with BeamDisk, not by Windows, Linux or other initiators. BeamDisk says so on the disk's page. For a disk that may move between systems, use 512-byte sectors (on TrueNAS, keep the extent's default): see [Set up TrueNAS](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/truenas/). ## Disks with problems If a disk's partition table is damaged, overlaps or runs past the end of the disk, BeamDisk opens it read-only at most, and its page lists what it found when it connected, such as **Its partition table is damaged; the backup copy is intact.** A disk made smaller on the server is one way to get there: see [Make a disk bigger](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/grow/). On a disk with several partitions, any that macOS can only read are mounted read-only, and the others as usual. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/outages/ # When the server stops responding > What BeamDisk does when the network drops or the server restarts: it holds writes for up to 60 seconds (15 to 300), reconnects by itself on a set schedule, shows how long it's been, and tells you. Last updated: 2026-10-23 Networks drop and iSCSI services restart. BeamDisk is built to ride that out, the way the iSCSI initiators in Windows and Linux do: it holds writes, so your apps wait instead of failing. ## What happens 1. **Writes wait.** When the server stops answering, the disk's state turns to **Reconnecting** and BeamDisk holds its writes for up to **60 seconds**. Apps wait as they would for a slow disk. The menu-bar item shows an amber dot, and the disk says what's going on, with since when: **The server stopped responding. Holding writes — 12 of 60 s; nothing is lost yet.** It may also say how much is waiting: **48 MB of recent writes are waiting for the server.** 2. **BeamDisk reconnects by itself**, logs in again (with CHAP, if you use it) and carries on where it stopped. It tries again after a second, then a little less often after each failed try, never more than 10 seconds apart. When the disk is back, you get a notification: **Projects reconnected.** 3. **If the outage outlasts the hold time**, apps start to see errors on that disk. Its state turns to **Apps see errors**, the dot turns red, and BeamDisk keeps trying to reconnect until you disconnect the disk. In testing, iSCSI service restarts, network outages and forced disconnects lost no data that the server had acknowledged. ## While it's reconnecting The Overview puts the disk at the top, with a bar filling up over the hold time and a **Disconnect** button. The disk's page says the same, with **Eject**. In the quick menu, its row counts: **Holding writes · 12 of 60 s**. You don't need to do anything: most outages end within the hold time. Disconnect or eject a reconnecting disk only if you don't expect the server back, and have nothing unsaved on it. ## Change the hold time In Settings → Connection, **Hold writes for** sets how long writes wait, from 15 to 300 seconds in steps of 5. A longer time rides out longer outages, such as a server restart; a shorter one tells apps sooner that the disk is gone. The change applies at once, to every disk. A disk's page repeats the time in its Connection card: **If the server stops responding, writes are held for up to 60 s before apps see errors.** ## If a disk says Remount needed After an outage that outlasted the hold time, a disk can come back as **Remount needed**: **The server was unreachable for longer than the hold time. Remount to be sure the volume is consistent.** Writes made during the outage that hadn't reached the server may be lost, as with a drive that was unplugged. Click **Remount** to eject the disk and attach it again. ## If the server lost power A server that loses power or restarts unexpectedly can lose writes it had accepted but not yet saved. On disks where it's on, BeamDisk's [power-loss protection](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/power-loss-protection/) keeps your most recent writes safe through that, as long as your Mac stays on. It's on by default for TrueNAS. ## Related - [Messages and notifications](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/messages/) - [What a disk's state means](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/disk-states/) --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/power-loss-protection/ # Power-loss protection > BeamDisk's per-disk Power-loss protection setting: what Automatic, On and Off do, why it's on for TrueNAS, and what turning it off costs and gains. Last updated: 2026-10-27 Many storage servers tell the Mac a write is done as soon as it's in their memory, and save it to their drives moments later. If the server loses power or restarts in between, those writes are lost, and the disk can be damaged. **Power-loss protection** keeps your most recent writes safe through that, as long as your Mac stays on. It's a setting for each disk, on the disk's page, in the Connection card. ## The choices | Choice | What it does | |---|---| | **Automatic** (the default) | On, unless the server says the writes it accepts survive a power loss. | | **On** | Always on. | | **Off** | Faster writes, but if the server crashes or loses power, recent writes can be lost and the disk damaged. | Under the menu, a note says what Automatic chose and why: - **On: the server can lose writes it has accepted if it loses power.** TrueNAS says this about its disks, so Automatic is on for TrueNAS. - **On: the server doesn't say whether its writes survive a power loss.** - **Off: the server says the writes it accepts survive a power loss.** ## Change it 1. Open the disk's page in BeamDisk's window. 2. In the Connection card, choose **Automatic**, **On** or **Off** next to **Power-loss protection**. 3. The change applies the next time the disk connects: at your next login, or after **Disconnect All** and **Connect All**. Until then the note says **The change applies the next time this disk connects.** ## Should you turn it off? Only for a disk whose contents you can afford to lose. If your server's writes do survive a power loss and it reports that, Automatic already turns protection off. What it gains, measured on TrueNAS over 10 GbE: turning it off made long sequential writes about 11% faster on an SSD pool (about 920 MB/s against 830 MB/s) and about 9% faster on a hard-drive pool, with an occasional pause of several seconds. What it costs is the protection: if the server crashes or loses power, recent writes can be lost and the disk damaged. So the default stays on for TrueNAS, on SSDs and hard drives alike. ## Related - [When the server stops responding](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/outages/) - [Set up TrueNAS](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/truenas/) --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/exclusive-access/ # One Mac per disk > Why an iSCSI disk can only be used by one Mac at a time, how BeamDisk enforces it with persistent reservations, how to take a disk back from another computer, and how to move a disk to another Mac. Last updated: 2026-10-27 A file system such as APFS expects to be the only one writing to its disk. If two computers use the same iSCSI disk at once, they overwrite each other's changes and the disk is corrupted. BeamDisk prevents that. While a disk is attached, BeamDisk has **exclusive access** to it on the server, using SCSI persistent reservations. Another computer that tries to read or write the disk is refused, and BeamDisk keeps the reservation through reconnects and iSCSI service restarts. If the server drops it anyway, BeamDisk takes it back, and the disk's **Last event** says so. ## What you see - **Reserved by another computer**: **Another computer is using this disk. It connects here once the other computer lets go of it.** BeamDisk keeps trying in the meantime. A disk you ejected here can read this too, once another computer has started using it: attach it again when that computer lets go. - **Reservation lost**: another computer took the disk while this Mac had it, so reads and writes to it fail here. You get a notification, **Another computer took Projects**, and the menu-bar item shows a red dot. ## Take a disk back Only do this if the other computer is off, or has disconnected from the disk. If both write to it, it will be corrupted. 1. On the disk's page, click **Take Over…** (it's also in the Overview, in the alert for a lost reservation and when you right-click the disk in the table). 2. Read the warning. If this Mac still has the disk attached, BeamDisk ejects it first, and changes not yet written to it are lost: the server already refuses this Mac's writes. 3. Type the disk's name to confirm, then click **Take Over**. BeamDisk connects the disk and attaches it again. ## Move a disk to another Mac 1. On the Mac that has the disk, quit the apps using it, eject it, and choose **Remove…** from its Options menu. The disk and its data stay on the server; this Mac just stops connecting to it. 2. On the other Mac, allow its initiator name on the target, then add the disk with **Add Disk**. **Eject** lets go of the disk too: another computer can use it until this Mac attaches it again. **Disconnect All** lets go of every disk, until this Mac connects again. > **Your target needs persistent reservations** > > TrueNAS supports them. A target without them still connects, but without this protection. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/free-space/ # Give free space back to the server > How BeamDisk returns the space freed by deleted files on an APFS disk to a thin-provisioned volume on the server, automatically and with Reclaim Free Space. Last updated: 2026-10-23 On a thin-provisioned volume, such as a sparse zvol on TrueNAS, a disk only uses as much space on the server as has been written to it. Deleting files on the Mac doesn't tell the server on its own, so the space stays used there until it's given back. BeamDisk gives it back on APFS disks: - **Automatically, when the disk connects.** - **After it formats a disk**, for whatever the disk held before, and **after Test Speed**, for its test files. - **Whenever you like**, with **Reclaim Free Space**. The disk stays in use while it runs. ## Reclaim free space now 1. Open the disk's page in BeamDisk's window. 2. Click **Reclaim Free Space**, under **Free space on the server** in the Disk card, or choose it from the disk's Options menu. While it runs, the card says **Giving free space back to the server…**; then it says when it finished, and what happened: - **Gave 1.2 GB of free space back to the server.** - **Nothing to give back: the server already has this disk's free space.** - Space from files deleted moments ago may not be released by macOS yet, or may be left for a later run. The card says so, and that space goes back at a later reclaim. ## Good to know - Your server needs thin provisioning and support for giving space back (SCSI UNMAP). TrueNAS has both on a sparse zvol. - Mac OS Extended and exFAT disks don't give space back yet. - A snapshot on the server keeps the space it refers to until the snapshot is deleted, whatever BeamDisk gives back. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/grow/ # Make a disk bigger > Grow an iSCSI disk on your server and use the new space on the Mac with BeamDisk's Use the New Space, including the one Terminal command macOS requires, and what happens if a disk gets smaller. Last updated: 2026-10-23 You can make a disk bigger on your server while it's in use. BeamDisk notices the new size and, with **Use the New Space**, grows the disk's APFS volume to fill it. Your files stay as they are. ## Grow a disk 1. On your server, make the disk bigger: on TrueNAS, edit the zvol and raise its size. Keep it a whole number of MiB or GiB. 2. In BeamDisk, open the disk's page. Once the server reports the change, it says **Grew on the server**, with the old and new sizes. 3. Quit the apps using the disk, then click **Use the New Space…** and confirm with **Use the New Space**. 4. BeamDisk ejects the disk for a moment, connects it again at its new size, extends its partition table if it has one, and attaches it again. The sidebar's message line follows each step. 5. The last step, growing the volume into the new space, is one macOS lets only Terminal or Disk Utility do, not an App Store app, so BeamDisk shows the command. Click **Copy Command**, paste it into Terminal and press Return. The command is macOS's own, of the form `diskutil apfs resizeContainer disk13 0`, with your disk's number in it. It takes a moment and needs no administrator password. ## If you clicked Later The disk's page reminds you while space is unused: **12 GB of this disk isn't used yet: its volume is smaller than the disk. Use the New Space grows it.** Clicking **Use the New Space…** again goes straight to the command, without ejecting the disk. ## Disks that aren't APFS For a disk with no APFS volume (Mac OS Extended, for example), BeamDisk connects it at the new size and says **It has no APFS container to grow; Disk Utility can resize its volume.** Resize it in Disk Utility. ## Don't make a disk smaller A disk made smaller on the server loses whatever was past its new end. BeamDisk says so: **Smaller on the server now**, with the old and new sizes, and **Check the server before using it: what was past the new end isn't there any more.** ## Related - [Set up TrueNAS](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/truenas/) - [A disk's page](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/disk-page/) --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/spotlight/ # Spotlight on a disk > Whether Spotlight searches a BeamDisk disk: off by default, on for Time Machine disks, and how to turn it on or off for a disk, or when you format it. Last updated: 2026-10-23 Spotlight doesn't search the disks BeamDisk connects unless you turn it on. The exception is a Time Machine disk: Time Machine keeps Spotlight on for its backups. Searching a disk has a cost: Spotlight reads the files on it to index them, which adds network traffic, mostly when it first scans the disk and when files change. ## Turn Spotlight on or off 1. Open the disk's page in BeamDisk's window. The **Spotlight** row is in the Disk card, while the disk's volume is mounted. 2. The first time, click **Turn On…**, and BeamDisk asks you to select the disk's volume, once, so it can change Spotlight's setting there: select it and confirm. 3. After that, the row is a switch: turn it on or off. The change applies at once, and the sidebar's message line confirms it, such as **Spotlight is on for Projects.** While Spotlight is on, a note under the switch says what it costs. If the row reads **Changing…**, macOS is still applying the change. **Not available** means Spotlight doesn't index that volume, or macOS didn't say; hover over it for which. Selecting the volume once also lets [Test Speed](https://beamdisk.app/docs/performance/test-speed/) write its test files there, and the other way round. ## When you format a disk BeamDisk's **Format** sheet has **Let Spotlight search this disk**, unchecked. Check it to have Spotlight on from the start: after formatting, BeamDisk asks you to select the new volume once, then turns Spotlight on. If you don't select it, the disk is formatted all the same, with Spotlight off. ## Time Machine disks A disk that holds Time Machine backups shows **On**, with no switch: Time Machine needs Spotlight for its backups and doesn't let it be turned off. The note says the network traffic comes from Spotlight reading what's backed up. ## Related - [Format a new disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/format/) - [A disk's page](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/disk-page/) --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/time-machine/set-up/ # Back up with Time Machine > Use an iSCSI disk on your server as a Time Machine destination with BeamDisk: format an empty disk for Time Machine, install BeamDisk's Time Machine profile once in Device Management, and choose the disk. With measured backup times. Last updated: 2026-11-02 With BeamDisk, an iSCSI disk on your server can be a Time Machine destination, like a drive plugged into the Mac. Setting it up takes a one-time profile that lets Time Machine use disks connected by BeamDisk, approved by an administrator. ## Before you start - Connect a disk for this Mac's backups with BeamDisk ([Add your first disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/add-a-disk/)). Give it plenty of room: Time Machine keeps hourly, daily and weekly backups. - Give each Mac its own disk: BeamDisk gives a disk to [one Mac at a time](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/exclusive-access/). - You need an administrator's password to install the profile, and again whenever you change Time Machine's settings while it's installed. ## Set it up BeamDisk's Settings → Time Machine sets out the same three steps, with a status at the top: **Profile not installed**, **Waiting for your approval in System Settings since** a time, or **Configuration profile installed**. 1. Format the disk with **Format…** on its page, with **Format it for Time Machine backups** checked. See [Format a new disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/format/#for-time-machine). 2. In BeamDisk's Settings → Time Machine, click **Install Profile…**, and System Settings opens at General → Device Management. 3. Under **Downloaded**, double-click **BeamDisk: Time Machine support**. 4. Click **Install…**, then **Install** to confirm, and enter your password when macOS asks. Back in BeamDisk, the step reads **Installed**. 5. Click **Open Time Machine Settings**. Click **+**, choose the disk, and confirm. The first backup copies everything; later ones copy only what changed. Time Machine may create its own backup volume on the disk, named after the disk with a number, such as "Backups 1". > **The profile isn't under Downloaded?** > > macOS removes a downloaded profile that isn't installed after a while. While BeamDisk waits for your approval, its Settings show **Finish in System Settings** with an **Open Device Management** button, which hands the profile over again and opens the pane. ## How fast Measured on 10 GbE to a TrueNAS SSD pool, with the same Mac backing up the same data minutes apart: | Backup | Over BeamDisk | Over SMB, same pool | |---|---|---| | First full backup: 71.4 GB, 1.8 million files | **8 min 19 s** | 9 min 39 s | | Later backup: 5.8 GB of new files | 67 s | 72 s | A repeat of that later backup took 65 s over BeamDisk and 63 s over SMB. Time Machine itself sets the pace: its work on each file, not the network, decides how fast a backup goes, so even on 10 GbE most backups run well below the network's speed. Large files copy at close to network speed over either. The [benchmarks](https://beamdisk.app/benchmarks/#time-machine) replay both full backups. ## Restore files Restore files the usual way, from Time Machine in the menu bar, with the backup disk connected in BeamDisk. macOS Recovery has no iSCSI initiator, so it can't reach a backup on a BeamDisk disk. Plan whole-Mac recovery with that in mind. ## Good to know - **Administrator password.** While BeamDisk's Time Machine profile is installed, Time Machine settings ask for an administrator's password before changes. - **Spotlight** stays on for the backup disk: Time Machine needs it. See [Spotlight on a disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/spotlight/). - **Test Speed** can't test a backup disk: macOS lets no app write test files there. - **Erasing.** Erase… and Erase and Reformat… warn when a disk holds Time Machine backups, and Time Machine then has to be set up for that disk again. ## If backups stop with an error If Time Machine says it couldn't back up to the disk, names a file, and stops at that file every time, the disk was probably formatted without **Format it for Time Machine backups**. Choose **Erase and Reformat…** from the disk's Options menu, with that box checked. This erases the disk's backups, so Time Machine has to be set up for it again. ## Stop using Time Machine with BeamDisk Remove the disk from Time Machine's backup disks, then remove **BeamDisk: Time Machine support** in System Settings → General → Device Management. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/truenas/ # Set up TrueNAS > Create an iSCSI target and a disk (zvol) on TrueNAS for a Mac with BeamDisk, allow the Mac's initiator name, and choose settings that work well: 16 KiB blocks, 512-byte extents, default sync and logbias, SSDs or a SLOG, and jumbo frames. Last updated: 2026-10-23 BeamDisk is tested with TrueNAS. This page sets up a target with one disk for one Mac, then lists the settings that worked best in BeamDisk's tests, with a few general ZFS ones. TrueNAS's screens differ a little between versions; its own documentation has every option. ## Before you start Copy your Mac's initiator name from BeamDisk: at the top of Add Disk, under **This Mac** in the window's sidebar, or in Settings → General. ## Create the target and disk 1. In **Datasets**, select your pool and add a zvol. Give it a size in whole MiB or GiB. Under its additional options (advanced options in older versions), tick **Sparse** for a thin-provisioned disk and set the block size to 16 KiB (see below). TrueNAS doesn't let you change either once the zvol is saved. 2. Go to **Shares**, find **Block (iSCSI) Shares Targets** and open its **Wizard**. Name the target, and choose the zvol as its device. Keep the extent's sharing platform at its default (see below). 3. Create a portal, or use an existing one, listening on port 3260. Set up CHAP here if you want it. 4. Under initiators, add your Mac's initiator name, so the target is offered to this Mac only. 5. Save, and make sure the **iSCSI** service is running and set to start automatically (in **System** → **Services**). Then [add the disk in BeamDisk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/add-a-disk/) with the server's address. ## Settings that work well - **Zvol block size: 16 KiB**, even where TrueNAS suggests 32 KiB, as it does for RAIDZ pools. With 32 KiB blocks, ZFS has to read part of a block before it can rewrite the rest: on a hard-drive pool in BeamDisk's tests, random writes ran 14 to 38% slower, and 5 to 8 times slower once the blocks weren't in the server's memory; sequential writes ran about a fifth slower. - **Extent sharing platform: keep the default (VMware) or Legacy OS**, which give the disk 512-byte sectors. Modern OS (4 KiB sectors) is as fast, but a disk BeamDisk formats there can only be read through BeamDisk, and one formatted with 4 KiB sectors by Windows or Linux opens read-only. See [File systems](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/file-systems/). The extent's other options, such as TPC, Xen compatibility and the speed it reports, make no difference to BeamDisk. - **A sparse (thin) zvol** only takes space on the pool as it's written, and BeamDisk [gives space back](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/free-space/) when files are deleted. - **Leave `sync` (standard) and `logbias` (latency) at their defaults.** In BeamDisk's tests, `logbias=throughput` made sequential writes up to 8% faster but cut random writes by 25 to 58%, which a Mac disk depends on for small files and its own bookkeeping. `sync=disabled` makes the server acknowledge writes that a crash or power cut can lose: use it only for disks you can lose. - **SSD pools** make the biggest difference to anything that asks for its data to be safely stored, and sustained writes ran about three times faster than on a hard-drive pool. - **On hard-drive pools, add a SLOG.** Without one, every request to store data safely waits for the drives: about 21 ms each in BeamDisk's tests on two RAIDZ1 vdevs of hard drives, against 7 ms on a SATA SSD pool, and sequential writes topped out around 340 MB/s. A SLOG (a fast, separate log device with power-loss protection) is ZFS's usual way to shorten that wait; it hasn't been tested with BeamDisk yet. - **Jumbo frames (MTU 9000)**, if every device on the path supports them: see [Get the most from your network](https://beamdisk.app/docs/performance/tuning/). ## TrueNAS in a virtual machine If TrueNAS runs in a VM, for jumbo frames the hypervisor's bridge and the VM's network card must allow MTU 9000 too, as well as TrueNAS's own interface. Some hypervisors (Proxmox, for example) give a VM's network card the bridge's MTU only when the VM starts, so set the bridge first, then change the card with the VM shut down: changing it on a running TrueNAS VM can drop its default route. ## Exclusive access TrueNAS supports the persistent reservations BeamDisk uses to give each disk to [one Mac at a time](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/exclusive-access/). TrueNAS also tells BeamDisk that it can lose writes it has accepted if it loses power, so BeamDisk's [power-loss protection](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/power-loss-protection/) is on for its disks. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/linux-lio/ # Set up a Linux target (LIO) > Serve an iSCSI disk to a Mac with BeamDisk from Linux's built-in LIO target with targetcli: a disk from a logical volume or a file, the Mac's initiator name, the folder LIO keeps reservations in, and the settings BeamDisk's benchmarks ran with on 10 GbE. Last updated: 2026-10-30 BeamDisk is tested with LIO, the iSCSI target built into Linux, set up with `targetcli` on Debian 13. The [benchmarks](https://beamdisk.app/benchmarks/) ran on it. This page serves one disk to one Mac. The commands are LIO's own, so they work much the same on other distributions, though package names differ. ## Before you start - Copy your Mac's initiator name from BeamDisk: at the top of Add Disk, under **This Mac** in the window's sidebar, or in Settings → General. The commands below use `iqn.2026-10.com.3rdbitlabs:0123456789ab`: put yours in its place. - Choose a name for the target, such as `iqn.2026-10.com.example:mac1`. - Choose what holds the disk: a logical volume (LVM) or a file. Their sizes come in whole MiB or GiB, as BeamDisk needs ([What a target needs](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/requirements/)). A whole drive's size often isn't a multiple of 16 KiB, and then the disk doesn't connect. ## Create the disk and target 1. Install targetcli. On Debian and Ubuntu: `sudo apt install targetcli-fb`. 2. Make the disk. From a logical volume: `sudo targetcli /backstores/block create name=mac1 dev=/dev/vg0/mac1`. Or from a file, which only takes space as it's written: `sudo targetcli /backstores/fileio create name=mac1 file_or_dev=/srv/iscsi/mac1.img size=500G sparse=true`. 3. Create the target: `sudo targetcli /iscsi create iqn.2026-10.com.example:mac1`. targetcli gives it a portal on port 3260 on every address of the server. 4. Give the target the disk: `sudo targetcli /iscsi/iqn.2026-10.com.example:mac1/tpg1/luns create /backstores/block/mac1` (or `/backstores/fileio/mac1`). 5. Let the Mac keep more requests in flight than LIO's default of 64. Do this before you allow the Mac, because LIO copies the value when it allows an initiator: `sudo targetcli /iscsi/iqn.2026-10.com.example:mac1/tpg1 set attribute default_cmdsn_depth=128`. 6. Allow your Mac: `sudo targetcli /iscsi/iqn.2026-10.com.example:mac1/tpg1/acls create iqn.2026-10.com.3rdbitlabs:0123456789ab`. 7. Create the folder LIO keeps reservations in across restarts, which Debian's targetcli doesn't: `sudo mkdir -p "$(cat /sys/kernel/config/target/dbroot)/pr"`. Without it, BeamDisk's hold on the disk ends whenever the target restarts. 8. Save the configuration: `sudo targetcli saveconfig`. Debian loads it again at every boot. Then [add the disk in BeamDisk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/add-a-disk/) with the server's address. If the server runs a firewall, open TCP port 3260. ## Settings for 10 GbE The benchmarks ran with these. They matter most on fast links. - **Larger transfers.** LIO's login defaults are small: 8 KiB data segments, 64 KiB of data before the target asks for it, and 256 KiB bursts. With these, a login settles on larger ones: `sudo targetcli /iscsi/iqn.2026-10.com.example:mac1/tpg1 set parameter MaxRecvDataSegmentLength=262144 FirstBurstLength=262144 MaxBurstLength=16776192 InitialR2T=No ImmediateData=Yes`, then `sudo targetcli saveconfig`. They apply from the Mac's next connect. - **A larger TCP send buffer.** Debian lets one connection's send buffer grow to only 4 MiB, which held reads to about 1.1 GB/s in BeamDisk's tests on 10 GbE. With 16 MiB they reached line rate: `echo "net.ipv4.tcp_wmem = 4096 16384 16777216" | sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/90-iscsi.conf`, then `sudo sysctl --system`. - **Jumbo frames (MTU 9000)** on the server's network interface, if every device on the path supports them: see [Get the most from your network](https://beamdisk.app/docs/performance/tuning/). If the target runs in a virtual machine, the hypervisor's bridge and the VM's network card need MTU 9000 too: [Set up TrueNAS](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/truenas/#truenas-in-a-virtual-machine) says how. ## Exclusive access and power-loss protection - LIO supports the persistent reservations BeamDisk uses to give each disk to [one Mac at a time](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/exclusive-access/), and with the folder above it keeps them when the target restarts. - [Power-loss protection](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/power-loss-protection/) on **Automatic** follows the write cache LIO reports for the disk, its `emulate_write_cache` attribute: with 1, LIO says it can lose writes it has accepted, and protection is on; with 0, it's off. Check it with `sudo targetcli /backstores/block/mac1 get attribute emulate_write_cache`. If you're not sure the drives under the disk keep accepted writes through a power cut, choose **On**. ## CHAP BeamDisk's tests on LIO allowed the Mac by its initiator name, without CHAP. LIO sets CHAP for each allowed initiator; targetcli's manual has the commands. BeamDisk's CHAP and mutual CHAP are tested with [TrueNAS](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/truenas/). --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/requirements/ # What a target needs > The iSCSI features BeamDisk needs from a target: SendTargets discovery, an allowed initiator name, CHAP with MD5, persistent reservations, a disk size in whole MiB or GiB, and optionally UNMAP and CRC32C digests. Last updated: 2026-10-30 BeamDisk speaks standard iSCSI. It's tested with [TrueNAS](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/truenas/) and with [Linux targets (LIO / targetcli)](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/linux-lio/). Any target should provide: | Feature | Why | |---|---| | **SendTargets discovery** | Add Disk finds targets and disks from the server's address. | | **Access by initiator name** | The target must allow this Mac's initiator name. Targets usually hide disks from initiators they don't allow. | | **CHAP with MD5** (optional) | BeamDisk supports None, CHAP and mutual CHAP, with the standard MD5 algorithm. It uses the server's user and secret for discovery and for its targets, and a target's own where the server sets CHAP per target. | | **SCSI persistent reservations** (SPC-3) | How BeamDisk gives a disk to [one Mac at a time](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/exclusive-access/). Without them, a disk connects unprotected. | | **A size in whole MiB or GiB** | Other sizes may not connect: BeamDisk then says **Its size isn't a multiple of 16 KiB.** Change the size on the server. | | **512-byte or 4 KiB sectors** | Both work. 512-byte sectors keep a disk readable by other systems' initiators: see [File systems](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/file-systems/). | | **Thin provisioning and UNMAP** (optional) | Lets BeamDisk [give free space back](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/free-space/) to the server. | | **CRC32C digests** (optional) | Used when the target asks for them, or as set in Settings → Connection. | BeamDisk opens one session per target, as the initiators in Windows and Linux do, so a target that allows one session per initiator needs no changes. The disks on one target share it. Running a target we haven't tested? [Tell us](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/get-help/) how it goes. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/performance/test-speed/ # Test Speed > Measure a disk's real throughput, IOPS and latency with BeamDisk's built-in Test Speed: eight tests in about a minute that read and write files as apps do, with each test's average, slowest and fastest second, and latency; test files are removed afterwards. Last updated: 2026-10-26 **Test Speed** measures what a disk gets from its server, through your network, in about a minute. It reads and writes test files on the disk the way apps do, so its numbers are what your apps can get. Use it to see what a change on the server or the network makes. ## Run it 1. In BeamDisk's window, select a connected disk and choose **Test Speed…** from its Options menu. 2. The first time you test a disk, the sheet says **To test it, allow BeamDisk to use** the disk's volume **once**. Click **Allow Access…** and select the volume in the panel that opens. 3. Click **Start Test**. Results fill in as each test finishes; **Stop** ends the run early. 4. When it's done, click **Done**, or **Run Again**. ## The tests | Test | How it runs | |---|---| | **Sequential write** | 1 MiB, 8 at once | | **Sequential read** | 1 MiB, 8 at once | | **Random write, 16 KiB** | 32 at once | | **Random write, 4 KiB** | 32 at once | | **Random read, 16 KiB** | 32 at once | | **Random read, 4 KiB** | 32 at once | | **Read latency, 4 KiB** | one at a time | | **Synced writes, 4 KiB** | one at a time, each flushed: each write is safely stored before the next | Each result shows its average (MB/s, IOPS, or for latency the median), with the slowest and the fastest second of the test under it where that applies, and the **Latency (median / 99 %)** of each operation beside it. A test that was skipped shows a dash, and one that failed says **Failed**; hover over either for why. Under the table, the sheet says when the run finished and, when BeamDisk can tell, how fast your Mac's link to the server is (and so the most it can carry). ## What it does to your disk - **Every test uses test files** on the disk's volume: a tenth of its free space, at most 2 GiB. The write tests fill them and the read tests read them back, so your own files are never touched. They're removed afterwards, and their space is given back to the server. If BeamDisk quits during a test, it removes them the next time it starts. - **Reads come from the server**, not from your Mac. The server may answer some of them from its own memory, since the test files were just written; the sheet points that out. - **A snapshot** taken on the server during the test keeps the test data until the snapshot expires. The sheet reminds you. ## When the test can't run The sheet says why, before you start: - the disk isn't attached; - the disk has no volume mounted; - its volume holds **Time Machine backups**, where macOS lets no app write test files; - its volume has too little free space for the test files; - you haven't allowed access to its volume yet (**Allow Access…**). ## Numbers to compare or publish - Use a wired connection, and jumbo frames if your whole network supports them. - Keep the Mac and the server quiet: no big builds, backups or copies running. Screen Sharing in High Performance mode slows other transfers; use Standard mode, or disconnect. - Expect a second run to read faster: the server keeps recently read data in memory. - If random writes come out low on a disk you formatted elsewhere, the sheet may say so: a disk formatted by BeamDisk (**Erase and Reformat…**) doesn't have that problem. What affects the numbers: [Get the most from your network](https://beamdisk.app/docs/performance/tuning/). --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/performance/tuning/ # Get the most from your network > What decides BeamDisk's speed: the network and jumbo frames, the server's pool and its settings, power-loss protection, the disk's format, the Mac itself, and how apps read and write. With measured numbers on 10 GbE. Last updated: 2026-10-30 BeamDisk reads and writes at full 10 GbE speed, over 1.2 GB/s. What you see depends on the slowest part of the path: the network, the server's pool, or the app doing the reading and writing. Measure your own with [Test Speed](https://beamdisk.app/docs/performance/test-speed/). ## What it can do Measured on 10 GbE to TrueNAS, one disk at a time: - **Reads:** about 1.1 GB/s at the standard 1,500-byte MTU, and about 1.2 GB/s with jumbo frames, 97% of what the link can carry, when the server had the data in memory. Two disks read together filled the link. - **Writes:** as fast as the server's pool takes them. A SATA SSD pool with default settings sustained about 830 MB/s, with bursts of 1.0 to 1.2 GB/s; a hard-drive pool about 340 MB/s. - **Reads and writes at the same time:** 10 GbE carries data both ways at once, so one disk moved 1,844 MB/s in all to a Linux iSCSI target with SATA SSDs, about 1.5 times what one direction can carry. Reads took the larger share, about 1,150 MB/s against 690 MB/s of writes, so a copy that writes while another app reads runs slower than either alone. [The benchmarks](https://beamdisk.app/benchmarks/). ## The network - **Use a wired connection.** BeamDisk is tested on wired 10 GbE. After protocol overhead, 10 GbE can carry at most about 1,180 MB/s of data at the standard MTU (about 1,237 MB/s with jumbo frames), 2.5 GbE at most about 290 MB/s, and 1 GbE about 118 MB/s. - **Jumbo frames (MTU 9000) help**, if every device on the path supports them: the Mac, every switch, and the server, including a hypervisor's bridge and virtual network card if the server runs in a VM. In BeamDisk's tests they made reads 7 to 9% faster, write bursts 12% faster and random writes 6% faster, and took work off the server's network. On the Mac, set it in System Settings → Network → your Ethernet connection → Details → Hardware: choose Manually, then the MTU. See [Set up TrueNAS](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/truenas/) for the server's side. - **Keep storage on a trusted network**, ideally its own VLAN: iSCSI traffic isn't encrypted. ## The server - **The pool sets the write speed**: see the numbers above. - **SSDs make safe writes quick.** On a hard-drive pool, each request to store data safely waited about three times longer in BeamDisk's tests: about 21 ms, against 7 ms on a SATA SSD pool. - **Requests to store data safely wait for the pool.** Apps that ask for their data to be safely stored, such as databases, wait for the server each time. On ZFS, a SLOG device is the usual way to shorten that wait. - **ZFS settings matter.** 16 KiB zvol blocks, and the default `sync` and `logbias`: [Set up TrueNAS](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/truenas/) has the measured differences. ## Power-loss protection Turning a disk's [power-loss protection](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/power-loss-protection/) off made long sequential writes about 9 to 11% faster in tests, with an occasional pause of several seconds, and recent writes can then be lost if the server crashes or loses power. Leave it on unless the disk's contents don't matter. ## The disk - **Format with BeamDisk** for random writes: they ran up to about three times faster in tests than on Disk Utility's standard APFS format. See [Format a new disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/format/). ## The Mac - **Screen Sharing in High Performance mode slows other transfers.** While a High Performance session is open, macOS holds other network traffic back for a second every 30 seconds, and for the first second of each new connection, which cost about 3% of a long read in tests. Standard mode doesn't do this. - **A heavily loaded Mac** (a big build using every core, for example) can cut network throughput sharply. Check Activity Monitor if numbers drop. ## The app Apps that keep several requests in flight get the most, as Test Speed and Time Machine do. A copy that writes one stream at a time runs slower: a Finder copy of one large file onto a BeamDisk disk ran at 300 to 620 MB/s in tests. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/deployment/fleet/ # Deploy to a fleet > Roll BeamDisk out to Macs with Apple Silicon with Apple Business Manager and your MDM: no kernel extension to approve, one switch per Mac, and an initiator name per Mac. Last updated: 2026-10-27 BeamDisk has no kernel extension, so deploying it doesn't touch your Macs' security policy: no Reduced Security, no Recovery-mode visit, nothing for the kernel-extension policy. ## Roll it out 1. **Buy in volume.** Buy BeamDisk for Business through Apple Business Manager, and assign it to Macs with your MDM, like any App Store app. 2. **Turn it on.** On each Mac, BeamDisk asks once to be turned on in System Settings, and once for permission to attach disks; macOS also asks once whether it may use the local network. See [Install BeamDisk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/getting-started/install/). 3. **Allow each Mac on its targets.** Every Mac has its own initiator name, shown under This Mac in BeamDisk's window and in Settings → General. Allow it on the targets that Mac should use. 4. **Add the disks** with Add Disk. CHAP secrets are stored in that Mac's Keychain. ## Initiator names BeamDisk makes a unique initiator name for each Mac the first time it runs, in the form `iqn.2026-10.com.3rdbitlabs:` followed by 12 hexadecimal digits. To use your own naming scheme, click **Change…** next to it in Settings → General. Change it only if your servers expect a particular name. - The Mac's disks must be disconnected first (**Disconnect All**): the new name is used from the next connect. - The name must be a valid iSCSI name, such as `iqn.2026-10.com.example:name`, in lowercase letters, digits and `. - : _`. - Allow the new name on every target the Mac uses before you connect again. ## Licensing Business use needs a license after the trial, one per Mac: BeamDisk for Business, bought in volume, or Pro, bought in the app. Both unlock the same features. See [Pricing](https://beamdisk.app/pricing/). ## Not in version 1 - Managed configuration through MDM profiles (targets, CHAP, settings). - Multipath (MPIO). - Encryption of iSCSI traffic: keep storage on a trusted network or VLAN. - Disks that connect before a user logs in: BeamDisk connects disks for the logged-in user. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/cant-find-disks/ # Add Disk can't find my disks > What to check when BeamDisk's Add Disk finds no targets or disks, and what each of its messages means: the address and port, the allowed initiator name, CHAP, and local network access. Last updated: 2026-10-30 When Find Disks can't list a server's disks, Add Disk says why, in a red note under the form. Most problems are the address or the allowed initiator name. ## What Add Disk says | Message | What to do | |---|---| | **No server named "storage.local" answered on the network.** | Check the address, or use the server's IP address. | | **storage.local can't be reached.** | Check the address, and that the server is on and on your network. | | **storage.local refused the connection.** | Check the port (usually 3260), and that iSCSI is turned on on the server. | | **"…" isn't a server address** | Enter a name or an IP address, with :port only if it isn't 3260. | | **storage.local doesn't allow this Mac's initiator name.** | Add this Mac's name (at the top of Add Disk, with **Copy**) to the target's allowed initiators on the server, then try again. | | **storage.local offers no disks to this Mac.** | The server lists no targets for this Mac. It may not allow this Mac's initiator name for any of them. | | **storage.local wants CHAP to list its disks.** / **storage.local wants CHAP.** | Choose **CHAP** (Add Disk may switch to it for you) and enter the user and secret set on the server. | | **storage.local refused the CHAP user or secret.** | Check them against the server's settings, character for character. | | **storage.local couldn't prove who it is.** | With Mutual CHAP, check the server's own user and secret under **Verify the server too**. | | **BeamDisk isn't allowed to use the local network.** | Turn BeamDisk on in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network, then try again. | Under some messages, a second line in smaller type gives the technical detail, in the words your server's logs are likely to use. ## Some disks are missing - **A whole target is missing.** The server may not allow this Mac's initiator name for it: add the name to that target's allowed initiators, then click **Back** and **Find Disks** again. - **A target is listed without its disks.** A note under the list says why, such as **projects didn't list its disks.** followed by the reason. - **A disk is listed as Already added as** a name: it's on this Mac already. ## The checklist If the messages don't settle it, work down this list. 1. **The address and port.** Check the server's address, and that its iSCSI service is running and listening on the port you entered (usually 3260). 2. **The allowed initiator name.** Most storage servers hide a target from initiators they don't allow. Copy this Mac's name from BeamDisk (Add Disk, This Mac, or Settings → General) and add it to the target's allowed initiators. 3. **CHAP.** The user and secret must match exactly what the server expects. BeamDisk uses the server's pair for discovery and for its targets. If the server sets CHAP per target, a target that refuses that pair is listed with **Enter Details…**, for its own. For mutual CHAP, check the server's own user and secret too. 4. **Local network access.** If macOS asked whether BeamDisk may find devices on your local network and it was refused, allow it in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network. ## Found it, but it won't connect The disk's state says why: see [A disk won't connect](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/wont-connect/) and [What a disk's state means](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/disk-states/). **Reserved by another computer** means another computer is using it: see [One Mac per disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/exclusive-access/). Still stuck? [Get help](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/get-help/). --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/wont-connect/ # A disk won't connect > Why a disk added to BeamDisk shows Retrying or Can't connect, what each explanation means (initiator name, CHAP, the disk's size, a missing target, another computer), and how to fix it. Last updated: 2026-10-23 A disk that can't connect says so in its state, with since when. Its page shows why in plain words, with the technical detail under it, and **Try Again**. - **Connecting…**: BeamDisk is logging in to the server. Wait a moment. - **Retrying** (amber): the server didn't answer, or turned the login away for a reason that may pass. BeamDisk tries again by itself and says when: **Trying again in 20 s.** - **Can't connect** (red): the server refused the login. Fix the cause, then click **Try Again**. ## What the explanation means | The disk's page says | What to do | |---|---| | **The server can't be reached right now.** | Check that the server is on, its iSCSI service is running, and the network between them works. BeamDisk keeps trying. | | **The server doesn't allow this Mac to use this target.** | Add this Mac's initiator name to the target's allowed initiators on the server. The page shows the name with a **Copy** button. Then click **Try Again**. | | **The server refused the CHAP user name or secret.** | Remove the disk, then add it again with the right CHAP details. | | **This target needs CHAP.** | Remove the disk, then add it again with its CHAP user name and secret. | | **This target doesn't use CHAP, but CHAP is set for it here.** | Remove the disk, then add it again without CHAP. | | **The server no longer has this target.** | The target was removed or renamed on the server. Remove the disk, or put the target back. | | **BeamDisk needs the disk's size to be a multiple of 16 KiB.** | Change its size on the server to a whole number of MiB or GiB. | | **The CHAP secret couldn't be read from the keychain.** | Remove the disk, then add it again. | | **Another computer is using this disk.** | It connects here once the other computer lets go of it. See [One Mac per disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/exclusive-access/). | | **BeamDisk stopped twice while checking what's on this disk (damaged data?).** | The disk's contents may be damaged. **Try Again** checks it again. | To change a disk's CHAP details, remove it and add it again: its data stays on the server. See [Connect, eject and remove disks](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/connect-and-eject/). ## A changed setting was refused Some settings, such as CRC32C digests, apply when a disk next logs in to its server. If the server refuses the new setting, the disk keeps working with the previous one, and BeamDisk says so, with when: on the disk's page, under **New settings** (**The server refused them at 11:09 AM: it doesn't support CRC32C header digests. The previous ones stay in use.**), and in Settings → Connection. Choose a setting the server supports, such as **When the target asks**. ## Several disks at once If every disk on one server stops connecting at once, look at the server first: its iSCSI service, its network, or a change to its allowed initiators or CHAP settings. Still stuck? [Get help](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/get-help/). --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/disk-states/ # What a disk's state means > Every state BeamDisk shows for a disk, from Connected and Reconnecting to Reserved by another computer and Remount needed: its glyph, what it means, since when, and the one thing to do about each. Last updated: 2026-10-27 Every disk has one state: a glyph, a short label, a sentence saying what it means, and at most one thing to do. A disk in trouble also says since when: **Since 9:12 PM · 25 min**. The state shows in the sidebar, the Overview's table, the quick menu and at the top of the disk's page; in the window, hover over it for the full explanation. ## The glyphs | Glyph | Means | |---|---| | Filled green dot | Connected and attached. | | Half-filled green dot | Connected, with a note: read-only, or a remount is needed. | | Spinning amber arc | Working on it: connecting, retrying, reconnecting or formatting. | | Red dot with a cross | Needs you: can't connect, apps see errors, or another computer took the disk. | | Hollow ring | Connected but not attached, or not shown because macOS can't read it. | | Dashed ring | Empty: nothing on it yet. | | Padlock | Another computer has the disk. | ## Connecting and outages | State | What it means | What to do | |---|---|---| | **Not connected** | BeamDisk isn't connected to your servers: after Disconnect All, or before you connect. | Click **Connect All**. | | **Connecting…** | BeamDisk is logging in to the server. | Wait a moment. | | **Retrying** | The server didn't answer or turned the login away. BeamDisk says why and when it tries again. | Usually wait. Otherwise fix the cause and click **Try Again**: [A disk won't connect](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/wont-connect/). | | **Can't connect** | The server refused the login, for the reason shown. | Fix the cause, then **Try Again**: [A disk won't connect](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/wont-connect/). | | **Reconnecting** | The server stopped responding. BeamDisk is holding writes, counting up to the hold time; nothing is lost yet. | Usually nothing: [When the server stops responding](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/outages/). **Disconnect** (or **Eject**) only if the server isn't coming back. | | **Apps see errors** | The server has been unreachable longer than the hold time, so apps see errors on the disk. BeamDisk is still reconnecting. | Check the server and the network. | | **Remount needed** | The disk came back after an outage longer than the hold time. | Click **Remount**. | ## Another computer | State | What it means | What to do | |---|---|---| | **Reserved by another computer** | Another computer is using this disk. It connects here once the other computer lets go of it. A disk ejected here shows it once another computer has started using it. | Release it there, or **Take Over…** if that computer is off: [One Mac per disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/exclusive-access/). | | **Reservation lost** | Another computer took the disk while it was connected, so reads and writes to it fail here. | Find out who. **Take Over…** only if that computer is off or done with it. | ## What's on the disk | State | What it means | What to do | |---|---|---| | **Connected** | The disk is attached and working. | Nothing. | | **Empty disk** | Nothing on it yet. | Click **Format…**: [Format a new disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/format/). | | **Formatting…** | BeamDisk is formatting it as APFS. It's attached when that's done. | Wait a moment. | | **Read-only** | BeamDisk opens what's on it read-only: exFAT, FAT or NTFS, for example, or a disk written with 4 KiB sectors by Windows, Linux or another initiator. | Nothing, or see [File systems](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/file-systems/). | | **Unreadable here** | macOS can't read what's on it (Linux or ZFS, for example), so BeamDisk doesn't show it: it can't be erased by mistake. | Use it from a computer that reads it. | | **Not attached** | Connected to the server, but not attached on this Mac, so other computers can use it. | Click **Attach**. | ## Notes on a connected disk A connected disk can carry a note under its state, with its own action: - **Grew on the server**, with the old and new sizes. Click **Use the New Space…**: [Make a disk bigger](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/grow/). - **…of this disk isn't used yet: its volume is smaller than the disk.** Click **Use the New Space…** to grow the volume. - **Smaller on the server now**, with the old and new sizes. Check the server before using the disk: what was past the new end is gone. - **Becomes read-only** (or **writable**) **the next time it's attached.** Click **Attach Again**. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/cant-eject/ # A disk won't eject or disconnect > What to do when BeamDisk can't eject a disk, or Disconnect All stops because a disk is in use: find what's using it (an open file, Spotlight or Time Machine), then try again. Last updated: 2026-11-02 macOS won't eject a disk while something is using it, and BeamDisk doesn't force it out from under your apps: that's how files get damaged. ## What you see - **Eject**: the sidebar's message line says **Projects couldn't be ejected: it's in use: quit apps using it, then try again.** - **Disconnect All**: an alert, **Couldn't disconnect**, names the disks still in use: **Projects couldn't be ejected because something is using it (an open file, Spotlight or Time Machine). Quit apps using it, wait a moment, then try again.** The other disks are ejected; BeamDisk stays connected. - **Disconnect All and Quit**: the same alert, and BeamDisk stays open. - **Format**, **Erase…**, **Erase and Reformat…** and **Use the New Space…** stop with a message that the disk is in use. ## Find what's using it 1. Quit the apps with files open on the disk, and close Finder windows showing it. 2. If Time Machine is backing up to the disk, wait for the backup to finish, or skip it from Time Machine in the menu bar. 3. If you just turned Spotlight on for the disk, it may still be indexing. Give it a moment. 4. Still stuck? In Terminal, `lsof /Volumes/Projects` (with your disk's name) lists the files open on it, and which app has each. 5. Try again: **Eject** on the disk's page, or **Disconnect All**. ## Remove… is dimmed A disk has to be ejected before it can be removed: the Disk card says **Eject first to remove**. Eject it, then choose **Remove…** from its Options menu. Still stuck? [Get help](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/get-help/). --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/get-help/ # Get help > How to reach the people who build BeamDisk, and what to include so they can help quickly: versions, your server and network, the disk's state, its last event, and BeamDisk's recent messages. Last updated: 2026-10-30 Questions, problems and reports about targets we haven't tested are all welcome. Send them with the [contact form](https://beamdisk.app/contact/?category=support), as a Support request. For public discussion, ask on [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/3rdBitLabs/BeamDisk/discussions), where other BeamDisk users can answer and the next person with the same question finds it. Bugs and feature requests go in the same repository's [issues](https://github.com/3rdBitLabs/BeamDisk/issues). Leave out your CHAP secrets, and anything about your network you'd rather not post. Include: - Your Mac's model and macOS version, and your BeamDisk version (BeamDisk → **About BeamDisk**, with the window in front). - Your storage server or SAN and its software version, and how it's connected (for example, 10 GbE, wired). - The disk's state in BeamDisk and since when, and the **Last event** on its page, with its time. - BeamDisk's **Recent messages**, with their times: click the clock button at the bottom of the window's sidebar. Each message's text can be selected and copied. See [Messages and notifications](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/messages/). - If it's about speed, a screenshot of [Test Speed](https://beamdisk.app/docs/performance/test-speed/)'s results. - What you did, what you expected, and what happened. Never send your CHAP secrets. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/reference/settings/ # Settings > Every BeamDisk setting: the General, Menu Bar, Connection and Time Machine tabs, and each disk's own settings (Connect at login, Power-loss protection, Spotlight), with their defaults and when they apply. Last updated: 2026-10-28 Open Settings from BeamDisk's window (the gear), from the quick menu, or with ⌘,. It has four tabs; each disk also has a few settings of its own, on its page. ## General | Setting | What it does | |---|---| | **Open at Login** | Starts BeamDisk when you log in, in the menu bar, so disks with Connect at login reconnect. Off until you turn it on. If macOS asks, approve BeamDisk in System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions. | | **When you quit** | **Keep disks connected (recommended)**: disks stay available to Finder and Time Machine after you quit BeamDisk, like the iSCSI initiator services on Windows and Linux. Or **Disconnect all disks**. | | **Notify when a disk disconnects or reconnects** | On to begin with. See [Messages and notifications](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/messages/). If notifications are off for BeamDisk in System Settings, the tab says so, with **Open Notification Settings**. | | **Performance history** | Kept for 7 days on this Mac. | | **Initiator name** | This Mac's iSCSI name, with **Copy** and **Change…** buttons. A server that limits which initiators may connect needs this name in its list. Change it only if your server expects a particular name, and only while disconnected: see [Deploy to a fleet](https://beamdisk.app/docs/deployment/fleet/#initiator-names). | | **Command-line tool** | The line to add to `~/.zshrc` for the `beamdisk` command, with **Copy Command**. Part of BeamDisk Pro. See [The command-line tool](https://beamdisk.app/docs/reference/command-line/). | ## Menu Bar A preview at the top shows the item on a light and a dark menu bar. | Setting | What it does | |---|---| | **Show in menu bar** | **Icon Only**, **Throughput** (the default), **IOPS**, or **Both**. | | **Split read and write** | Stacks write above read. Turn off for a single total. On by default. | | **Units** | **MB/s** (the default), **MiB/s** or **Gb/s**, in the menu bar and throughout BeamDisk. | | **Show a badge when a disk is reconnecting** | Amber while a disk holds writes, red when apps see errors. On by default. | Click the item to open the window; right-click or Control-click it for the quick menu. See [The menu bar and the quick menu](https://beamdisk.app/docs/using/menu-bar/). ## Connection These apply to every disk. | Setting | What it does | |---|---| | **Hold writes for** | When the server stops responding, apps wait this long for it to come back before they see errors, as on Windows. From 15 to 300 seconds in steps of 5; 60 by default. Applies at once. See [When the server stops responding](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/outages/). | | **Reconnect** | Shown for reference, not a choice. After an outage, BeamDisk tries again every few seconds, never more than 10 seconds apart. A disk that couldn't connect at all is tried again after 5, 10, 20 and 40 seconds, then every minute. | | **CRC32C digests** | Checksums on each command's header and data, which catch corruption on the network at a small CPU cost. **Off**; **When the target asks** (the default); **Preferred**, whenever the target agrees; or **Required**. Applies when each disk next logs in to its server; **Reconnect and Apply Now** does it at once, pausing each disk for a moment. If a server refuses the new setting, the tab says so, and that disk keeps the previous one. | | **Memory for reads** | How much of this Mac's memory BeamDisk may use for each disk to make reads faster: **Off**, **128 MiB**, **256 MiB** (the default), **512 MiB** or **1024 MiB**. Applies at once. | ## Time Machine The status at the top reads **Profile not installed**, **Waiting for your approval in System Settings since** a time, or **Configuration profile installed**. Below it are the three steps to set up a backup disk, with **Install Profile…** and **Open Time Machine Settings**, and while BeamDisk waits for your approval, **Finish in System Settings** with **Open Device Management**. See [Back up with Time Machine](https://beamdisk.app/docs/time-machine/set-up/). ## Each disk's settings On the disk's page, in the Disk card: | Setting | What it does | |---|---| | **Connect at login** | Connects and attaches the disk whenever BeamDisk opens, so at login too with Open at Login on. On by default for disks added with Add Disk; also in Add Disk and the disk's Options menu. See [Connect, eject and remove disks](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/connect-and-eject/). | | **Power-loss protection** | **Automatic** (the default), **On** or **Off**. Applies the next time the disk connects. See [Power-loss protection](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/power-loss-protection/). | | **Spotlight** | Whether Spotlight searches the disk. Off unless you turn it on; always on for a Time Machine disk. Applies at once. See [Spotlight on a disk](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/spotlight/). | --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/reference/compatibility/ # Compatibility > BeamDisk's requirements and what it's tested with: Macs with Apple Silicon on macOS 27 or later, TrueNAS targets on SSD and hard-drive pools, Linux LIO targets, CHAP, file systems, Time Machine, and what isn't in version 1. Last updated: 2026-10-30 ## Requirements | | | |---|---| | **Mac** | Apple Silicon (M1 or later) | | **macOS** | macOS 27 or later | | **Network** | Wired Ethernet recommended. Tested on 10 GbE, at MTU 1500 and 9000. | | **Storage** | An iSCSI target: see [What a target needs](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/requirements/) | ## Targets | Target | Status | |---|---| | TrueNAS | Tested: SSD pools and hard-drive pools (RAIDZ1); 512-byte extents (recommended) and 4 KiB; with and without CHAP, one-way and mutual; MTU 1500 and 9000. [Setup guide](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/truenas/) | | Linux LIO / targetcli | Tested: Debian 13; persistent reservations, including ones kept across a target restart; MTU 9000. The benchmarks ran on it. [Setup guide](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/linux-lio/) | | Synology, QNAP, Unraid, Windows Server and others | Not tested yet. BeamDisk uses standard iSCSI: [What a target needs](https://beamdisk.app/docs/targets/requirements/) lists what a target must support, and [tell us](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/get-help/) how yours does. Storage vendors can [qualify BeamDisk](https://beamdisk.app/contact/?category=vendor) with their targets, free of charge. | ## Features | | | |---|---| | **Discovery** | SendTargets, by the server's address | | **Authentication** | None, CHAP, mutual CHAP (MD5) | | **Integrity** | CRC32C header and data digests (optional) | | **Exclusive access** | SCSI persistent reservations (SPC-3) | | **Outages** | Writes held for 15 to 300 seconds (60 by default), with automatic reconnects | | **File systems** | APFS and Mac OS Extended (Journaled): read and write. exFAT, FAT and NTFS: read-only. [Details](https://beamdisk.app/docs/disks/file-systems/) | | **Free space** | Given back to thin-provisioned targets (SCSI UNMAP), on APFS disks | | **Time Machine** | Supported, after a one-time profile. [Set it up](https://beamdisk.app/docs/time-machine/set-up/) | ## Not in version 1 Intel Macs, multipath (MPIO), one disk on two Macs at once, managed configuration through MDM profiles, encryption of iSCSI traffic, and disks that connect before a user logs in. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/reference/glossary/ # iSCSI terms > The iSCSI and storage words BeamDisk and storage servers use, explained: initiator, target, LUN, IQN, portal, CHAP, discovery, persistent reservation, digest, thin provisioning, zvol, extent, sector size, SLOG, jumbo frames, IOPS, latency percentiles and flushes. Last updated: 2026-10-23 ## iSCSI ### iSCSI A standard way to use a disk over a network. The server provides a block device; the computer formats and uses it like a local disk. ### Initiator The software on the computer that connects to iSCSI storage. BeamDisk is an initiator for the Mac. ### Target What the server or SAN offers: a named endpoint with one or more disks behind it. ### LUN A logical unit: one disk behind a target, numbered from 0. On TrueNAS, usually a zvol. ### IQN An iSCSI qualified name, the address-like name of an initiator or target, such as `iqn.2005-10.org.freenas.ctl:projects`. Targets allow initiators by their IQN. BeamDisk calls this Mac's IQN its **initiator name**. ### Portal The address and port where a target listens, usually port 3260. ### Discovery (SendTargets) Asking a portal which targets it offers. BeamDisk's Find Disks does this. ### Session A target's login from this Mac. BeamDisk opens one session per target, and a disk's page shows how long it has been up. ### CHAP and mutual CHAP Login authentication with a shared secret. With mutual CHAP, the server also proves itself to the Mac. ### Persistent reservation A claim on a disk, kept by the target, that stops other computers using it. BeamDisk uses it to give each disk to one Mac at a time. ### Digest A checksum (CRC32C) on each command's header or data, to catch corruption on the network. ## Storage ### Thin provisioning A disk that only takes space on the server as it's written. Deleted files' space goes back when it's reclaimed (SCSI UNMAP). ### Zvol A ZFS volume: a block device carved from a ZFS pool, which TrueNAS offers as a LUN. A sparse zvol is thin-provisioned. ### Extent TrueNAS's word for what a target serves: a zvol (or a file), with settings such as its sector size. ### Sector size The smallest unit a disk reads and writes, set on the server: 512 bytes or 4 KiB. 512-byte disks are readable by every initiator. ### SLOG A separate, fast log device for a ZFS pool. It shortens the wait when an app asks for data to be safely stored. ### Hold time How long BeamDisk holds writes while a server isn't responding, before apps see errors: 60 seconds unless you change it. ## Network and performance ### MTU and jumbo frames The largest packet a network carries: 1,500 bytes by default. Jumbo frames (MTU 9000) carry more data per packet, if every device on the path supports them. ### Throughput How much data moves per second, in MB/s (1,000,000 bytes, as Finder counts), MiB/s (1,048,576 bytes) or Gb/s. ### IOPS Input/output operations per second: how many reads and writes a disk completes each second. Small random requests are measured this way. ### Latency, p50 and p99 How long a read or write takes. p50 is the median: half finish faster. p99: all but 1 in 100 finish faster, which shows the slow outliers. ### Flush A request to the server to save what it has received so far, so it survives a power cut. Apps and macOS send them to make data safe. --- Source: https://beamdisk.app/docs/reference/command-line/ # The command-line tool > The beamdisk command, part of BeamDisk Pro and the trial: list servers and disks with their state, connect and disconnect, attach and eject a disk, Connect at login, check a server for new disks, with JSON output and exit codes for scripts. Last updated: 2026-10-28 The `beamdisk` command does from Terminal and from scripts what BeamDisk's window does: it lists your servers and disks with their state, connects and disconnects, attaches and ejects a disk, turns Connect at login on or off, and checks a server for new disks. Every command can answer in JSON, and each outcome has its own exit code. The command-line tool is part of BeamDisk Pro, and of the 30-day trial. Without either, every command but `help` says so and exits with code 5. See [Pricing](https://beamdisk.app/pricing/). ## Set it up 1. Open BeamDisk's Settings, then **General**. 2. Under **Command-line tool**, click **Copy Command**. It copies a line that names the tool `beamdisk`. 3. Paste the line at the end of `~/.zshrc` and save it. 4. Open a new Terminal window and type `beamdisk help`. The line is an alias for the app itself, so the tool is always the same version as BeamDisk. If BeamDisk isn't running, a command starts it in the menu bar first; the window doesn't open. ## Commands | Command | What it does | |---|---| | `beamdisk status` | Whether BeamDisk is connected, then each server and each disk with its state. | | `beamdisk disks` | The disks added to this Mac, with their state, size and Connect at login. | | `beamdisk servers` | The storage servers, with their state, their disks and how many new disks the last check found. | | `beamdisk connect` | Connects to your servers and attaches the disks marked Connect at login, as **Connect All** does. It waits until every disk has connected or given up, then shows each one. | | `beamdisk disconnect` | Ejects every disk, then disconnects from the servers, as **Disconnect All** does. If something is using a disk, the others are ejected and BeamDisk stays connected. | | `beamdisk attach ` | Attaches a connected disk, so it's in Finder. | | `beamdisk eject ` | Ejects a disk. It stays connected, and other computers can use it. | | `beamdisk connect-at-login on` | Turns Connect at login on for a disk; `off` turns it off. | | `beamdisk check ` | Checks a server for new disks, as **Check for New Disks** does, and lists them. Add them in BeamDisk's window. | | `beamdisk version` | BeamDisk's version, and whether it's turned on in System Settings. | | `beamdisk help` | The commands. `beamdisk help `, or any command with `--help`, shows how to use one. | Name a disk as BeamDisk shows it; put quotes around a name with spaces: `beamdisk attach "Team Projects"`. Capitals don't matter when only one disk matches. Name a server by its name or its address. A disk's state is the one BeamDisk shows, such as **Connected**, **Not attached**, **Reconnecting** or **Empty disk**: see [What a disk's state means](https://beamdisk.app/docs/troubleshooting/disk-states/). A disk in trouble also says since when. ## Exit codes | Code | Means | |---|---| | 0 | Done. | | 1 | The command ran but didn't succeed, for the reason it gives: a disk that couldn't be ejected because something is using it, or one that didn't connect. | | 2 | Not a command, or the wrong arguments. | | 3 | No disk or server by that name. | | 4 | BeamDisk couldn't be started or didn't answer, or it's turned off in System Settings. | | 5 | Neither BeamDisk Pro nor the trial. | Messages go to standard output when a command succeeds, and to standard error when it doesn't. ## JSON Add `--json` to any command for its answer as JSON on standard output, whatever the outcome. Every answer has `ok` (true or false), `code` (the exit code) and, for most commands, `message`. Times are ISO 8601, sizes are bytes. Keys may be added in later versions, but never renamed or removed. | Key | In the answer to | Holds | |---|---|---| | `status` | `status`, `disks`, `servers`, `connect`, `disconnect` | `connected`, `enabled` (turned on in System Settings), `servers` and `disks`. | | `status.servers[]` | | `name`, `address`, `state`, `detail`, `since`, `disks` (their names), `newDisks` (a count), `checkedAt`. | | `status.disks[]`, `disk` | `disk`: `attach`, `eject`, `connect-at-login` | `name`, `server`, `address`, `target`, `lun`, `state`, `detail`, `since`, `connected`, `attached`, `readOnly`, `connectAtLogin`, `size`. | | `newDisks` | `check` | The new disks, each as its target, LUN number and size. | | `version` | `version` | `version`, `build`, `enabled`. | ``` $ beamdisk eject Projects --json { "code" : 0, "disk" : { "address" : "storage.local", "attached" : false, "connectAtLogin" : true, "connected" : true, "lun" : 0, "name" : "Projects", "readOnly" : false, "server" : "storage.local", "size" : 4000000000000, "state" : "Not attached", "target" : "iqn.2005-10.org.freenas.ctl:projects" }, "message" : "Projects ejected.", "ok" : true } ``` ## In a script A nightly copy to a disk that's otherwise ejected, so other computers can use it during the day: ``` #!/bin/zsh beamdisk attach Backups || exit 1 rsync -a ~/Projects/ /Volumes/Backups/Projects/ beamdisk eject Backups ``` A check for a monitoring system, with `jq`: exit 2 when a disk isn't connected. ``` beamdisk disks --json | jq -e 'all(.status.disks[]; .connected)' >/dev/null || exit 2 ``` Mac management tools that run scripts as the logged-in user can use the same commands. BeamDisk runs per user, so a script run as root, or before anyone logs in, can't reach it.