BeamDiskBeamDisk press kit
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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Tested with | TrueNAS, and Linux LIO targets (targetcli). 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 |
| Documentation | beamdisk.app/docs |
| Everything in one file | 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.
- 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
Logos and icon
- App icon, 1024 × 1024 PNG
- Logo mark, SVG
- Logo and name for light backgrounds, transparent PNG
- Logo and name for dark backgrounds, transparent PNG
- Share image, 1200 × 630 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
Press contact
Write through the contact form, choosing Press, for briefings, interviews and questions. For public discussion, BeamDisk’s users meet on GitHub 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.