# 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.