# 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 at over 1 GB/s on 10 GbE, 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 up to 2 disks.
- **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). 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 up to 2 disks, 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. One storage server. Up to 2 disks. You connect your disks yourself (Connect at login is Pro).
- **Pro** ($25, once, in the app): Anyone, at home or at work. Every feature, permanently. Any number of servers and disks. Connect at login. The command-line tool. Personal use: your Macs on your Apple Account. Business use: one Mac per purchase.
- **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.

### 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/).

### 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 free?

It's free to download, with every feature for 30 days. After that it stays free for home use, with one server and up to 2 disks, 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.

### 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.

## Download

**Beam your LUNs to your Mac.**

Free to download. Free for home use.

Join the free TestFlight beta: https://beamdisk.app/download/