Topic: Drobo external drives are you using it (Read 56051 times)

larryg · « **on:** November 17, 2007, 09:16:09 pm »

I have had so many Lacie & Maxtor drive crash (actually not the hard drive but the power mechanism) I need something a bit more automatic and dependable.

The Drobo system intrigues me. With this system in addition to
to backing up to large drive (and DVD's) should be sufficient to keeping the files safe and up to date.

Anyone have real experience using this system (Drobo).
I am thinking of using 1 TB drives to maximize storage options.

Any quirks or problems, surprises etc.

I know there already has been some discussion about the system but would like an updated review by people really using it

digitaldog · « **Reply #1 on:** November 17, 2007, 11:00:51 pm »

It looks cool and I'm intrigued by it but man, its kind of expensive considering its cost with NO storage. For a lot less, I got a 5 bay Raid unit. It is cool how you can keep adding various sized disks but I'm not sold yet at that price point. Plus USB 2.0? I've seen it demo'ed in person at least twice, it seems like a smart idea. Its proprietary and I don't believe you can gang them up. But I think it initially seems a few hundred bucks too expensive for what its providing. Plus it or a Raid 1, I'm never going to sleep at night with just one, even two sets of data.

DarkPenguin · « **Reply #2 on:** November 18, 2007, 12:00:08 am »

What 5 bay raid unit did you buy?

digitaldog · « **Reply #3 on:** November 18, 2007, 10:29:42 am »

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What 5 bay raid unit did you buy?
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

The Sonnet 500:

[a href=\"http://www.sonnettech.com/product/fusiond500p.html]http://www.sonnettech.com/product/fusiond500p.html[/url]

DarkPenguin · « **Reply #4 on:** November 18, 2007, 12:49:37 pm »

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The Sonnet 500:

http://www.sonnettech.com/product/fusiond500p.html
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=153834\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Hmm...

I keep looking at cheaper options like the Cavalry 3tb or the lacie etherdisk raid.

I've even found an AMS 5 bay e-sata job on newegg which would be more interesting if it was even mentioned on the AMS web site.

Who reviews these things? I'm tired of the "Be the first to review yadayada"

digitaldog · « **Reply #5 on:** November 18, 2007, 12:51:11 pm »

One reason I went with the Sonnet was I wanted to have both JOBD and a Raid 1. So of the five bays, I have two drives set as a Raid, one a single backup drive. When I looked at other solutions, that wasn't always possible (they either all had to all be JOBD or Raid). Not sure why but I've been pretty happy so far with the Sonnet.

DarkPenguin · « **Reply #6 on:** November 18, 2007, 03:58:25 pm »

I think I'm going to pick up a buffalo drivestation quattro. $425 for a 1TB version. $750 for a 2TB version. At that price I'm willing to give up features.

Sorry to the OP about hijacking the thread.

dseelig · « **Reply #7 on:** November 21, 2007, 01:25:58 pm »

In reading Doug Plummers blog about the drobo I decided against it David

Quote

I think I'm going to pick up a buffalo drivestation quattro. $425 for a 1TB version. $750 for a 2TB version. At that price I'm willing to give up features.

Sorry to the OP about hijacking the thread.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=153923\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

rethmeier · « **Reply #8 on:** November 21, 2007, 02:48:27 pm »

I'm using the Drobo with 4 Samsung 500 GB drives.
The set-up cost me a bit over $1200 AUD.
I like it and it's piece of mind.
My images are now stored on 3 different places.

larryg · « **Reply #9 on:** November 21, 2007, 04:51:18 pm »

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In reading Doug Plummers blog about the drobo I decided against it David
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=154725\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

wnere is Doug's blog located? I would be interested in reading it

This is the kind of information needed to make an informed decision, especially with a propriatory system

DarkPenguin · « **Reply #10 on:** November 21, 2007, 05:52:30 pm »

Google his name. Or something like "Doug Plummer's Blog". As I recall it was the first item in the list.

larryg · « **Reply #11 on:** November 22, 2007, 04:54:24 pm »

Quote

Google his name. Or something like "Doug Plummer's Blog". As I recall it was the first item in the list.
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

[a href=\"http://dougplummer.blogs.com/]http://dougplummer.blogs.com/[/url]

larryg · « **Reply #12 on:** November 26, 2007, 02:05:33 pm »

I purchased two 500gb My Books (already had two of them) and will be putting all raw on one drive and backing them up on DVD and 2nd drive.

This will give some assurance of protection.
I am leaning toward's not purchasing the Drobo solution since it is propriatory.

Thanks for those who responded. It would appear to me not very many (at least on this forum) are jumping to the Drobo solution?

Tim Gray · « **Reply #13 on:** November 26, 2007, 03:07:06 pm »

I'm just not enamoured of the USB format. If it was SATA, I'd give it some thought (maybe not a lot, since it's still a bit pricey for just the shell).

DarkPenguin · « **Reply #14 on:** November 26, 2007, 07:41:04 pm »

If it was a NAS device or supported E-SATA I'd go for it.

SusanFleck · « **Reply #15 on:** December 03, 2007, 08:06:26 pm »

While we are on the topic of Drobo, I have one that I am not sure has been answered.

I use a Mac and currently have multiple drives attached to it. I back up to CD/DVD and these multiple drives and then take them off site for security in the event of theft/fire. What I am wondering is whether I can do the same with Drobo? I would like to have this Drobo system with a drive(s) for keeping work on site, but also insert another drive or two, back up the information and take it off site. Can I do that with this system? I seem to think from reading their on-line literature that I can, but am not sure.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

Susan

wolfnowl · « **Reply #16 on:** December 04, 2007, 12:59:39 am »

I may be wrong, but my understanding of the Drobo is that it tries to keep the full data set within the 'box' even if one or more drives are removed. That DOESN'T mean that a drive you remove will have the full backup on it as the information is shared across the drives that Drobo has access to. If you remove a drive it redistributes the information and rebuilds the data set across the remaining drives. Now if you were to remove ALL of the drives and later replace them... no I don't think that would work either.

Mike.

SusanFleck · « **Reply #17 on:** December 04, 2007, 02:01:50 pm »

Thanks Mike!

a_krause · « **Reply #18 on:** December 04, 2007, 08:00:53 pm »

i am not sure if i fully understand the question, but with drobo you can make sets. sooo say if you have 3 drives in with a bunch of data that is backed up hard drives. you can copy it to the drobo, store it, and then use it for a later date. i think the problems occur if you remove it while the drobo is still on and only replace 1 of the drives, bc it will think that a drive has died... dont quote me on any of this. check out drobospace.com its a forum where they can better answeer your questions

PatrikR · « **Reply #19 on:** December 07, 2007, 08:12:19 am »

In my opinion the drobo is a toy. It suffers from poor implementation, parts and so on of a great idea. Backing up to single disks is probably safer than playing russian roulette with this toy.

I guess drobo is better than nothing but their marketing is questionable. They say it's great for video and safe storage. My experience says it's extremely slow and highly unreliable.

Author Topic: Drobo external drives are you using it (Read 56051 times)

DarkPenguin

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DarkPenguin

DarkPenguin

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