Data Robotics Data Robotics Drobo

Data Robotics Drobo

Data Robotics Drobo Review, by Melissa J. Perenson July 20, 2007

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• Reviewed by: scrybe

  Strengths: Simple, easy redundant back-ups.

  Weaknesses: None so far...

  Overall: I just purchased my Drobo from buyDig.com for $344 (free shipping!) I love this thing! I'd been eyeing it for a little over a year! But I was skeptical. I read a lot of criticisms and praises trying to feel it out. Once the price dropped below $350, I had to buy one. Gotta say, it's everything it's advertised to be. I bought two 500 GB Hitachi HDDs from New Egg, final damage there $171.50, including $29.98 replacement plan ($14.99 each). Loaded them in, loaded the software, attached the power cord and USB connection and after a painless firmware upgrade I was moving all my files off my external hard drives onto this puppy! Nice...fast...painless. Try doing that with any RAID Array! My files are secure! I plan on upgrading to 4TBs (2.5TBS usable space) in the coming months. In the passed I've manually backed up my important data. Like many other reviewers I'm a PC hobbyist with no technical knowledge of managing RAID arrays. Drobo keeps me informed and my data safe. That means a lot considering I recently had two Lacie 500 GB hard drives (the ones with fans) die on me. Both purchased in March 2007 (under warranty). If I can get Lacie to fork over replacements, I'll sell the new drives to buy 2 500 Gb hard drives for my Drobo. I'll update this review with any issues I encounter. 09/08/09 UPDATE: Still going strong with no issues to report! In the passed year I've upgraded from 4 500 Gb HDDs to 4 1TB drives with no problem.

• Reviewed by: Mason Storm

  Strengths: Completely free to add and change drives at any time without having to deal with RAID issues. Protects your data at all times. A first of its kind in many ways.

  Weaknesses: Slow USB2 connection - often too slow to stream an HD movie (unbearable stuttering); expensive; VERY noisy if you have 4 HDDs in it.

  Overall: This unit is very user friendly; I haven't been able to find any other NAS/DAS solution that allows the end user to freely change drives at any time (one at a time, anyway), without having to worry about RAID issues that can get so confusing with other arrays. It automatically backs up your data so that if a drive fails, you won't lose a thing (which naturally means you sacrifice considerable drive capacity to provide for that backup). It looks good and, so long as you don't actually fill it up with 4 HDDs, is nearly silent. If you DO put 4 HDDs in it, it has to spin its fan on high most of the time to keep the heat level under control - and that makes it VERY VERY noisy. (If you kept it on your desk when you only had 3 HDDs in it, you'll want to move it into another room when you add a 4th.) It's quite expensive for what it does (although it's truly the first of its kind in more than one way), and it's very very slow compared to other NAS solutions (it's unclear why Data Robotics would choose USB2 over eSATA, and doubtlessly, they will soon implement a revision that uses eSATA). But at an even deeper level, its mini-computer self is just too slow to stream HD movies much of the time, and it stutters unacceptably (I was downright embarrassed hosting get-togethers where others viewed movies streamed by this turtle). For NAS use, most users will also need to buy their DroboShare unit (unless you own a router that allows a USB device to be networked). Lastly, Windows itself will always erroneously report that you have a 2TB drive, no matter how much you've actually put in there; you do have to use their Dashboard software to have access to reliable size information about the array. (There is a hack for XP users that fixes the issue, but not for Vista.)

• Reviewed by:

  Strengths: Looks Cool, Easy to Use and Setup, Expandable

  Weaknesses: No Networking

  Overall: I have had a number of external hard drives, and tend to avoid complex tech stuff, like Raid arrays and such. Drobo was recommended to me by someone who is less technical than I am. It's extremely easy to setup and use, so that even someone as non-technical as myself can get the Drobo up and running in minutes.It's very sexy, with a great black glossy finish and looks better than most of my other tech stuff. As the other reviewer mentioned, it only uses SATA - but that wasn't an issue for me, and they are coming down in price every day. It's good to know I can just buy another drive and pop it into my Drobo for more capacity - without having to worry about matching any of my existing drives.The "Drobo Dashboard" is great, very easy to figure out (although it took me some time to figure out the "used space" versus the "protected space" versus the blah blah blah).Anyway - Drobo has given me HUGE peace of mind. It was very easy, and haven't had any issues what-so-ever. I recommend this to anybody, technical or not to protect your digital stuff!

• Reviewed by: weathertop

  Strengths: Nice, sleek footprint. Quiet operation

  Weaknesses: Only takes SATA hard drives. Can't be networked unless using a router with a USB port (Airport Extreme, etc.)

  Overall: After lots of shopping, I took the plunge and picked up a Drobo, despite the limited misgivings that I've read elsewhere (especially the fact that it can't be networked unless you have an Airport Extreme or another router that has a USB port). I have to say that I don't regret my decision one bit. My Drobo runs coolly and sits quietly on my desk, with a clear status of hard drive conditions and capacity - I've only heard the fan on it once and it was a soft whirling that I only heard as my desktop PC was off. All backups made to it are redundantly cared for, making back ups a snap. And, I don't have the pain of my prior mirrored RAID solution that, at one point, corrupted one drive and resulted in a perfect mirror with another corrupted drive (grrrr.). Some minor quibbles. If you have any IDE drives, they won't work. Only SATA drives need apply. This was advertised, but I missed it and had to purchase new SATA drives after unpacking my Drobo. Meanwhile, my growing pile of older IDE drives collects dust in the attic. When networked using my Airport Extreme, the included Drobo desktop software doesn't see the Drobo. This isn't a big deal as I can still mount and use the drive. But, the Drobo desktop software is pretty snazzy as it will advise on how much time remains on a rebuild and provides more detailed drive status. For the status-curious, it is easy to unplug the Drobo from the airport and into an available USB port on your computer...but, this is a little bit of a pain. And yes, it is fun to pull one drive out and watch the flickering lights as a rebuild begins....for the first time and for about 2 minutes. The resulting rebuild can take hours (don't let the video on Drobo.com mislead you...this is not a 10 second operation). After that, well, I can find better things to do with my time. In addition to bringing your own hard drives, current Drobos are also shipped BYOBUS...that is "bring your own backup software." However, there is NOTHING like having redundant backups that you can add with any drive capacity that you like. I highly recommend purchasing a Drobo as a backup solution and my caveats above shouldn't scare anyone away. Just be prepared with the right drives and backup software and you'll be in a much better place with any other backup solution.