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Data Robotics adds the new DroboPro FS to the family
The Drobo family of BeyondRAID storage devices has been very popular with Mac prosumers, creative professionals, and small businesses since the first product shipped in 2007. Slowly but surely, the company has been building up its product line. Data Robotics now has three Direct-Attach Storage (DAS) devices, the Drobo, Drobo S, and DroboPro; a Network-Attached Storage (NAS) device, the Drobo FS; and a Storage Area Network (SAN) device, the DroboElite. In a recent interview with Mark Fuccio of Data Robotics, he noted that customers were asking for a NAS device with more than the five drive bays of the Drobo FS, and they also wanted redundant network connectivity and a simple way to back up files offsite. The result? A new product that was announced this morning, the DroboPro FS. The new product has the eight drive bays of the DroboPro and can be physically situated on a desktop or placed in a standard rack mount with an optional kit. It has two Gigabit Ethernet ports, which can be used in either a standalone mode to connect to a different subnet or in a redundant network protection mode.
Data Robotics debuts 8-bay DroboPro FS with automatic offsite backup option
It was inevitable, really. First comes the business-oriented DroboPro, then comes the network-savvy Drobo FS. Mash the two together, and out pops the DroboPro FS. Design wise, it's the same 3U form factor that DroboPro users will recognize, but internally, Data Robotics has bumped the CPU speed from 800MHz in the Drobo FS to 1GHz here. There are eight total bays within, and a pair of gigabit Ethernet jacks around back; by default, the second port is used to connect to a different subnet (possibly for offsite file replication), while users can opt for a protection mode during setup if they'd rather it act as a fail-safe (in case the primary port kicks the bucket). More important than all of that, though, is the new Drobo Sync feature, which will be exclusive to the DroboPro FS for at least the time being. During setup, users simply input the IP address of another DroboPro FS; once that's plugged in, they can schedule automatic offsite backups as often as each hour or as infrequently as once per day. Here's the thing: this automatic offsite sync only works with a pair of DroboPro FS devices, so you'll need to pick up two from the start and have 'em shipped to different addresses if you're interested in taking advantage. The good news, however, is that an intelligent syncing system specifically scans for minute file changes, so if you only change two cells in a 105MB Excel chart, only a few chunks of data will have to fly over your network rather than resending and overwriting the entire 105MB file. As for pricing? Given that these are meant for small biz, it's up there -- the empty base unit goes for $1,999, while at 8TB model (2TB x 4) lists for $2,699 and a 16TB behemoth (2TB x 8) sells for $3,299. The company also has plans to sell a two-device bundle (16TB x 2 units) for $6,399, aiming this at folks who want an offsite solution from the get-go. The box itself is available today from CDW, B&H and a few other e-tailers, and even if you're not feeling spendy, you can hit that More Coverage link for a chance to win yourself a gratis Drobo FS. It's a win-win, we tell ya. %Gallery-104054%
