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Drobo's new 5N is a speedy $600 NAS for when you need files, stat
Tragically, we only learned about Drobo's new 5N after we'd hired a warehouse the size of an aircraft hanger to store our latest, 12 million page novel. If you want to avoid our mistake, then the company's latest NAS might end your own storage woes. The new hardware is part of the same family as the 5D and Drobo Mini, except this one ditches the Thunderbolt connection in favor of a single gigabit-ethernet port. Inside, there's space for five 3.5-inch drives, giving you a maximum capacity of 20TB. An mSATA slot for an SSD drive will let you make use of Drobo's "data-aware tiering" feature, which gives applications like Adobe Lightroom and iTunes faster access to your NAS-stored files. The base model will set you back $600 and will be available in "mid December," which we impatiently hope is a euphemism for "tomorrow."
Thunderbolt-equipped Drobo 5D and Drobo Mini storage devices now up for pre-order
Hankering for a Drobo with Thunderbolt? They're here... almost. Starting today, consumers far and wide can place their pre-orders for the Drobo 5D and the Drobo Mini. As a refresher, the former is a BYOD desktop solution with a pair of T-bolt ports and a lone USB 3.0 connector; just bring up to five 3.5-inch HDDs, and your RAID adventures are cleared to begin. The latter is a bantam option that promises the "power and flexibility" of the 5D, but in a miniaturized package that works with the 2.5-inch drives that typically find themselves within laptops. The 5D is listed at $849, while the Mini comes in at $649, and you can find the entire list of authorized partners in Drobo's blog post below.
Data Robotics launches Drobo for Business line, new 12-bay SAN option
Data Robotics has certainly flexed its biz muscle before, but this is nothing short of a full-out assault on the boardroom. Or at least the boardroom's IT closet. The outfit's new Drobo for Business line is being revealed today, with three pieces of hardware making up the initial line. The new trio is primarily aimed at small businesses, but even average consumers in need of some serious at-home storage may find something worth investigating. Though the system designs are obviously built for use in rack-mount arrangements, you'll still find the same BeyondRAID setup that existing Drobo users have grown familiar with. At least initially, the company will be offering an 8-bay file sharing Drobo with remote backup, an 8-bay SAN (iSCSI-attached) Drobo and a 12-bay SAN (also iSCSI-attached) with expanded redundancy features, support for thin provisioning and deprovisioning and new data-aware tiering technology. Those who buy in will also be treated to a bolstered level of DroboCare business support, a refreshed management interface tailor to the needs of SMB, new functionality / redundancy and boosted performance from top to bottom. The former two are available now -- with pricing to start at just north of $2,000 ($8,500 on the 12-bay) -- while the latter can be reserved as we speak for a Q2 delivery. %Gallery-115761%
Data Robotics's Drobo S storage robot goes USB 3.0, starts at $800
Talk about maintaining a pace. Nearly a year to the day after the introduction of the original Drobo S comes this: the Drobo S. Er, the second generation Drobo S. As you could probably surmise from the title above, the only notable difference in Data Robotics' newest storage robot is the addition of USB 3.0, but the triple interface ensures that eSATA and FireWire 800 users are also taken care of. Of course, USB 2.0 backwards compatibility is inbuilt, and while no theoretical speed figures are given, we're sure it's far quicker than the (now) prior version. It'll be sold starting today directly from the company, but beginning on November 18th, it'll also be featured on HP Small Business Direct. The (empty) base model will go for $799, while $1,299 buys you a five pack of 1TB HDDs, $1,549 gets you five 1.5TB HDDs and $1,799 lands you with five 2TB HDDs. In related news, Drobo Sync is now shipping in order to provide offsite backup to DroboPro FS units, and Billy Corgan still enjoys playing with Bluetooth speaker balls while on vacation. Crazy, right?
Drobo updates Drobo S with USB 3.0, gives away goodies to TUAW readers
Data Robotics has added a new feature to the Drobo S, the five-drive BeyondRAID storage device that can be expanded up to 10 TB of space. While USB 3.0 (note the new port at far right on the image shown here) isn't currently supported out of the box by any Apple products, there are third-party USB 3.0 PCI Express and ExpressCard/34 adapters available to bring the faster version of USB to the Mac Pro and older MacBook Pros. The second-generation Drobo S also keeps the original FireWire 800 and eSATA connections, and the USB 3.0 connector is backward-compatible with USB 2.0-equipped computers. The new Drobo S starts at a price of US$799, with a 10 TB version available for $1799. The new edition of the Drobo S is available today from partners and DroboStore.com, and it will be available from the newest Data Robotics partner, HP Small Business Direct, on Thursday. Data Robotics also announced that their Drobo Sync software for the DroboPro FS is now available. The new software makes it easy to sync two DroboPro FS devices over a wide-area network for offsite backups. The Drobo dudes wanted to share the good news with TUAW readers, so they've come up with an exclusive giveaway. There are six chances to win, with the first prize being a free Drobo S. The second through sixth prizes? A 50, 40, 30, 20, or 10 percent discount off of your choice of a Drobo FS or Drobo S. You can double your chances of winning by retweeting a special phrase that you'll find on the giveaway page. Be sure to enter for a chance to win either a free Drobo S or an awesome discount.
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%
Drobo wants Mac users to "Upgrade your RAID"
Did you buy one of those "quasi-RAID" storage devices over the last few years? You know, the ones that tried to squeeze a few hard disks into a shiny silver box and call it RAID? In many cases, those devices simply implemented RAID 0 (block-level striping without parity or mirroring) as a way to create a big drive out of two or more smaller drives. If one drive fails, the entire array is toast. Well, Data Robotics wants to save Mac users from that harrowing experience by offering to "Upgrade your RAID." Until the end of the month of September, you can trade in a qualifying device (which will be sent to a reputable electronics recycler) and receive 10% off of a DroboPro or DroboElite, or 15% off the price of a Drobo, Drobo S, or Drobo FS. To take advantage of this deal, register on the Drobo upgrade page, or call the Drobo sales folks at 1-866-997-6268. This program is a good way to keep your data safe and probably gain a lot of capacity in the process.
How would you change the Drobo FS?
After years of pleading, the fine folks over at Data Robotics finally gifted you with a Drobo NAS. They called it the Drobo FS, but we all know what the real skinny is. But is the five-bay, Ethernet-friendly storage robot really a dream come true? We've had nothing but success with it in our Time Machine setup, but as with pretty much any networked drive, we've heard reports here and there of frustrations and complications. For those who have sprung for the FS, we're curious to hear what you'd change about the setup. Need more drive bays? Would you prefer a few extra interface options? Would you make the box a little less noisy? Go ahead and get honest down in comments below -- we know you need an avenue to vent after the week you just survived, right?
TUAW and Data Robotics team up for Drobo discounts and giveaways
How would you like your choice of a brand-new Drobo S or Drobo FS? The Drobo S (valued at US$799) is a 5-bay storage solution featuring the Data Robotics BeyondRAID technology, with eSATA, FireWire 800, and USB 2.0 ports, The Drobo FS (valued at $699) includes 5 bays and a Gigabit Ethernet port for network sharing. One of these units can be yours if you win the giveaway. What do you need to do to enter? Just follow this link to the Drobo giveaway page and fill out the form, and a winner will be announced on Thursday afternoon, July 29th Tuesday 7/27 via Drobo's Twitter account. [Apologies; Drobo miscommunicated the end date for the drawing.] So far, so good. But how about doubling your chances to win a Drobo? If you're a Twitter user and tweet the following phrase: "Follow @Drobo and @TUAW today, then retweet this message for a chance to win a new Drobo!" you'll be entered in a second drawing for a 2nd generation Drobo. This sleek storage device, valued at $399, has 4 drive bays and features FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 connectivity. But wait, there's more! As a bonus to everyone who enters, Data Robotics has put together some instant rebate coupons that will be sent to entrants on Thursday, July 29th and good through midnight on July 31st, 2010. You can save $75 on a Drobo S or FS, or $155 on a Drobo S or FS bundled with drives in the US and Canada, or €58 on a Drobo S or FS (£48.57) in the EU 27 member states plus Norway and Switzerland, just by entering the contest. Good luck! And while you're dreaming of your new Drobo, be sure to visit the Data Robotics site to check out the complete line of BeyondRAID storage products from the company. Disclaimer: Data Robotics, Inc. is the sole administrator of the Drobo giveaway and discount program and will determine all the conditions and requirements of participation. TUAW is not responsible for the giveaway and cannot answer questions or provide support for any hardware or applications on the Drobo device. No advertising contract or financial relationship exists between TUAW and Data Robotics, Inc.
Data Robotics gives Drobo FS full Time Machine compatibility
When Data Robotics announced the Drobo FS last month, one common complaint among potential buyers was that it doesn't offer native support for doing networked Time Machine backups. Just connecting a Drobo FS to a network of Macs could cause issues for Time Machine backups, since the built-in backup feature of Mac OS X tends to consume every last morsel of space it can and even the huge capacity of the Drobo FS could be chewed up quickly. Data Robotics announced today that the Drobo FS now supports network-based Time Machine backups. The company shipped a new version of Drobo Dashboard for the FS allowing the creation of shares for Time Machine use. In Dashboard v1.7.2, there's now a control to enable Time Machine support on a Drobo array, then set a maximum size for the share so that the backup files don't take over all of the space on the device. The company has released the code that they wrote to specify volume sizes into the Open Source Community. The Netatalk project, hosted on SourceForge, provides a Unix/Linux daemon that is available to all Linux developers and any other vendors who sell to Mac OS X users.
Drobo FS gains native Time Machine support, we go hands-on
Praise wasn't hard to find when Data Robotics finally caved and crafted a Drobo NAS drive last month, but ever since we've been itching to test one out and see how it actually fared. We've had our fair share of awful NAS experiences, particularly in mixed-platform environments, but we recently had the chance to sit down with a unit to test out the company's latest addition: Time Machine support. We asked the outfit why support for Apple's innate backup service was coming just after the product launch, and it really boils down to decisions based on fiscal calendars, accounting practices and other scenarios that interest you not. Fact is, though, the gratis update is being pushed out today through the Drobo Dashboard, and all Drobo FS users should be able to download the new build and start taking advantage right away. We stuffed our unit with four different sized SATA drives from different manufacturers, and just like the company promised, the Drobo FS took 'em all in as if they were equal. Hop on past the break for more of our setup experience. %Gallery-93324%
TUAW review: Data Robotics Drobo FS NAS
Network Attached Storage (NAS) is gaining in popularity as an alternative to a home or small office server. A few weeks ago, I reviewed LaCie's Network Space 2, which is a non-expandable 1TB storage solution. For those who want a solution that will be expandable in the future, Data Robotics has recently introduced the Drobo FS. Like its predecessors, the Drobo FS has multiple drive bays -- five in this case -- into which you can insert standard SATA hard disk drives. The array can be set up for either single or dual-disk redundancy, meaning that one (single) or two (dual) drives can fail without compromising the integrity of your data. Data Robotics' proprietary BeyondRAID technology makes the array easy to set up and expand. The Drobo FS is easy to set up. The review unit sent to TUAW by Data Robotics was removed from its box, three disk drives were installed by sliding them into available slots on the unit, the power supply was connected, and a gigabit Ethernet cable run from a router to the back of the Drobo. Upon powering up the Drobo FS, the device showed up under the Shared list in the Finder -- so far, so good.
Data Robotics announces new Drobo FS
Data Robotics has just announced a new member of the Drobo family -- the Drobo FS. The new device is designed to serve as Network Attached Storage with all of the advantages of the Data Robotics BeyondRAID technology, with the added bonus of drop-dead simple setup. In a pre-release interview with Mark Fuccio of Data Robotics last week, he noted that setup on the device is as easy as installing the Drobo Dashboard software on a computer on the network, and then letting it handle all of the setup decisions for you. The device features a dual core processor, with one core running the embedded proprietary OS and the other core running Linux. The processor brings a lot of speed to the Drobo FS -- in testing, the device had about four times the speed of the former Drobo NAS solution, which was a Drobo plus the DroboShare device. Data Robotics noted that using Jumbo Frames, read speeds of up to 50-55MB/sec are possible. The Drobo FS has five storage bays, each of which can hold one standard 3.5" SATA hard drive. At the present time, the largest capacity of these drives is 2 TB, for a total of 9.1 TB of capacity or 5.44 TB with dual-disk redundancy (two drives can fail and the array can still operate flawlessly). As drive capacities grow in the future, the 2 TB drives can be replaced with larger drives, increasing the capacity of the array even more. The FS has a single Gigabit Ethernet port on the back for its connection to the world.
Drobo FS: finally, Data Robotics releases a Drobo NAS drive
Say it with us now: "finally!" We've been yearning for a true Drobo NAS drive ever since Data Robotics first introduced its "intelligent" storage robot back in the heyday that was 2007, and after coming darn close with the DroboShare, the company has finally produced a bona fide networked storage solution. The Drobo FS (for 'File Server') utilizes the same chassis as the Drobo S, and in terms of features, it can do everything that box can, too. What differentiates it, however, is that astoundingly gorgeous gigabit Ethernet jack on the rear, not to mention a new dual-core CPU, increased RAM, a revised Linux kernel and enough overall tweaks to make it perform 4x faster than the DroboShare. We spoke with Mark Fuccio, Senior Director of Products and Markets, who obliged when we dug for even more details. For starters, this device will boast five bays, and users can mix, match, upgrade and swap drives at will, just like any other Drobo. It'll also support network backups of Macs and PCs, and while you won't find a Time Machine stamp, the Time Tamer app available in the DroboApps portal will enable support for Mac loyalists who insist on using that over Data Robotic's (likely superior) solution. It also ships with a BitTorrent client that keeps your transfers humming even when your PC is off, and it'll handle iTunes, UPnP and DLNA streaming to boot. Firmware upgrades will be handled over the network, and users can poke around for even more applications by visiting the company's website. One app that stood out to us, however, was one that'll be thrown in by the recently renamed Oxygen Cloud; in essence, this will allow users to turn their Drobo FS into "the cloud," enabling colleagues or kids to remotely access the Drobo as if it were some faraway, magical data drive connected to a mythical T3. Yeah, this definitely feels more like a corporate thing than anything else, but it's certainly something that you won't find on those "other" NAS drives. It should be noted, however, that the app will only support a single user for free -- if you're buying for a corporation or small business, you'll need to hit up Oxygen Cloud to procure a multi-user license. Aside from nabbing SMB and AFP support, Mark told us that users could reasonably expect to see file transfers between 30MB/sec and 40MB/sec, but that's obviously subject to vary based on strain. As for pricing? Data Robotics told us that the new Drobo FS will be on sale globally today through the typical channels (Amazon, CDW, B&H Photo, Dell and NewEgg), with the empty unit selling for $699. A 4.5TB model (1.5TB x 3) will go for $999, while a 7.5TB version (5 x 1.5TB) lists for $1,149 and a 10TB edition (2TB x 5) for $1,449. Or you could just enter to win one here. Oh, and as for that DroboShare we mentioned earlier? It's being phased out with the introduction of the Drobo FS, so if you're jonesing for one, you might want to get that order placed. %Gallery-89838%
Drobo is having a "Spirit of Macworld 2010" video contest
If you're an amateur or professional videographer and you'll be attending Macworld Expo 2010 in San Francisco this week, Data Robotics has a contest just for you. Come up with an original video (less than 60 seconds in length) that best captures the spirit of Macworld 2010, submit it to a special Drobo Flickr group by February 19, and you'll have an opportunity to win one of two Drobo S five-drive storage devices (note that non-Pro Flickr users are limited to 2 video uploads per month). The Drobo S connects to your Mac via USB 2.0, Firewire 800, or eSATA, and can be populated with up to five drives for tons of storage. TUAW has reported on the new Drobo S and Drobo Elite devices in the past, and they're a popular storage tool for anyone who needs vast amounts of expandable storage but doesn't want to hassle with administering a RAID array. To find out if you've won the contest after your entry has been made, just follow Data Robotics on Twitter at http://twitter.com/drobo. Full contest rules and instructions can be found here.
Data Robotics introduces 5-bay Drobo S, enterprise-ready DroboElite
Data Robotics has been quietly raking in the dough (and trying to match up supply with demand) ever since it launched its 8-bay DroboPro back in April, and now the company is making yet another bold move: doubling its product line. Starting today, the traditional 4-bay Drobo will be joined by the quicker Drobo S, and the DroboElite will be added at the high end for those in the enterprise. The Model S ups the ante by adding a fifth drive bay in order to allow for two drives to fail without any data being lost -- a feature that was previously reserved for the aforesaid Pro. It's also boasting an ARM chip with a 50 percent faster clock (compared to the Drobo), enabling the FireWire 800 performance to see a 20 to 25 percent boost; moreover, an eSATA socket has been added alongside the tried-and-true USB 2.0 port. Users will also be able to switch between single- and dual-drive redundancy via the software control panel, though you should be warned that the DroboShare NAS adapter will not work on the Drobo S. We spoke with Mark Fuccio, the firm's senior director of products and marketing, who told us that the functionality was left off due to the possibility of a "bad customer experience." In essence, the network throughput would crawl compared to a direct connection, so the company simply opted to avoid the headaches rather than cater to those of you who demand NAS functionality on every external HDD to hit the market. Moving on, the DroboElite is carving a new path for the company, one that caters to high-maintenance enterprise users looking to serve up to 16 hosts while providing up to 255 smart volumes. The Elite is basically a Pro on steroids, with room for 8 hard drives, single- or dual-drive redundancy and an all-new connection method. If you'll recall, the Pro provided a single gigabit Ethernet port (iSCSI), FireWire 800 and USB 2.0; the Elite ships with two gigabit Ethernet sockets and nothing more (aside from a USB port used only for device management), so it's pretty clear that this one isn't looking to satisfy the home consumer market. Both devices are shipping out today, with the Drobo S starting at $799 (with no HDDs) and being sold at the same outlets as the Drobo (which isn't vanishing, by the way). The DroboElite gets going at $3,499, though it'll only be sold through outlets such as CDW and the like who specialize in medium-to-large business sales. Oh, and just in case you're curious, the existing Drobo will continue on at its $399 price point (MSRP), though we're told that smart shoppers should find it for less near Black Friday and throughout the holiday season.
Drobo supersizes product line with the new, faster Drobo S and DroboElite
This morning, Data Robotics doubled the size of their Drobo storage line with two new products equipped with the proprietary BeyondRAID technology -- the Drobo S and the Drobo Elite. The Drobo S (at right) is a performance storage device designed to answer the question "Why isn't there a Drobo with an eSATA interface?" Not only does the Drobo S have the eSATA interface that many have requested, but the device is now equipped with an even faster ARM processor for enhanced FireWire 800 connectivity. Like the DroboPro, the Drobo S can offer protection from two simultaneous drive failures. To do this and still offer a large amount of protected storage capacity, the Drobo S has five drive bays instead of the four on the original device, while still maintaining a small desktop footprint. The dual-drive redundancy option can be switched on or off at any time. As with the DroboPro, the new member of the Drobo family has self-healing technology built-in. The device constantly examines the blocks and sectors of all drives, and flags questionable areas. By scrubbing the drives, data is only written to "healthy" areas on drives in the array. Mark Fuccio of Data Robotics told TUAW that the eSATA interface provides data transfer up to 50% faster than what was available with FireWire 800, or about 90 MB per second. Earlier in 2009, the DroboPro brought even more expandability to the Drobo line with eight available drive bays and an iSCSI (Gigabit Ethernet) interface. While the DroboPro had immediate success in locations with a single server, it couldn't multi-host -- in other words, it couldn't be used by multiple servers simultaneously.
Want a discount on a DroboPro? We've got a code for that.
Our buddies over at Data Robotics, makers of the Drobo and DroboPro storage devices, were so happy with the results of a recent promotion that we ran with our DroboPro review that they're giving TUAW readers another chance to join in on the fun.If you go to the Drobo Store at http://www.drobostore.com and order a DroboPro, be sure to enter in the super-secret promo code TUAW2X100SS to get $200 off the price of one of these storage wonders. There's only one catch -- you have to purchase your DroboPro before October 1, 2009 and this offer is only good for the first 100 people who take advantage of the discount. Did you purchase a DroboPro with our previous promo code? We'd love to hear from you about your setup experience and what you're storing in all those terabytes of space.
Drobo 4-bay storage robot now $100 less for dad, mankind
It's no secret that we're smitten with Drobo's storage "robots." But they're expensive, especially compared to direct-attached or NAS storage devices built on a traditional RAID architecture. But if price is holding you back then you'll be happy to hear that for a limited time, you can take 20% off the list price of the 4-bay array. If you're lucky, you already have a handful of loose drives to plug-in else why not stuff it to capacity for 8TB of disk this Father's Day? Granted, still no built-in Ethernet without the optional DroboShare, but at least you've got an extra paper hundie to dry your tears.
Data Robotics goes large with 8-bay DroboPro
Not sure if you've been keeping tabs, but it's been just shy of a full year since we've seen a new piece of hardware from the labs of Data Robotics. 60,000 Drobos later, we're being formally introduced to the bigger, stronger and more capacious DroboPro. As the name implies, this 8-bay beast is truly aimed at small businesses and creative professionals, but there's nothing here that the average consumer can't fall in love with. Generally speaking, everything here has remained the same as the second-gen Drobo: it looks similar, it uses the same genius BeyondRAID intelligent data storage technology and it's not really meant to be used on networks. Interested to hear more? Hop on past the break for all the dirt.
