I see these RAID substitute enclosures came out last June and what a simple setup. I like simple. But it also needs to work well. I was hoping someone has a little experience and can recommend or not. Looks like CNET has given it a slightly higher rating, which is usual, than the user rating of 8.8 vs 6.9 of a possible 10.

Anyone have any personal use ratings? Cost is a bit high but do they work?

CNET: http://reviews.cnet.com/hard-drives/drobo/4505-3186_7-32470303.html

I have one. I love it. Over the last .. 8 months now.. it's taken about 5 minutes of my life. 2 of those were the actual physical install of the drives and software (the software is NOT necessary, but I like it because it checks for updates)

Another 1 minute was for installing updates. 2 or 3 so far. and the last 2 minutes to get SyncBackSE to run a realtime mirror from my SCSI drive (my temp photos area) to my Drobo, so that as soon as I download images, or as I edit, there's a realtime mirror of it.

Do you have any specific questions?

Max

Speed ??

Slow. Not glacial, but given that it's USB2, and creates parity on the fly across all its drives, it aint fast.

Certainly, the Drobo has it's flaws, and this, the lack of firewire or networking (natively, that's a 200 dollar upgrade), etc, are the drawbacks. They would be exascerbated if you used this for your main file storage.

I use it as a backup. I have all my files on other drives (scsi, large IDE) to view files quickly. The Drobo just keeps a second copy of it in case anything disastrous happens.

Oh and while they are both physically in the same location, I use Photoshelter for my online backup of all my files.

Max

So if you use DROBO solely as external backup (with an offsite copy) why not just use external drives. And if they fail you get another and back it up again ?

Extra backup/security is built into the way the DROBO writes files across a maximum of 4 drives. If one of the drives goes bad, everything on it can be recreated from what's on the other three. As Max once explained it to me, even if two of the four drives go bad, you're still covered. Individual external drives don't provide that kind of safety net.

Russ, I don't remember saying that (or meaning to). If two drives (at the same time) go tits up, you may be pooched. Depends on the amount of data you have on there.

The Drobo is smart, and if you have the space for it, it will actually go from a 4 drive to a 3 drive config and start moving its parity files evenly across the drives.

But usually, it likes getting a drive back.

But, two drives going tits up probably means that you have some power issues. A UPS will make sure that anything sub-catastrophic should not be a problem. Anything catastrophic that would FUBAR your UPS would probably also kill you physically, in which case, you got other problems to deal with.

Max

However as I understand it, it can run on 2 drives only, though with 4 bays, and HDD's as cheap as they are today, that's not really an advantage. Fill em up. Now is this a setup that one always leaves plugged in & running? Or is this only turned on for backup?

"Individual external drives don't provide that kind of safety net. "

I understand how DROBO works. (And think you should check their site because as the other poster said if you lose 2 drives you may be outta luck). I don't understand why DROBO makes. . You have the third copy. And also, the chances of two drives going at exactly the same time is remote. So if you primary goes. You have the ext drive. And vice versa. And as OutSideShooter points out you can also buy 2 ext drives if want. And you don't have to buy a DROBO box or deal with DROBO speed. I guess if you can't afford any downtime to do the replication of the failed drive then DROBO may be worth paying for ?

Max: Sorry for my misunderstanding and misstatement. Since I don't own and have not used a DROBO, I should just be watching rather than contributing to this discussion.......Carry on!

No worries.

I will readily admit, that reading on Drobospace (the official drobo forum) that the polarity of feedback is a bit saddening. For some, Drobo is a worryless dream come true. Others? Good luck getting it to even register drives.

I got a good one, and am happy about it. Would I reccomend it to anyone else? Yes. But then

1) I'm a risk taker
2) If I lost it all, I wouldn't lose anything because I have a Photoshelter account as well.

Max

TT1000 wrote:
And also, the chances of two drives going at exactly the same time is remote.


It's more common than you might expect.. Two drives from the same manufacturers, from the same (presumably bad) batch, can fail at relatively close intervals. Google published a white paper on this a while back.

You might want to read the multiple posts on Doug Plummer's blog about the Drobo -- http://dougplummer.blogs.com/dispatches/

"can fail at relatively close intervals" doesn't equal at the same time. And in the unlikely event the one in a million happens, there is the third offline copy. Given the slow speed I guess I don't see how DROBO is improving over just stand alone external drives other than, as I mentioned, if you want to access DROBO while doing a restore of the main drive, I guess you could.

While not as expansive, with Drobo, you can probably avoid my experience of upgrading a RAID array:

http://www.carltonbale.com/2006/04/expanding-the-capacity-of-my-media-server/#comment-3931

Hammy.

TT1000 wrote:
"can fail at relatively close intervals" doesn't equal at the same time. And in the unlikely event the one in a million happens, there is the third offline copy. Given the slow speed I guess I don't see how DROBO is improving over just stand alone external drives other than, as I mentioned, if you want to access DROBO while doing a restore of the main drive, I guess you could.

For this point, "at the same time" == "relatively close intervals" when the second failure precedes recovery from the first. How fast is this unit at moving the data, and how much additional stress it puts on the disks while recovering is info I will not venture to speculate about.

Hammy, that was, im sorry to say, hilarious. Well you wrote it well. But glad to hear your data is ok.

If it was just a little easier to work with, I'd say online storage solutions could be great, mostly because the cost is offset by convenience. With Photoshelter, I don't have to worry about keeping my drives on and the electricity cost involved. I don't have to worry about redundancy because they do that. nightly backup? they do that.

But instant access to all files is kind of a pain. It's not hard, just not... instant.

Max

I've never used the Drobo so cannot comment directly about its operation. However, personally I'd much rather prefer to use NAS-based solution rather than USB. For the past two years I've been using a nice little "box" from BitLeap which sits on my network. It's basically a small form factor pc with multiple disks in a RAID array. It periodically checks all the folders I've marked for backup (every 10 minutes in my case) and backs up any new files or files that have changed. The unit itself can be configured as a backup appliance, file server, or both.

As an added level of security, I also subscribe to BitLeap's off-site backup. At regular intervals (again, set by me), all new and changed files are backed up offline to a secure offsite location. That site is then in turn backed up to another offsite location in another state. That effectively gives me 3 copies of my data. I can restore down to the file level through a web browser from anywhere that has internet access. Through that same web interface, I'm able to add folders to backup, monitor disk usage, and add additional servers to backup if I wish. On top of all that, the whole system is monitored and managed by BitLeap staff. For the price it really is quite robust.

One benefit of using BitLeap is that for a minimal additional cost per month, I can use the unit to connect to my network via VPN. Not only is the connection encrypted but it also connects through the secure BitLeap network giving you an additional layer of security.

I know that many people are leary of bandwidth usage when it comes to offsite backup. I've met with and spoken extensively to BitLeap staff and they've demonstrated how they've effectively optimized the entire process so that only small, manageable packets of data are transferred across the internet thereby reducing impact on my connection. As a company they've been around for several years, are very easy to contact and work with, and stand behind their products and services 100%. For instance, should my backup appliance realize a total failure, they will drop ship a new unit to me with all my data already restored. For someone who values their images and data, this solution is certainly worth it's weight in gold.

Mr Joe wrote:
You might want to read the multiple posts on Doug Plummer's blog about the Drobo -- http://dougplummer.blogs.com/dispatches/

After spending 10 minutes I could only locate the one post in which he comments about the Drobo being slow. I suppose if one is searching for a file that would be a concern. A Drobo or any backup array is not for file searching, but for secure storage, so that does not deter me. I want ease & security.

But I appreciate the link.

PShizzy, this one user's comment from the CNET review, "We only wish Drobo came bundled with its own backup utility so that the important first step of data backup wouldn't be left to the whims of end users.", confuses me.

Because as you said, "
I have one. I love it. Over the last .. 8 months now.. it's taken about 5 minutes of my life. 2 of those were the actual physical install of the drives and software (the software is NOT necessary, but I like it because it checks for updates)".

What software are you speaking of? And what backup software would I need? Riht now I am using Synchback.

Syncback SE is what I use. I created a live folder on my SCSI drive, such that anything copied in there will automatically be copied in realtime to the Drobo.

I also have a once in a while backup that takes the contents of the Drobo's "Photos" area (all my work) and pushes them to a 1TB external drive. Unfortunately, I've outgrown that drive.

The software I spoke of though is Drobo Dashboard. It tells you how your drobo is doing. I just like it because it gives you accurate info on how many gigs you have left, etc. Windows does not do this properly because the Drobo looks like a 2TB drive,regardless of actual space. Weird, but then the Drobo is not your average drive bay.

Max

Steve Ickes wrote:
I've never used the Drobo so cannot comment directly about its operation. However, personally I'd much rather prefer to use NAS-based solution rather than USB. For the past two years I've been using a nice little "box" from BitLeap which sits on my network.


Steve- What other NAS boxes did you look at when you purchased? I've been seriously considering one of these in order to access files when on the road. What is the total cost, including your monthly services?

Anyone else out there working with NAS?


PShiz- Does photoshelter accept Tif or RAW files? I have JPG's backed up on my smugmug account, but they don't accept any other file types.

One more Q: Does Drobo or any other "back-up" system out there intelligently back-up files in an automated way?

Let me explain with an example:

I get home from a typical shoot (Call it "Moab Trip") and download files to my internal laptop drive (Macbook Pro). After combing through, deleting, and rating in Adobe Bridge, I copy my newly created folder to two external drives via USB2.

Okay, so two months later, I'm on the road again and decide to work on the files (Moab Trip) from a few months earlier. I end up re-processing two or three shots including some extensive layering in PS and save the new TIf files my Laptop HD. I also delete a few more shots that I missed previously. Ok, so now I get home and have no desire to figure out which files I've re-worked, deleted, etc. so I end up deleting the "Moab Trip" folder from both external HD's and re-saving the folder that has the latest processing applied.

Am I crazy!? I know there's a much simpler way to back-up all new data (including deleted data). Time Machine? Drobo? What is the solution?

Note: With such large files, I'll often dump the folder off of my laptop as new shoots come along and work primarily from the external HD's, and then make copies from one external to another. (but the same principle applies)

http://pa.photoshelter.com/help/tour/formats

all the formats Photoshelter accepts. While they were created by and for photographers, they realized that we work with designers, illustrators, and other creative people who use various formats.

Max

winzphoto wrote:
One more Q: Does Drobo or any other "back-up" system out there intelligently back-up files in an automated way?

Let me explain with an example:

I get home from a typical shoot (Call it "Moab Trip") and download files to my internal laptop drive (Macbook Pro). After combing through, deleting, and rating in Adobe Bridge, I copy my newly created folder to two external drives via USB2.

Okay, so two months later, I'm on the road again and decide to work on the files (Moab Trip) from a few months earlier. I end up re-processing two or three shots including some extensive layering in PS and save the new TIf files my Laptop HD. I also delete a few more shots that I missed previously. Ok, so now I get home and have no desire to figure out which files I've re-worked, deleted, etc. so I end up deleting the "Moab Trip" folder from both external HD's and re-saving the folder that has the latest processing applied.

Am I crazy!? I know there's a much simpler way to back-up all new data (including deleted data). Time Machine? Drobo? What is the solution?

Note: With such large files, I'll often dump the folder off of my laptop as new shoots come along and work primarily from the external HD's, and then make copies from one external to another. (but the same principle applies)


Yes, there exists software to do that, you can download some packages, others come with computers, still others you can pay money to license. Some examples of software backup software (or that use for backup) include dump, rsync, tar, amanda, bacula and cpio.