SOLD Drobo

[kevstauss]

I'm looking to get a RAID set up and wanted to see if anyone has an old Drobo they're getting rid of. Ideally Thunderbolt, but FW800 works too. I don't need any drives with it, just the Drobo.

 

[jamedia.uk]

If you are setting up a RAID device why would you want a second had one that is out of warranty?
Shirley your data is worth more than that?

BTW Why Drobo and not "any RAID chassis".
Also How many bays do you need?
what capacity drives are you intending to use?

 

[kevstauss]

I'd be open to other systems, I've only heard of Drobo. I'm trying to get out of using multiple external drives, so ideally I'd like 5 bays. I don't need drives with the Drobo; I plan on buying them new of course.

 

[jamedia.uk]

I'd be open to other systems, I've only heard of Drobo.

Drobo are fairly new to the scene. Nothing wrong with them but there are many others. I use Netgear who have been doing industrial/commercial gear (switches, routers and storage) for a long while there is also Buffalo, WD, Orico, Lacie (popular for MAC users) , Star Tech, G-Tech, Seagate, Terramaster, Qnap and that is just on the first page of Amazon....... There are many others. Do some research.

BUY NEW. If you are trusting your data to it you want one with a warrantee and more importantly you want one you know the provenance of and you know has not been miss treated. Would you know if the NAS has been subjected to mains spikes that have weakened the power supply?

I'm trying to get out of using multiple external drives, so ideally I'd like 5 bays.

The number of bays will to some extend depend on the level of RAID you want to run (and that the chassis will support) there are about a dozen levels of RAID See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID You will need to think about this FIRST and buy & set up accordingly. I use RAID 6 so if any 2 drives fail I can replace them and the system will auto rebuild with no loss of data.

Also there are other features. All mine have USB inputs. The compatible Uninterruptable power supply I have uses one of them so that it can alert NAS and it will shut itself down in an orderly way when the power fails.

You mention thunderbolt & Firewire. mine all ha ve dual 1GB Ethernet. With the right switches/routers the two lines are used in parallel doubling the speed. Also Ethernet is *always* available. Firewire and thunderbolt may not be. Especially if you want to put a PC on the network.

I don't need drives with the Drobo; I plan on buying them new of course.

Drives.... you need to match the drives to the RAID unit. Most give lists of approved drives. Worth buying Server drives. A bit more expensive but designed to run in RAID systems. You want to make sure you have room for expansion. I started out with 6* 1TB and now run 6*3TB in one chassis. The other one started with 6*2TB

 

[kevstauss]

Woo boy. I thought I knew enough about RAIDs to make an informed decision, but I was way off. I appreciate the information!