Drobo gen. 2 FW/USB2 - Availability

[dcl]

Anyone have a Drobo gen. 2 yet ?

It's now over 2 weeks since they introduced Drobo 2 - Firewire 800 / Usb 2.

Where are they ?:confused:

Was very interested in getting one, but when an authorized Drobo dealer can't get information from Drobo, as to when they will get inventory, makes me wonder.

From what I've read, they have a great product, but is their customer service lacking service ?
Has anyone dealt with Drobo Customer Service or Tech Support ?

[bigrell486]

http://www.drobostore.com/welcome.html

Did you ever try the official store?

[dcl]

Yes, but until today no one at Drobo Store seemed to know.

According to the gal at Drobo Store today, 1st shipments were just shipped out to distributors. So, they should have them in a few days.

[Alx9876]

I do understand Drobo but here's my question? You buy regular 3.5 sata hard drives, the ones that can die/crash and stuff them into this machine.

Great it can hold four. Ok here's my dillema with Drobo.

What if those four sata drives die out because of old age? They are the same ones that are prone to crashes just like PC's.

What happens to all of your back up info if the hard drives fail?

It's almost no different than just buying Seagate or WD external hard drives. Except you can stack them with superb ease.

Am I missing something?

Time Capsule seems more reliable than this thing. But I could be wrong.

If I am ignorant then please explain it to me. I am looking into back up storage at the moment so I want the best.

[CanadaRAM]

Drobo uses a proprietary interleave that is supposed to survive the loss of one drive out of the array -- like RAID 5 can.

As with any drive array other than exotic RAID configurations - if you lose two drives simultaneously, you are hoovered.

[yg17]

I do understand Drobo but here's my question? You buy regular 3.5 sata hard drives, the ones that can die/crash and stuff them into this machine.

Great it can hold four. Ok here's my dillema with Drobo.

What if those four sata drives die out because of old age? They are the same ones that are prone to crashes just like PC's.

What happens to all of your back up info if the hard drives fail?

It's almost no different than just buying Seagate or WD external hard drives. Except you can stack them with superb ease.

Am I missing something?

Time Capsule seems more reliable than this thing. But I could be wrong.

If I am ignorant then please explain it to me. I am looking into back up storage at the moment so I want the best.

With the Drobo, it can recover all of your data if one of the drives fails. It might even be able to recover if 2 fail (maybe if you have 4 hard drives in there, I don't know).

Hard drives die, but the chance of more than one dying at the same time is one in a million. So if one craps out, the Drobo continues on as if nothing happened (well, it's doing behind the scenes stuff, but as far as you can tell, nothing changed), and you replace it ASAP to make sure your data is fully protected.

It is most definitely more safe than other external hard drives or a Time Capsule, because if that drive goes out, you're up a creek. The Drobo won't help you if all drives go out at the same time, but nothing will. If your data is that important, then you need to be backing it up to something else, whether it's online storage, DVDs or even more hard drives and stored offsite in addition to the Drobo.

They have a video on their site that demonstrates how Drobo works, I'd recommend watching it.

Re: the FW Drobo, unless you have an absolute need for Firewire, save some money and get one of the original USB ones. I was holding out for the Firewire one too, but decided to save myself $150 and buy a USB2 one from Newegg last week. USB is fast enough for my needs.

[therevolution]

Here's the Drobo demo video (http://www.drobo.com/Products/drobodemo.html).

[Alx9876]

YG17,

Thank you for your patience with me.:) That's what I needed to hear. I wasn't sure. I have important data but only at 500 gigs.

I am sold on Drobo now. I just needed someone to explain to me that all four will not go out. One going out is fine but I will be more than ready when this happens.

I like this idea very much. My data is worth safe guarding with a Drobo machine.

I'm worried if Time Capsule goes then my life is over. I might as well just quite computers. Thank you for the link.

So the $499 model is the one to get I take it?

I noticed there were very expensive models that I just can't afford. $500 is fine but anything more than that isn't going to work.

[dcl]

Data Robotics DR04DD10 Drobo 4-Bays USB 2.0 and FireWire 800 Fully Automated SATA Robotic Storage Array

available at Amazon for $ 487.99 & ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping

http://www.amazon.com/Data-Robotics-DR04DD10-FireWire-Automated/dp/B001CZ9ZEE/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1217118230&sr=8-12

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD753LJ 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Newegg $ 99 each
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152100

Fry's BM Store $ 109.99 each

[dcl]

:D Better deal on Drobo 2nd generation Part # DR04DD10

TheNerds.net : http://www.thenerds.net/DATA_ROBOTICS.DROBO_4_BAY_FW800_USB_20_STORAGE_ARRAY.DR04DD10.html


$ 461.99 + $4.99 shipping this weekend + $8 off code (secret or MAUI)

= $ 458.98

[Eric.]

Keep in mind that if a backup drive dies, you lost a backup. Unless its something that you would need an older version of, that isn't a problem in my view. You still have everything on the original location. You don't necessarily need to have backups of backups of backups...

[dcl]

Those that ordered a Drobo from TheNerds.net have a long time to wait for your order.:mad:

They messed up big time on their inventory and won't have any Drobo's for 2 - 4 weeks.

- No they did contact me, I called Monday and was told it was shipped - I called today to check on delivery date, but was told of the problem they found yesterday
- No they really didn't apologize
- No they didn't offer any additional discount, because of their problem
- & No they wouldn't upgrade my shipping for free, because of their problem

All customer service person would say is, you got a good deal & $4.99 shipping didn't you & and we can always cancel the order if you would like

TheNerds.net has now been put on my "DO NOT RECOMMEND BUYING FROM THIS RETAILER LIST"

[pprior]

Data Robotics DR04DD10 Drobo 4-Bays USB 2.0 and FireWire 800 Fully Automated SATA Robotic Storage Array

available at Amazon for $ 487.99 & ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping


Is NOT available at amazon - states "SHIPPING 1-2 MONTHS"

I ordered mine directly from Drobo within a few days of the announcement and haven't heard anything from them yet.

The drobo site says 7 days shipping.

I don't think they're available yet anywhere and quite frankly I'm a bit nervous about getting one of the first ones out the door, new product bugs, etc.

[Alrescha]

I don't think they're available yet anywhere and quite frankly I'm a bit nervous about getting one of the first ones out the door, new product bugs, etc.

I ordered one the day after the announcement. I was willing to pay a little extra (The Drobo Store charged me tax, plus shipping) to have one in my hands right away. On the day I ordered the web site only said '3 days lead time'.

A week passed. During that time the web site changed and said that the new Drobos were shipping with a 5 day lead time. Then three days were up, then the five days were up, and still no Drobo. I cancelled the order.

When Amazon actually has them in stock, I'll consider the device 'real'. Then I'll look around and buy from whoever has the best deal - I'm sure it won't be the Drobo Store.

A.

[ascender]

Mine arrived from a UK supplier this afternoon. They had the release date down as the 28th July and they got their stock on the 29th.

[dcl]

What do you know :rolleyes: , yesterday I'm told by TheNerds.net that I would be lucky to receive my Drobo within 2 - 4 weeks. Today, I get a Fedex tracking email showing the package was sent 3 days ago and was delivered to my door at 8am this morning. I don't think TheNerds.net knows what's going on.

Unfortunately I will have to go back out and re-purchase the 3 Samsung 750GB HD I just returned to Fry's yesterday.

Will let you know next week how the new Drobo is working.

[milkybrainuk]

Mine arrived from a UK supplier this afternoon. They had the release date down as the 28th July and they got their stock on the 29th.


Where did you get it from in UK?
I have pre ordered mine from amazon.co.uk

[brand]

I purchased the new Firewire 800 Drobo enclosure two days ago. I only ordered the enclosure without the hard drives since I can get 1TB 32MB cache Seagate hard drives for $160 each. I called today, to check on the status, and they said that there is currently a 6-7 day lead time. Hopefully is doesn't take too long to get here.

[pprior]

Received my new Firewire Drobo today.

1st impressions:

Packaging really cool, Apple style.
Unit smaller than I expected
Fan is louder than I expected, though I think it will quiet down once I quit hammering it with my initial time machine backup.
Installation was easy. Biggest decision was what size to make volumes. I kept 2TB volumes so since I put in 4 tB drives i have a 2TB volume (for time machine) and a ~800GB volume for direct aperture vault and general backup

[89464director]

I ordered mine on July 27. Quoted 5 day lead time.
Today is day 7 - I had to email them to ask whats going on. I get a reply saying they hope to clear the backlog by Friday or Monday next week.
Thats 10+ days lead time.
Very disappointing - I hope the rest of their service and support isn't as bad.

[pprior]

One other concern: when activating the unit, after saying Gen 2 Drobo there were two product number ranges to choose from. Mine was in the smaller number range, which makes me think perhaps they've already done a hardware update? If so, that doesn't bode well for early adopters.

[brand]

One other concern: when activating the unit, after saying Gen 2 Drobo there were two product number ranges to choose from. Mine was in the smaller number range, which makes me think perhaps they've already done a hardware update? If so, that doesn't bode well for early adopters.

This is concerning. I definitely don't want a product that has just been revised this early in production. I also called today and they said that they received a shipment today and that mine should be shipped out by the end of the week.

[dcl]

So far, So good :D

- Have 1 Samsung 750 GB hd & 2 WD 650 GB hd
- Set Configuration at 6 TB for future growth
- Partitioned into 3 Drives - (2) Mac Os Extended / (1) FAT32
- Copying Newer files with SuperDuper! every 2 hours and Duplicating the MBP HD once a night.

MBP to Drobo v.2 FW800 effective copy speed 16 MB/s

LaCie HD FW800 to Drobo v.2 FW800 effective copy speed 30 MB/s

Hopefully, I will never need it for a restore, but if I do, I should be safe.

I HOPE :eek:

[89464director]

I got fed up waiting for my order from Drobo.
Day 8 and by the sounds of things I won't get the item (if I'm lucky) until about day 15 which is WAY beyond the 5 day lead time they quoted me at point of sale.

I spoke to Newegg this morning. They have this product is stock - will ship today and I'll have it Thursday.

Data Robotics need to have a serious look at how they conduct their sales business with regards to integrity and honesty.

[Darth.Titan]

I ordered directly from Drobo a little over a week ago, and it shipped out yesterday.
My only complaint is that you get no notification that it is backordered until after the order is placed on the Drobo store. They really should have a notice in the item description that there is a wait for shipping.
They must be selling those things like hotcakes!

BTW Geekbrief.tv has a promo code that you can use in the Drobo store for $50 off:
CALI

[Yvan256]

Received my new Firewire Drobo today.

1st impressions:

Packaging really cool, Apple style.
Unit smaller than I expected

Can you post a few pics of the packaging and the unit?

[TheNightPhoenix]

Got my 2nd Gen one last week. Really pleased. Stuffed 4 1TB Seagate barracudas with 32MB of cache on them in. Got 2.7 TB of usable space, quiet as hell, small, looks sexy, easy to configure, lovely.

[macpluslaptop]

I think I understand the backup idea (Drobo duplicates your data and needs equivalent free space for a buffer), but I have some basic questions beyond that.

Say I have 2 external HDs and my Macbook Pro internal HD. Can I copy all these drives to a Drobo setup, then add NEW stuff to one of the Drobo drives? (as one would to an external HD)

In theory, as long as there's enough space in the Drobo to duplicate everything with the buffer, it should work just as any external HD setup does?

Thanks in advance:D

[pprior]

Drives you put into Drobo are formatted so you lose anything on them. So if you're planning on using current drives, you have to have space somewhere else temporarily to park it until you can put the drobo into service. As for a "buffer" it's not really that, but depending on how many drives and what size you have you will "lose" 1/4 to 1/2 (worst case) of your total space to provide the redundancy that drobo offers.


To the poster about packaging, sorry I didn't take any pictures. The entire inside of the box was black with black "styrofoam" stuff on the ends of the unit and black antistatic fabric bag. A cool box saying something along the lines of "welcome to the world of drobo" sitting on top. Just really classy looking.