Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

kingjames1970

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 18, 2008
319
610
Hampshire, UK
Hi all

I pretty much know nothing about networking etc but I thought this was probably the best place to ask for advice.

A friend of mine has offered me a Drobo 5D brand new, his work were throwing it out unopened! (I know that's weird.)

I'm a designer and use an iMac, MacBook Air and iPad Pro as my main devices. My iMac is the primary source of my files (3TB fusion drive), which I Time Machine to a 3TB Time Capsule and I also clone to a desktop 4TB drive and to my portable external 4TB. (I also (keep meaning to) keep a copy of my files offsite but I often forget to update tbh.)

So I think I'm pretty well covered in terms of backup but having the offer of a free Drobo made me wonder if I couldn't be doing things better? I'm a bit confused about the capabilities of the Drobo and I realise I would have to rely on at least three backups anyway. Can I Time Machine to a Drobo and Time Capsule at the same time? Or can I do a Clone and Time Machine to the same Drobo? I'm a bit confused about the benefits it would offer apart from being a better external HD?

I was thinking I could also keep my mp4s on the Drobo and use something like Flex to stream to my Apple TV?

And if the Drobo is attached to my iMac can all the Macs and even iPad pro see it on the network easily?

Sorry for the rambling post but I really don't know what I'm doing as I've always just kept backup simple. Just wondering if I should keep it that way and just say to my mate to sell on eBay?!

Cheers
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.