Greetings!
I've been considering getting a Drobo, but I'm undecided as to whether to get the 5D (offers connections via Thunderbolt 2 and USB 3.0) or the 5N (connects via ethernet and is designed to be a network-attached storage (NAS) unit). As of now, because it's just my wife and myself, and since I'd be using the storage much more than she would, the 5D would technically fit our usage pattern best.
However, keeping an eye to the future (which is generally futile with technology purchases, even though we try to do it all the time), I'm thinking about the possibility of larger family needs and the potential usage of having the network storage capabilities. It's likely far-off enough that it won't matter for this particular Drobo, but I'm just curious how the Drobo behaves if the 5D were to be attached to an Airport Extreme and shared on the network that way. Does it function the same as if it were a 5N, at that point? (Albeit slower; Apple's current Airport Extreme is only USB 2.0... but I assume the future revision will be USB 3.0.)
I suppose part of my confusion is because I know that the Drobo unit itself does a lot of fancy behind-the-scenes work. I believe it presents itself to the computer as one standard drive, but I'm not sure if there's some critical firmware difference between the 5D and 5N that would cause the 5D to either not work or behave improperly if it were connected to a router like that, to become a NAS. But if it works, then the 5D is the much more versatile of the two (although it does cost more, so it's not like that comes for free).
Thanks for your thoughts!
I've been considering getting a Drobo, but I'm undecided as to whether to get the 5D (offers connections via Thunderbolt 2 and USB 3.0) or the 5N (connects via ethernet and is designed to be a network-attached storage (NAS) unit). As of now, because it's just my wife and myself, and since I'd be using the storage much more than she would, the 5D would technically fit our usage pattern best.
However, keeping an eye to the future (which is generally futile with technology purchases, even though we try to do it all the time), I'm thinking about the possibility of larger family needs and the potential usage of having the network storage capabilities. It's likely far-off enough that it won't matter for this particular Drobo, but I'm just curious how the Drobo behaves if the 5D were to be attached to an Airport Extreme and shared on the network that way. Does it function the same as if it were a 5N, at that point? (Albeit slower; Apple's current Airport Extreme is only USB 2.0... but I assume the future revision will be USB 3.0.)
I suppose part of my confusion is because I know that the Drobo unit itself does a lot of fancy behind-the-scenes work. I believe it presents itself to the computer as one standard drive, but I'm not sure if there's some critical firmware difference between the 5D and 5N that would cause the 5D to either not work or behave improperly if it were connected to a router like that, to become a NAS. But if it works, then the 5D is the much more versatile of the two (although it does cost more, so it's not like that comes for free).
Thanks for your thoughts!