I am running out of room for my itunes library on interior 2 tb drive. Thinking of going to drobo 5N for my library storage. Looking for input on going this way or should i just go to 4 tb drives? I have two 2TB drives inside my 2008 mac pro and backup the library to the second drive using carbon copy cloner.
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Drobo 5N
- Thread starter wjfranks
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I have a Gen 2 hooked up to the USB port on my time capsule, my iTunes library sits on it (now at 7TB, Mostly TV series) hasn't given me a day of problems (touch wood) in 3 years so far.
No problems streaming 720p and 1080p movies whilst simultaneously have the drive also hold my Steam library for my PC (just under 1.5TB)
supurb, if a little expensive, device, my plan is to upgrade it to a network capable 5bay ASAP
No problems streaming 720p and 1080p movies whilst simultaneously have the drive also hold my Steam library for my PC (just under 1.5TB)
supurb, if a little expensive, device, my plan is to upgrade it to a network capable 5bay ASAP
I disagree as well. I have the 2nd gen. Drobo and a Drobo Pro at home, along with four Drobo Pro's at work. No data reliability issues ever, even with dozens of rebuilds either from failed drives, or upgrading capacity.
They're not the fastest things out there (though the new models are supposed to be better), but I've never had a data issue. I have had some units RMAed a few times though, I think once for a reboot loop and another because the fans were super loud and stuck like that.
That's fine. I've had every Drobo since the first gen, and all they've done is run like a slug, kill perfectly good drives, and take days or weeks (in the case of my old DroboPro) to rebuild their library when nothing should have triggered it. I'd suggest the OP do a bit of research before investing in Drobo. They used to be the only solution in their field, but now with Synology and other companies eating their pie, they're getting desperate. The quality may have improved, but I've lost too much data due to their crap and their tech support is worse than Comcast.
I dunno about their reliability but they are a terrible terrible waste of money! They are exactly between six and eight times over-priced with no advantage whatsoever!
How they can even stay in business is beyond me. I guess they depend on that sixth or eighth person being a total sucker!
How they can even stay in business is beyond me. I guess they depend on that sixth or eighth person being a total sucker!
Is there anything else out there that will automatically increase capacity by just adding or swapping a drive for a larger one while still providing some security for the data from a drive going down?
David
David
The issue here is not Drobo's reliability. The issue here is that you want something that has an iTunes server built-in: A Synology NAS, namely the DS413, or because you happen to have a Mac Pro, the DS412+, which does Ethernet link aggregation (connect two cables from your Mac Pro to your router/switch and two from the NAS to the router for more or less twice the bandwidth).
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^^ Ha ha! $1,300 for 8TB with the cheaper model and $1,500 for the plus model. Insane! The $400 and $650 they want for the enclosure with no drives at all is also insane!
A 4TB drive is under $200. If you want it be external cases start at $25. Your MacPro has eSATA connectors on the MB already too so if you want a nice fast connection another $20 for a cable bracket to bring them exterior will get ya there.
$1,500... excuse me while I blow chunks laughing!
A 4TB drive is under $200. If you want it be external cases start at $25. Your MacPro has eSATA connectors on the MB already too so if you want a nice fast connection another $20 for a cable bracket to bring them exterior will get ya there.
$1,500... excuse me while I blow chunks laughing!
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Drobo doesn't sell the bare chassis? if true, that is a bad decision in my opinion.
I have a netgear, and a synology, both of which were purchased empty.
I have a netgear, and a synology, both of which were purchased empty.
The issue here is not Drobo's reliability. The issue here is that you want something that has an iTunes server built-in: A Synology NAS, namely the DS413, or because you happen to have a Mac Pro, the DS412+, which does Ethernet link aggregation (connect two cables from your Mac Pro to your router/switch and two from the NAS to the router for more or less twice the bandwidth).
Terrible advice. Sure, the hardware you linked to is good, but the "iTunes server" is completely useless. So many people end up buying a NAS when in reality what they need is a DAS and just to leave their computer on with iTunes.
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So, he should buy a Drobo 5N for more money, and leave his computer running for the iTunes server instead of having on 24/7 on the NAS? Sounds like a great advice to me.
If his Mac is running 24/7 anyways, then he should just go ahead and swap the drives for 4TB ones like he planned. If he has more than one computer, then the NAS makes sense.
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The Drobo 5N that the OP asked about is $599, diskless. The DS413 is $200 less expensive than that. The direct-attached Drobo 5D with Thunderbolt is even more expensive than that at $775 (and that's still diskless).
Those things are basically ~2GHz Dual-Core Atom computers, hence the price. And for the Drobo BeyondRAID or Synology Hybrid RAID, you apparently need that power.
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Actually Synology has a quite workable add-in called Audio Station which allows you to stream music to AirPlay receivers without iTunes; you control it with your web browser or a free companion app for iOS.
I'm using an inexpensive DS212j and it's great.
Synology is great, but I found it restrictive.
The iTunes server wont mean you can play your content straight off of it - rather it stores media for an instance of iTunes to connect to, so bear that in mind.
I now have a Drobo 5D connected to a Mac Mini server. Much more flexible. 0 issues. Im a happy camper!
I have vieo reviews of both items on my YouTube channel if you want some further info
The iTunes server wont mean you can play your content straight off of it - rather it stores media for an instance of iTunes to connect to, so bear that in mind.
I now have a Drobo 5D connected to a Mac Mini server. Much more flexible. 0 issues. Im a happy camper!
I have vieo reviews of both items on my YouTube channel if you want some further info
Synology is great, but I found it restrictive.
The iTunes server wont mean you can play your content straight off of it - rather it stores media for an instance of iTunes to connect to, so bear that in mind.
I now have a Drobo 5D connected to a Mac Mini server. Much more flexible. 0 issues. Im a happy camper!
I have vieo reviews of both items on my YouTube channel if you want some further info
How is the 5D more flexible? How many media and server apps can you install on it? Independent Plex capability? Ability to AirPlay audio without the need for a computer? Please enlighten me.
Thanks for the info. That's why I qualified it with "If true" ;-)
I'm not particularly knowledgable about Drobo's product line, I use a Synology and a NetGear. The NetGear is about to be sunset for an expansion unit onto the existing DS-1512+.
Regards,
Read my original post - Drobo 5D connected to a Mac Mini Server.
The Drobo is simply the DAS. The server can be set up to do anything I like without having to search for a Synology package etc first - hence the setup is much more flexible for my uses and I'm completely happy with it.
Just because you've had bad experiences with Drobo, doesn't mean everyone else has. People have bad experiences with Apple, doesn't put everyone else off! My current setup is 100 times better then my previous Synology setup. More expensive, yes. But as I said, more flexible.
Why should you need to run a Mac Mini 100% of the time when a running a NAS on its own would suffice for a majority of the tasks you need it for. You're using more than twice the energy needed to run similar tasks. That is a waste of money and energy. I still don't understand how the set up is more flexible. You have to run two pieces of kit with a Drobo vs. 1 with Synology. Silly.
I'm aware of that, but it's still a kludgey, poorly thought out solution.
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Instead you'd advise him to buy a whole other device that requires him to load up a proprietary app to use a poorly thought out "work around" solution?
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Please explain how you can have just a Synology unit running and access the content via an AppleTV device. (I'm waiting.)
This (they recently added videos, too).
Alternatively, you can AirPlay videos from the Synology to your Apple TV if you have MKVs.
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Absolutely incorrect. That requires a computer running iTunes in order to work. The Synology unit can NOT function as a stand alone iTunes server. Period. That is why it is completely useless as a stand alone device for anyone who wants to stream audio/video, and that is why running a direct attached storage is simply superior, because no matter what, it is a necessity to have a local install of iTunes running.
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