[Merged] DroboPro Announced - Business Class, Self-Managing 8-Drive Storage Server

[frimple]

Well well well.

Betsy Henriques (Data Robotic sales... go figure) says:

"Thank you for contacting us! The thruput on drobopro is 100mbps."

I'll believe it when I see it, but it sounds like they're marketing it as being able to fully saturate an iSCSI connection. Interesting.

 

[KnightWRX]

Well well well.

Betsy Henriques (Data Robotic sales... go figure) says:

"Thank you for contacting us! The thruput on drobopro is 100mbps."

I'll believe it when I see it, but it sounds like they're marketing it as being able to fully saturate an iSCSI connection. Interesting.

100 mbps doesn't sound impressive at all. Unless they didn't mean mbps, but mBps.

 

[frimple]

100 mbps doesn't sound impressive at all. Unless they didn't mean mbps, but mBps.

Well seeing as the current model only gets 20 MBytes /sec I'm guessing she meant 100 MBytes/sec. Which would be more than the iSCSI connection could transfer.

 

[stagi]

what are some of the main differences between this and the ReadyNas pro that was also recently announced?

 

[pprior]

what are some of the main differences between this and the ReadyNas pro that was also recently announced?

First couple off the top of my head:

Advantages for DroboPro:
ReadyNas Pro has 6 bays, drobo pro has 8
ReadyNas Pro uses standard raid array including 5/6, so drive sizes must match, Drobo can mix and match different drives
Simpler to configure

ReadyNas Pro advantages:
Useable over the network
Has more configurability (can serve as a network print server and run other services, can control user level access on the network).


Unsure:
Noise (big one for me!)
Energy use (I think they both are low power demands, esp compared with a server solution)
Throughput / speed. Both of these companies have struggle in the past with speed, especially on Mac. However ReadyNas has been a better performer in my experience owning both.

 

[ncc1701d]

It's confusing initially for those unfamiliar with iSCSI.

I've just ordered a 2009 MacPro Quad. If I buy this DroboPro and want to use the iscsi solely, is it as simple as connecting both machines with an ethernet cable? (just as though I was connecting FW800 - one cable from mac to DroboPro).

It sounds as though there is some sort of software set up as well, but I'm assuming that's fairly straight forward?

"Initiators" / "Switches"... what the???

 

[frimple]

ReadyNas Pro advantages:
Useable over the network

As a stand alone product that's correct, but the Drobo was always available if you shared it out from the connected box. It's a shame that they didn't take the time to make this one an actual NAS instead of an external drive with features!

I've just ordered a 2009 MacPro Quad. If I buy this DroboPro and want to use the iscsi solely, is it as simple as connecting both machines with an ethernet cable? (just as though I was connecting FW800 - one cable from mac to DroboPro).

It sounds as though there is some sort of software set up as well, but I'm assuming that's fairly straight forward?

"Initiators" / "Switches"... what the???

I'm sure that it will be that easy. Drobo is known for being user friendly and even though typically iSCSI connections can be complex to setup, I'm sure the GUI will walk you through everything needed.

 

[ncc1701d]

I'm sure that it will be that easy. Drobo is known for being user friendly and even though typically iSCSI connections can be complex to setup, I'm sure the GUI will walk you through everything needed.

thanks Frimple! Looks like you are correct Got a reply back form them (over the Easter Holidays no less )

Sorry about the technical "jargon". If you plug an Ethernet cable into DroboPro and straight into your Mac -- you are ready to go.

And yes, the units are all the same. All you would need to do is purchase the appropriate power cord for your region.

Once you have your unit, if you have any questions about that, we would be happy to help.

impressed!! Not cheap, but worth it for me.

 

[Data]

Anybody tested this Pro already speedwise with iscsi ?

And how would this work with a macmini thats on 24/7 running mac osx not server.

Would i connect a switch to my other switch so that the drobopro and macmini are the only devices on that 1 switch connected to the already there switch ?

Pff that was confusing, lol , but i think i saw a picture on the drobo site explaining that iscsi would work like that if you only have 1 ethernet port on your mac ( as does the macmini ).

It is expensive but i like the way this device works and it would be great to use if i could share the device thru my macmini to all other macs on the network, and then have the 100MB/s speeds to and from it.

 

[Andrew Henry]

I'd really like to have one of these, but the chances of me saving up that much money for a toy like this is slim to none.

 

[mpshay]

Anyone actually used one? I'm looking for an upgrade to an original version Drobo. Really curious about observed transfer speeds and to a lesser extent unit noise.