This is not a limitation per se (competing devices, like the Iomega ix4 and Lacie Big5, are similarly limited to NAS-only), but may come as a surprise to the Drobo faithful. If you want to connect it to your PC, you have to use Ethernet and SMB, AFP, or NFS. Like all Drobos but the DroboElite, the DroboFS is a single-purpose storage device. What’s missing from the Drobo FS is a USB, FireWire, or eSATA port. The Drobo FS packs a single gigabit Ethernet port rather than the USB, FireWire, or eSATA found on other models I’ll be eager to test those numbers out myself, since most of the competing devices have seriously disappointed me with their slow transfer speed. Although I have not benchmarked it myself, the company promises 40-50 MB/s read and 30-40 MB/s write performance, making it one of the fastest devices in this class. It also shares the high-performance CPU of the Drobo S, making the Drobo FS mighty fast for a small NAS. The Drobo FS shares much of its hardware with the impressive Drobo S, including its 5-drive chassis and dual-drive data protection. Of course, the DroboElite can share capacity using the iSCSI protocol, but that’s nowhere near as user-friendly as the Drobo FS NAS. Plug the single gigabit Ethernet port of a Drobo FS into your home or office network and it will appear to be a Windows or Mac server with tons of available storage. This marks the first time a Drobo can be easily shared between many users: Although a front-end device like a PC or Mac (or the now-discontinued DroboShare) share the storage space from any Drobo over a network, it was a multi-step process that challenged some users. It “speaks” SMB/CIFS (the Windows protocol), AFP (the Apple Mac OS X protocol), and, through a free download, NFS (the UNIX protocol). Instead of presenting plain disk capacity (what we in the business call “block storage”), the FS acts like a file server. The new Drobo FS is an entirely different animal. The Drobo family also includes two 8-drive iSCSI models: The single-computer DroboPro and full multi-server SAN capable DroboElite. Next up is the faster 5-drive eSATA/USB/FireWire Drobo S, upon which the Drobo FS was based. It remains the value leader, and I am totally committed to the gen-2 Drobo I purchased and rely on to protect my own data. The original 4-drive direct-attach USB/FireWire Drobo was refreshed a few years ago. And baby makes five? The Drobo line runs from the old 4-drive direct-attach Drobo to the iSCSI SAN DroboElite and now includes the NAS DroboFS. Instead of a single product, Data Robotics now sells no fewer than five models of Drobo. The lauded Drobo operational simplicity remains, but the newly-expanded Drobo family is starting to look awfully complex. It used to be so easy: Drobo was a 4-drive SOHO storage device that protected your data, allowed easy and seamless drive swaps, and attached with a USB or FireWire cable. Will Drobo FS sink or swim? Drobo FS: The File-Based Drobo But Drobo FS is no slam dunk: It’s expensive, not found in (many) stores, and the value proposition can be difficult to comprehend. The new Drobo FS brings native file sharing capability and a whole world of add-on "apps"ĭata Robotics is back with yet another member in the rapidly-expanding Drobo family of “storage robots.” The newly-announced Drobo FS brings gigabit Ethernet, file-sharing protocols, and installable apps to the platform’s industry-leading flexibility and data protection.
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