Drobo Drobo FS, 5 Bay GB Storage Array for Simple, Safe Sharing and Backing up Files Over the Network -

2012-04-01T21:00:00

I installed the Drobo FS to store my movie and photo collection. In the week or two that I've owned it, it has worked great. I started with 2x3TB hard drives and have added a third 3TB drive. The initial installation and the subsequent additional hard drive were as simple as could be. The additional drive just plugged into an empty slot and was recognized immediately. The FS assumes a non-business environment, so one can use (relatively) inexpensive bare drives intended for home use. My only con is that I ordered the Drobo using an online offer that priced it at $360 (or so). The invoice was for [$]. I haven't hassled this out with Adorama -- either way it's a good buy. I'm thinking of getting another Drobo FS in the future, and using 2TB drives scavenged from my external drive enclosures.

tomjw217

2012-04-01T21:00:00

Great for saving and sharing small amounts of data. Large backups (50GB+) just take too long over ethernet. I would go crazy waiting while restoring a standard internal 500GB disk. Expanding disk capacity is the easy bit. Understanding the interface and setting up shares has a steeper learning curve.

i4M0aDc

2012-03-12T21:00:00

This is a beautiful, well built unit. I bought one on Drobo's reputation for excellence, and they almost deliver. The fatal flaw is that regardless of the number of drives installed, or the size of the drives, the unit reports to the OS that you have a 17+ TB raid! Their support said that as designed. If I can't rely on the device to accurately tell me the raid size and how much free space is left, how can I rely on it to accurately store my data? Drobo's support told me they have no plans to fix this. This prevents me from buying more, which is a shame, because this unit is, in all other respects, a far superior unit.

bt

2012-01-02T19:00:00

Need to have more Apps which are easy to load.

PAUL T.

2011-12-18T19:00:00

We have 3 terra stations and Drobo is the best!!! Easy to use with swappable drives. You can take drives made from any manufacturer of any size and slip them right in (I wouldn't suggest this) but this comes in extremely handy as years pass and drives change. With our old stations we have to keep old drives in stock because they are no longer made (never thought of that when we bought the stations). We run a Raid 5 and have lost 3 drives in two stations over the past four years so this IS a big factor. I could do an ad for Drobo. Intelligent design, easy to use... and oh yes, TECH SUPPORT!!! The other stations have the WORST tech support... not Drobo. This is the one to buy.

PETER K.

2011-11-13T19:00:00

Have two other Terra Stations... got this because the other two are too hard to handle and the Drobo is a no brainer to use!!! We are a photo studio use a Raid 5. We purchased the Drobo because of its simplicity and ease of use. If you are going to invest in a Terra Station this is the one to get (purchase Enterprise hard drives they last longer). Could tell you horror stories about my other ones... not the Drobo.

PETER K.

2011-09-03T21:00:00

Great home backup/media center robot. Running out of space? Pull the smallest drive, put in a bigger drive: you're done. Even allows for failures of two drives (with the obvious loss of usable capacity.) Great product, great company.

Happy A.