Drobo 2TB Storage Array Review

Storage space is never enough and the thirst for more never dies! So to quench the thirst, GBs have turned into TBs. Drobo has come out with storage arrays that give you storage space upto 4TB! This is their second generation hard drives, with first ones setting a new standards.

Drobo 2TB Storage Array specifications :

• Dimensions : 6″ x 10.7″ x 6.3″
• Capacity : 2TB
• Interface type : SATA-I, SATA-II
• Connectivity : Firewire 800, Hi-Speed USB
• Beyond RAID technology, Drive reordering
• Self healing, Status lights, storage virtualization
• Power adapter : AC 120/230 V
• Warranty : 1-year limited
• Approx. price : $899

Not much has changed with the hard drive from its previous generation except for Firewire support and enhanced capacity. That does make its price look very steep. It would have made sense to include an eSATA port and or networking capability to make it worth the upgrade.

The Drobo can house upto four internal SATA drives of any capacity to achieve safe and secure data storage solution. It can also predict which hard drive is likely to fail, so that you can replace it immediately. If one of the hard drives fails, there is no data loss, seems cool. But this has strings attached to it. As you might have guessed it, data redundancy is why you do not lose data but this comes at the cost of reduced combined storage space. Also if Drobo fails, then data can be recovered only by using another Drobo unit.

The ventilation system has been improved and fan noise levels have gone down due to reduced rotation rate. Setting up Drobo is quite easy, you just have to put all the hard drives in the bay and launch the Drobo Dashboard software to get the setup running. The Drobo firmware is a bit buggy at the moment and an update should fix things.

EDIT: There were some misconceptions about Drobo’s performance. The actual performance of the drive is great. The write and read speeds are close to 400mbps and 280mbps respectively.

Pros :

• Data protection
• Expandable storage
• Firewire support
• Faster processor
• Great performance

Cons :

• No eSATA port
• No networking support

Final Thoughts

Drobo 2TB storage array is a unique external storage solution. Data protection is its biggest feature, but it lacks fast performance. Firewire should have improved things but that isn’t the case. Its storage can also be expanded by plugging in upto four SATA drives. Overall if data protection is your primary aim, then this is perfect solution for you.

My Rating : 4/5