Storage News

Review: Storage Networking with the Drobo FS

Networked RAID 1 and RAID 5 are easier then ever now that Data Robotics' five-bay Drobo FS has built in Gigabit Ethernet allowing shared data access to Linux, Windows or Mac computers. As Small Business Computing reports, the original Drobo storage allows a small business to set up a large pool of storage -- capable of growing later -- regardless of the individual drive capacity, rotational speed or manufacturer. Also noted in the review is that an additional module for network use is required to use the Drobo FS as a network storage device.

"Data Robotics calls its data protection technology BeyondRAID, and it involves a combination of both RAID 1 and RAID 5. Exactly how the Drobo FS organizes and protects stored data depends on the number and raw capacity of the disks you use (which ultimately determines the amount of usable storage you wind up with -- more on this later). The upshot: because you don't have to concern yourself with things like drive capacity and performance, you can create and expand your storage using the most convenient combination of disks available at a given time."