Drobo | Blog | Review | Drobo 5N

Drobo Case Study: Seth Resnick Photography

Posted on June 11, 2013 by admin • 0 Comments

Drobo

Our case studies are typically posted on Drobo Reviews, but we thought the readers of our main blog would enjoy this too:

If your life’s work is stored digitally on a server, you need a backup system you know won’t fail. Seth Resnick, owner of Seth Resnick Photography, found that Drobo meets the challenge. Not only does his system of dual Drobos ensure access to his database of over 100,000 images, it does it cheaper and better than other systems.

Seth, a professional still photographer for more than 35 years, keeps his collection of images on a server running Lightroom Database as well as a customized FileMaker database. He needs quick and guaranteed access to those images, which he licenses through some of the most prominent names in the business.

Before adopting Drobo, Seth used tape to back up the four internal 4TB drives in his server. Now he backs up everything digitally to an 8-bay Drobo. In addition to the protection against multi-drive failures, Seth wanted even more protection. So he backs his first Drobo up to a second Drobo.

Needless to say, Drobo’s mix-and-match drive compatibility was a selling point. He also liked the simplicity of use and instant expansion Drobos offer. But Drobo wasn’t his first solution, and it almost wasn’t his last.

“I tried NETGEAR [ReadyNAS Pro] and was very unhappy with both speed and reliability,” Seth said. “I came very close to buying an Apple Xserve—which would have cost more than $15,000—and decided to try a Drobo while it was still in early Beta. I was thrilled, and I haven’t looked back since. My Drobos have been 100% reliable and serve as the core of my multi level backup.”

If you’re using tape to back up critical information, Seth can tell you that Drobo provides an easier, more reliable, and highly affordable alternative.

To learn more about Drobo, request a Drobo for business live demo here and find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Top 5 Blogs from Drobo

Posted on June 4, 2013 by admin • 0 Comments

Top 5 Drobo Blogs

Drobo award-winning data storage products provide an unprecedented combination of sophisticated data protection and management features, affordable capacity, and ease-of-use. Based on the patented and proven BeyondRAID™ technology, Drobo’s ability to deliver “Big Storage in a Small Box” creates the best storage experience ever for hundreds of thousands of small and medium businesses and individual professionals worldwide, who use it to support their file backup and media archiving, server virtualization, and email application needs.

Here are a few of our top-viewed blog posts:

Music Choice Entrusts Its Backup Audio and Video Files to Drobo

For those who want a real-world example of how a major company is using Drobo products in their business, we’d like to introduce you to Music Choice. For the past 18 months, Music Choice has been using the Drobo B1200i as second copy backup for more than 200 TB of audio and video data. Drobo now helps them keep high availability and data production while meeting the growing needs of their business.

Music Choice is an integrated music company that specializes in digital music services for consumers. In fact, it’s one of the largest. They provide music and music video channels, including hot genres such as Hit List, Hip Hop and R&B, Rock, and Today’s Country to cable and similar service providers. Their clients include a wide range of cable and other providers in the United States. With clients that demanding, uptime and easy expansion without downtime are essential. (Read more)

Streaming and Sharing All Your Stuff with Drobo and Plex

There is a well-known skit by George Carlin on the topic of “stuff.” My wife does not think it is very funny, but I find it hilarious. Apply the topic to our digital world of possessions, and most people reading this have stuff they want to be able to access from all of their devices. Drobo is a great place to keep all of your digital stuff, protecting it from hard drive failure and expanding as your collection of stuff grows.

I was a Drobo owner prior to working at Drobo, and I have my fair share of stuff on my Drobo 5N. Drobo users have been Plex users for a long time, because it is arguably the best media server application to manage all of your stuff. For Drobo 5N users, life just got better because Plex now runs on the 5N. I installed it this morning from Drobo Dashboard, and it was very easy to get my >40,000 photos on my Drobo presented in one spot. (Read more)

Drobo Offers New Application for Expanded Media, Mobile, & Cloud Storage Capabilities

We at Drobo, makers of award-winning storage products for professional and business customers, are announcing a new software platform to enhance the mobile and cloud-connected capabilities of the Drobo 5N and subsequently its customers. The first two applications we’re integrating are Drobo Copy, a cloud-based data sharing and data protection service from Barracuda Networks, and Plex, the industry’s leading media server for managing and serving digital media (such as video, music, and photos) to nearly any device. We’re also introducing a development kit developers can use to create applications that further extend the power and simplicity of our new networked-storage device for remote access and share, media streaming, and cloud integration. (Read more)

Drobo Reaches 1 Exabyte Milestone

Drobo’s customers are entrusting our products with a lot of data. So much data that purchased and deployed Drobo systems have reached the milestone of 1 Exabyte of storage. To understand how much an Exabyte truly is, let’s put things in perspective. That’s 1 million 1TB hard drives. If backed up to 5.25” DVDs, you’d need 245 million of them—which if stacked to the same 5 ½ mile height as Mount Everest would require 32 stacks measuring 14 feet across. If we didn’t create storage as easy and efficient as Drobo, this Exabyte of individual creativity and business productivity would have been constrained. (Read more)

Which Drobo is Right For You? Easy as 1-2-3?

Three simple questions are all it takes, and we even have an easy tool to help you choose the Drobo that best fits your needs. This tool is one of the most popular features of the site (even more popular than our capacity calculator). We call it the “Product Chooser,” a funny name, but one that clearly identifies what it does: making choosing a Drobo as easy as 1-2-3:

1) How many computers will use your Drobo at the same time?

This will help decide on the best way to connect your Drobo, whether you need a direct-attach Drobo (DAS, or Direct-Attach Storage) for photo or video editing, or a networked shared Drobo (NAS or SAN). DAS Drobo models connect via the latest Thunderbolt… (Read more)

To learn more about Drobo for Professionals, register for a Live Demo. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Connected Data and Drobo Enter Merger Discussions

Posted on June 1, 2013 by admin • 0 Comments

As you may have recently heard, Drobo and Connected Data have entered into merger discussions. Currently both companies are involved in a 30-day due diligence process.

Please rest assured that as valued Drobo partners and customers, our relationship with you will remain unchanged and business will continue as usual during the due diligence period.

If you have questions regarding your Drobo product, give us a call at 1 (866) 426 4280. If you are a partner and have questions regarding our partner program, give us a call at 1 (866) 560 6466.

Streaming and Sharing All of Your Stuff with Drobo and Plex

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Mario Blandini • 26 Comments

Drobo Plex App

There is a well-known skit by George Carlin on the topic of “stuff”. My wife does not think it is very funny, but I find it hilarious. Apply the topic to our digital world of possessions, and most people reading this have stuff they want to be able to access from all of their devices. Drobo is a great place to keep all of your digital stuff, protecting it from hard drive failure and expanding as your collection of stuff grows.

Where am I going to stream my stuff? I have a Roku on one of the TVs, two Samsung SmartTVs, plus an iPad, 2 x iPhones, a Samsung Galaxy S3. The MacBook Air and Acer Windows 8 Ultrabook could get in the mix too, I have plenty of stuff to go around. And with practically unlimited expansion on my Drobo, Plex might just be the thing that gets me to consolidate the hundreds of DVDs from my wife’s collection.

The new Plex app for the Drobo 5N is available today through Drobo Dashboard version 2.5.2 or later. Could not be easier to install, like an app from any app store. If you don’t have a Drobo 5N yet, learn more about the joint solution @ drobo.com/plex, were you can find the how-to guide on running Plex with any other Drobos you might have.

To learn more about Drobo for Professionals, register for a Live Demo. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Drobo Gaining Popularity in Video and Filmmaking Industry

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Mario Blandini • 1 Comment

Drobo’s innovative line of data storage devices is finding favor in a huge way with multimedia production studios, video producers and moviemakers alike as they discover the fast, reliable, intuitive, and scalable storage capabilities available with these systems. Over 10,000 registered users of Drobo storage products say they’re involved with the video and film production professions in some capacity, making them the one of the fastest-growing segments of users reaping the many benefits offered by Drobo storage devices. The range of storage solutions used by these professionals runs the gamut, from the Drobo Mini to the 1200i iSCSI.

The professional media and entertainment industry is experiencing a technology wave led by HD video, higher-quality codecs, increased graphics usage, larger digital images, and tapeless acquisition. The result has been an accelerated demand for advanced storage capabilities and astronomical capacities, and Drobo has responded with innovative solutions that include faster, modern connectivity options such as USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt, internal battery backup, and the ability to accommodate SSD flash storage media in addition to traditional HDD devices. These professionals understand the devastating effects data loss would have on their individual businesses, and are leveraging Drobo’s BeyondRAID technology to circumvent drive failures that otherwise would have been catastrophic.

Catherine Miller of HNH Multimedia Productions, LLC—developers of interactive storytelling through CD-ROMs, films, commercials, and websites—says her company has been using Drobo products for over three years in their full-service multimedia production studios. She particularly likes the fact that Drobo products are easy to set up and use. She says she has neither the time nor the desire to become a storage and technology expert, and likes the fact that Drobo products take care of that concern for her, providing peace-of-mind and reliability along the way.

RHED Pixel is a video production company that specializes in high definition video production for public service announcements, documentaries, educational pieces, and other broadcast video. CEO Rich Harrington says his company has been using Drobo since its products have evolved to meet the needs of the film and video industry. Drobo units are deployed as the primary backup, storage, and archive devices for RHED Pixel, handling terabytes of irreplaceable data daily for editing and graphics systems. Harrington says that every computer in the house, including those that are used the field, is connected to a Drobo. They find that the Drobo Mini is particularly valuable as a portable device for field data collection, reliably capturing and holding the data until it is brought back to the studio to be transferred to larger Drobo storage units.

Drobo has been listening and responding to the needs of video and filmmaking professionals, and the result has been widespread adoption of its products within the industry. The modern, high-speed connections, ease of use, scalability, and reliability of Drobo storage solutions has made them a hit with the industry, as proved by the rapid adoption within the profession.

See how the line of innovative Drobo solutions can help you solve your most demanding data storage and protection needs today!

To learn more about Drobo for Business, register for a Live Demo. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Drobo Performance – Free Test-Drive

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Tom Buiocchi • 6 Comments

Drobo Performance

If you’re like me, you like to “test-drive” something before you buy it—and that goes way beyond cars and electronic devices (e.g. wine!).

With Drobo, we’ve found that a “test-drive” makes all the difference in the world—folks get a lot more clarity on how Drobo performance works, how it might be able to fit (or not) for what they are trying to do, and it also helps stimulate questions that people would like answered before they click “buy.” All good reasons to test-drive a Drobo.

Wish we could send you a brand-spanking-new Drobo to test-drive, but that would be a bit cumbersome. So we’ve set up a free virtual test-drive that lets you experience how Drobo performance works, take the controls if you’d like, see performance benchmarks, and ask all the questions you want (our Drobo Geniuses are standing by to answer Drobo-specific questions or whatever other storage stuff you throw at them).

Many of you have already taken advantage of these demos, but others have not checked it out. A free Drobo performance test-drive means lots more info for you. See how it works. See if it works for you. Play “stump the Drobo guy” … whatever helps you. Free, no risk, no commitment, available every day.

Click here to sign up for your test-drive now. I’d love to hear your feedback. Contact me at tom@drobo.com or 408-276-8621.

Thanks!

Tom

To learn more about Drobo for Business, register for a Live Demo. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Drobo | Music Choice Entrusts Its Backup Audio and Video Files to Drobo

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Mario Blandini • 0 Comments

Drobo

For those who want a real-world example of how a major company is using Drobo products in their business, we’d like to introduce you to Music Choice. For the past 18 months, Music Choice has been using the Drobo B1200i as second copy backup for more than 200 TB of audio and video data. Drobo now helps them keep high availability and data production while meeting the growing needs of their business.

Music Choice needed to replace its existing tape and hard drive backup with something more responsive, less complex, and more cost-effective. Their choice was the 12-bay Drobo B1200i loaded with 12 4-terabyte drives apiece in a high-density arrangement. From a business standpoint, the Drobos made the most sense. The Drobos took approximately 30 minutes to get up and running without the aid of a senior network administrator. Once set up, the entire Drobo array is managed by a single interface with minimal support from Music Choice’s IT staff. This results in a low cost-per-terabyte to deploy and support while making the data far more accessible.

The B1200i used by Music Choice is a 12-bay iSCSI SAN storage array built for the SMT IT environment with proven BeyondRAID technology fully integrated. The B1200i also features SSD-accelerated storage and Automated Data-Aware tiering. All this technology results in a storage array with automation and sophistication well above its price point and into the realm of more expensive enterprise solutions. The B1200i “proved strong streaming performance of nearly 300mb/s” according to an independent test by ESG Labs. In addition to second copy backup, the B1200i can also be used for primary storage and virtualization.

For more information, including the official press release, validation reports, reviews of the B1200i and the rest of our business solutions, please go here. Also, please do not hesitate to attend one of Drobo’s Business live demos, and connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+.

Digital Spring Cleaning—and an Offer to Help You Get Started

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Tom Buiocchi • 9 Comments

Drobo CEO Tom Buiocchi

Last week I had breakfast with a very successful technologist here in the Bay Area who had just purchased and deployed a Drobo 5N in his home. He wanted to give me some feedback on the product, share some ideas for future enhancements, and the like.

All in all, it was an excellent interchange; suffice it to say I picked up a few new ideas about what we can do “next.” But I picked up even more important things when I turned the tables and asked him a few things about his “connected home”—what was he using before the Drobo, why did he change, what applications was he using in his “use case,” etc. His answers were very enlightening, a bit frightening, and very encouraging.

Before Drobo, he didn’t use anything to centralize and proactively manage his digital assets. He had a collection of different solutions for his music, his family videos, and his massive photo habit. He did a little backup to a Time Capsule, and a little to the cloud. He still manually inserted DVDs in a device to play them instead of streaming them to his HD TVs. He had been looking at a Drobo for over a year, and had only recently decided to “clean up his digital act” at home because (in his words) “it was spring; I wanted something to organize something other than the garage, and it was becoming downright embarrassing that I didn’t have my media organized and protected.”

Now this is a guy who I thought certainly would have had his digital life perfectly organized and synchronized—and yet, he hadn’t made the move to modern storage and data management in his home, despite his terabytes of valuable information he needed to protect and manage. Time and “other stuff” were his primary inhibitors—and our primary competitors.

So what did I learn? I learned that even the most advanced users of digital media often don’t take the time, or have the recipe, to do what my friend had to do to organize and protect his valuable assets. Heck, for most of us, we’ve done this once in our lives at most, and if it’s the first time, it could be intimidating.

I also learned that we could help a lot more (even he didn’t get it all nailed the first time). So, to that end, if you (either at home or in your business) want some impetus and free assistance to get you going on your “digital spring cleanup,” or perhaps you just need to brush up on “best practices,” give us a call at (866) 895-8177 or attend a Drobo for Professionals Live Demo. We can put you on a Drobo Live with one of our Drobo Solution Architects (“geniuses”) who can help you take that important first step. It’s way better than rearranging the garage again!

Thanks

Tom

To learn more about Drobo for Professionals, register for a Live Demo. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Share Your Drobo Love—Get Cool Drobo Swag!

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Mario Blandini • 0 Comments

Drobo Love

Chances are you already know Drobo. If you don’t, you might want to take a moment to read anyway. We make award-winning data storage devices that include our BeyondRAID technology. Our systems are simple to use, extremely powerful, and flexible. If you agree, we’d love to hear from you. We’re launching “Share Your Drobo Love,” and we need a little help from our avid users. We have a couple great designs for the Drobo Love logo and we can’t quite decide which is best. So, we’ll let you decide.

Drobo Love

The opinions of our users mean a lot to us. Drobo Love is a movement where you let everyone else know how your data storage unit makes you successful at your business, studio, or home. What’s more, if you participate, there’s something in it for you too. Sure, you’ll be helping other users get the most out of their Drobo, and also helping others who don’t yet have their storage organized to help their lives. But there’s an added perk as well. Those who participate and share their story will be rewarded with exclusive swag. You share, swag comes your way… it’s that simple.

Drobo Love

Drobo Love Logo Contest

As we alluded to earlier, Drobo Love isn’t entirely locked down in one aspect. We need your help. We came up with some really awesome Drobo Love designs. They’re so good that we just can’t choose. But to be honest, this isn’t about us; we’re just the subject matter. We’re going to leave it up to you. Click here to go and vote for your favorite design. The one with the most votes will become the new logo. Also, for every 200 votes, we will be giving away a $50 Amazon gift card to one lucky winner! Winners will be announced for every 200 votes, and the winning Drobo Love logo will be announced on May 1, 2013 at 2 p.m. CDT.

Thank you for choosing our products and more importantly for your participation in Drobo Love. Together we’ll make sure others have the pleasure of using the same reliable, powerful, expandable, and simple to use data storage devices you’ve come to rely on. Make sure to cast for vote for the contest here. Visit our Drobo for Business Live Demo, and don’t forget to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google+ to regularly to stay up to date with all things Drobo!

DROBO LOVE TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Sponsor: Drobo

Prizes: Amazon Gift Cards (Retail value: $50) awarded for every 200 votes.

Eligibility: The contest is open to all legal residents of the United States of America 18 years or older. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Employees of Drobo, Splash Media, GeekBeat, and their immediate family members and individuals living in the same household as employees are ineligible. This contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations. By participating in this contest, entrants agree to these official contest rules. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

Contest Period: The contest runs from April 12- May 1, 2013, and the winners will be announced sporadically (i.e., for every 200 votes). The winners will be notified by an announcement on the Drobo Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/Drobo) and by tweets through the Drobo Twitter account (twitter.com/drobo). Winners will then be given seven (7) days to send complete delivery information by email. (Which must include, but may not be limited to, first and last name, mailing address capable of receiving prize from the shipping carrier Drobo so chooses (no P.O. boxes), city, state, and ZIP code.)

Entry: Participants may enter the contest by fully completing the entry form displayed on the Facebook Page Tab. To be eligible to win a prize, participants must complete all fields of the entry form and successfully submit the entry. All complete entries, which contain Name, Company, and Email Address, will be eligible to compete in the Drobo Love Contest. Any attempt by any participant to undermine the legitimate operation of the contest, will void that party’s entry. Entry forms will be ineligible if the entry information is not complete and accurate, at the Sponsor’s sole discretion.

General Considerations: If the Amazon Gift Card cannot be delivered to a winner, due to his or her location, or by any prohibition of the selected prize under state, county or city code or ordinance, then the awarding of the prize shall be null and void. No monetary or other prize award shall be made in lieu of the Sponsor being unable to transfer any prizes. No substitutions, cash equivalents, or transfers of the prize are permitted. All winners are responsible for the payment of all applicable taxes and transfer fees. Entry constitutes permission to use the winner’s name (first name, initial and last name, city, state) on the Sponsor’s websites or otherwise, and in any statements about the contest for publication purposes, without additional compensation.

Privacy: Other than as provided herein, Sponsor will utilize the names, email addresses and/or mailing addresses of entries to notify the participant if he or she is a winner in the contest and to award the prize. Sponsor reserve all rights, in Sponsor’s sole discretion, to use all information for promotional purposes in the future. See Drobo Privacy Policy at http://www.drobo.com/website/privacy-policy.php.

Limitation of Liability: Sponsor is not responsible for printing or typographical errors in any contest-related materials; stolen, lost, late, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, or illegible entries; any use or misuse of the prize; or transactions that are processed late or incorrectly or are lost due to computer or electronic malfunction. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel or modify the contest if fraud or technical failures compromise the integrity of contest as determined by the Sponsor in their sole discretion, or for any other reason, with or without prior written notice.

Disputes: All disputes arising out of the contest shall be resolved only in the federal and state courts of Santa Clara, Calif., USA and all participants waive any rights or objections to the jurisdiction or venue of such courts.

Drobo Video with Cali Lewis

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Mario Blandini • 0 Comments

Drobo Video:
Hi, I’m Cali Lewis and this is Drobo. Drobos come in several shapes and sizes for your business or your home. But they all do exactly the same thing. They give you a simple, scalable and most importantly a safe place to store your data. Let me show you how Drobo can help you. Drobo automates the process of keeping your data safe and protected so you don’t have to worry about it. It’s so easy that these instructions are all you need to operate it.
Other storage products can leave you pulling your hair out. But Drobo is meant to set it and forget it. And they all share a few remarkable features that you won’t find anywhere else. Let ‘s start with the drives; you can use standard 3 1/2 inch hard drives in any Drobo and you don’t need any special tools or trays to insert them. Just pop it in and it locks into place. And removing a drive is just as simple. Drobo will automatically adjust no matter what you do. Because of Drobo’s BeyondRAID technology, you can mix and match hard drives. The size doesn’t matter and neither does the brand. And you can even use SSD’s. The best thing about Drobo is its ease of use. It’s so simple the instructions fit right inside the front cover.
And when you need more info, there’s Drobo dashboard. It lets you view and manage all your Drobos with this visual representation. Whether your Drobos are connected directly to your computer or they’re connected through the network, you’ll be able to see them all. You’ll see their status, and you can configure their options without needing a PhD in data storage. It’s because of this ease of use that we use Drobos for our business. And we can spend our time doing something that makes us money instead of managing storage. As great as Drobo dashboard is, you don’t have to use it. I love that you can know how your Drobo is doing just by the lights on the front. Each of these blue lights along the bottom indicates 10% of Drobo’s capacity. Ten, twenty thirty percent. You get the idea. So you can see how much space you have left at a glance. And along the side you’ll see that each drive has its own indicator light that tells you its status. How healthy it is. Green means everything is healthy and there is plenty of space. Yellow tells me Drobo needs some attention. And red means stop! Drobo needs some love right now!

Chances are at some point you’re going to fill up your existing drives with data. With traditional RAID, upgrading is a pain in the butt. But don’t worry. Upgrading with Drobo is super simple and more affordable because you can pay as you grow. You only add capacity when you need it. When your Drobo is full, you’ll see a yellow or a red light. Putting in a new drive in an available bay gives you instant expansion. Even if your Drobo is already full of drives, just pop out the drive and replace it with a larger drive. You’ll get blinking lights as Drobo automatically adjusts to the change. And guess what? You can keep using Drobo even when changes are in progress. Now when the light is solid green, Drobo is ready for more. What happens if you have a hard drive failure? Unfortunately it’s part of life. But Drobo makes it a non-issue because it’s redundant storage. So when a drive does fail, again, you pop it out and replace it with a new one. And you can continue working even if a hard drive fails. Heck, you can set it up so that even if 2 drives fail, you won’t lose access to your files.

Drobo’s come in a wide range of sizes from the world’s most compact 4 drive units that have thunder bolt connectivity to 12-bay rack mounted storage arrays with multiple gigabyte Ethernet ports. Intelligent SSD acceleration. Ah you gotta love it! If you’re interested in Drobo, the best way to learn which one is right for you is to take a virtual test drive with one of Drobo’s solutions architects. Think of it as an online Drobo Genius Bar and it’s always open. No sales pitches or power points. You just see how it works and get your questions answered. Head on over to drobo.com/live and tell them Cali sent you! Oh and if you get a new Drobo, tweet me @CaliLewis and tell me all about it. Bye for now!

To learn more about Drobo, attend a Drobo for Business Live Demo, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and YouTube.