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Will Drobo work if I hop on my left foot and chew gum
whilst whistling the Star-Spangled Banner? |
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| Answers to your ten most frequently asked pre-sales questions. |
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Q: Does Drobo use RAID 5 or 1?
A: Drobo’s BeyondRAID™ technology uses the same basic methodologies as RAID 5 and 1, namely striping and mirroring, to achieve data protection but unlike RAID it does not require complex administration, matched drive sizes, lengthy upgrade times, specific drive ordering, or any of the other problems typically associated with RAID. For a more detailed explanation please see BeyondRAID. |
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Q: Can I take disk my disks out of my first generation Drobo with USB 2.0 and put them in my second generation Drobo with FireWire & USB?
 A: Absolutely! Simply put your Drobo into Standby and then take all of the disks out at once and move them over to the new Drobo. That’s it! Tip: You should make sure you have the latest firmware on both devices before moving your set of disks for the best performance and compatibility. |
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Q: What is Drobo Dashboard and do I need it?
A: Drobo Dashboard is an optional software program that comes with Drobo. You don’t have to install Drobo Dashboard to use Drobo. However, Drobo Dashboard is recommended as it gives access to advanced functionality such as email alerts and is generally a useful utility that will help you understand details like precisely how much free capacity you have remaining and what Drobo is doing. |
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 Q: Can I take one disk out of Drobo and have it readable by an external drive enclosure?
A: Unfortunately this is not possible with Drobo or any storage technologies that writes data safely across multiple disks. In order for a storage array to efficiently utilize hard drive capacities and ensure data safety, data must be written using algorithms that place data on your disk differently than when you are using just a single drive or just a bunch of drives (JBOD).
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Q: What happens if my Drobo breaks? Can I put the hard drives in another Drobo?
A: Yes, in the unlikely event your Drobo breaks you can put your disk set in another Drobo! Drobo disk sets are swappable between Drobos. Data Robotics recommends having the same firmware on the destination Drobo as the original. |
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Q: How much space will I get when I put my hard drives into Drobo?
A: Drobo is able to utilize different size hard drives in a very efficient way, however, some disk space must be reserved for keeping your data safe. As a rule of thumb, your free, protected capacity on Drobo is equivalent to the total sum of your hard drive capacity minus the size of the largest drive. A relatively small amount of capacity beyond that is also used by the file system you’ve chosen and Drobo. Please see the Drobolator storage calculator for more info. |
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 Q: Will Drobo work with Time Machine, EMC Retrospect, SuperDuper! or other such backup software? What about utilities like Disk Utility or Disk Warrior?
A: Absolutely. Drobo will work with all your favorite backup software, utilities, and tools.
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Q: Can I put disks with data already on them into Drobo?
A: All data on all disks inserted into Drobo will be erased. Only put drives into Drobo that are either blank or are safe to erase (i.e. you have copied the data off of them already). |
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 Q: Can I share Drobo over the network?
A: Absolutely. DroboShare was created specifically to allow you to share your Drobo over thenetwork. Additionally, Drobo can be shared by connecting it to a Mac or PC and turning “sharing”on or by connecting it to certain routers that accept external storage such as the Time Capsule or Airport Extreme.
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Time Machine
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