Features:

  • Highly scalable network storage array. 64TB filesystem support
  • Gigabit Ethernet connectivity x2. Ethernet port bonding. Hardware Features : Carrier-less Drive Bays, Power Fail Protection.
  • Holds up to 5x 3.5” SATA HDDs. Optional mSATA SSD boosts performance. Expandable by adding drives or hot-swapping drives with larger ones. *Units with hard drives include Seagate IronWolf HDDs
  • Award-winning Beyond RAID automated data protection. DroboDR disaster recovery support, and internal battery backup
  • Supports myDrobo Platform, DroboAccess encrypted-end-to-end remote access, and DroboPix allowing secure and automatic uploads of mobile photos and videos. DroboApps support, including ElephantDrive, Resilio Sync, Koken, Plex, WordPress and more
Working great for me.

Perfect. It works exactly as advertised and I have had no problems at all. The dashboard took me a day or two to figure out but it wasn't the device at all, just me being slow/lazy on the uptake. I moved it recently to a prominent spot on my desk as I like the look of it and this way can track it's use a bit better. I throw a lot of movie production at it [FCPX] [Motion5] and it consistently holds the information where I expect it. I don't know what else one could expect from a large storage device. I do not hear the fan but my ears have been exposed to motorcycles and jets but my family says it's quiet, sometimes barely noticeable. It does all I ask it to do reliably thus far.

A Thorough Review.

Ive been researching a NAS for quite a while and I finally decided to give Drobo a try. Synology was a close contender (I can't help but think of Michael Scott as I write that, true Office fans know why). I had an old LG NAS before, which was slow, and prone to connection issues. In any case it ended up dying and would not boot. Enter Drobo: Pros: - Pretty device, aesthetics is definitely a priority at Drobo. - Very fast if using all gigabit ethernet. A rough estimate of the transfer speed was approx 105 MB/s Read and Write using a single direct link via gigabit ethernet port to my computer. In theory this could be even higher if utilizing both ports in bonded mode, however I don't have the capability to max out both ports at this time. - MacOS has not had any issues connecting the Drobo, so far smooth sailing. - Drobo Dashboard works well, and setup is easy (almost too easy if you're a techie) - All of the status, capacity, Drobo Apps, basic settings are easily accessible - Recognizes the Drobo very quickly if you use a manual IP address, which really is proper setup for a server (this part is not for novices). -DroboAccess works well for remote access. Recognize that it will be slow when transferring files over the internet, and it probably depends on your ISPs uplink speed more than the actual Drobo. Cons - Its surprisingly loud. It is only a hum (almost a droning noise) but make no mistake; its present. - Even my wife said "Oh, thats Drobo! I thought there was a truck idling outside". Not lying, this actually happened, and yes it sounds like that. -The noise is also for sure from the fan and not the hard drives, and the fan runs 24/7. All 3 HDs together are also quieter than the fan. Overall a great device that is very reliable at this point and I do recommend it. Although I think that the fan issue is annoying and should have been addressed, it is not a deal breaker. The speed is great. If you have issues with speed, before crying hopelessly, you should verify that you do have gigabit ethernet on your computer and your router. If using wireless it will connect at the speed of your wireless connection (usually slow).

love (after a bumpy start)

Tried to reuse two HGST UltraStar drives, which drobo declared as failed. Frustrated, messed around with it for hours until I finally declaring defeat and starting the return process, boxed everything up again. Reached out to drobo on twitter as last ditch effort, CTO replied, said they may be in the process of failing, which is why device was rejecting them, will be following up with diagnostics logs to see what exactly is up with them. Went to Fry's since I needed them same day and bought 3 new Toshiba N300 6TB drives, pulled Drobo back out of its box, and everything came up right away, it's been a dream to use so far. Put it through its paces. Also installed a Samsung EVO 850 mSATA drive for accelerator. I wanted a NAS that I didn't need to babysit, that not just I but anyone in this family could operate, and which kept all our stuff safe. This does that. I've wanted one for years and very happy now. No more data loss anxiety!

Disk pack from failed Drobo FS lives again in my new Drobo 5N2!

I've had a Drobo FS for several years. It failed recently. Since I had been thinking of upgrading it for some time now, that pushed me to buy the 5N2. When the new unit arrived, I updated the firmware in the empty 5N2 then took the five drives from the old unit and plugged them into the new unit. I expect that there would be cases that would not be as easy as mine, but I'm quite happy with Drobo's quality, utility, and ease of use.

Quite a nice device, considering the price

Got this as NAS for my small home office; the setup was great, although the scope is more for people that are using it from static devices. I sometimes work away from home, so when I want to access this device via VPN, I have hard time. But if your network is wired and the devices are always available, you mount the drive(s) on your OS as network storage and off you go. Speed is great, quality seems fine; although the plastic feel a bit cheap; and the performacnes are great. I would probably find something cheaper, although I am happy with it.

The most simple NAS storage that works for the entire house.

This is my second Drobo. I had the Drobo FS and then this one. I just love the simplicity. The speeds are very good. ( I have router that can pair dual gigabit ethernet.) Pros: Works just right out of box. Love the mobile transfer. Cons: Expensive. But then you get what you pay for.

Replacement for 5D

I LOVE that Drobos allow you to use drives of different sizes, and they work good. I got this to replace a 5D (USB, not network) Drobo which has had issues since day 1. I tried tech support, and they were no help, wasting three days with software questions for something that was, is, and always has been a hardware issue. (Sigh) This one seems fine though. The one thing I have always disliked about Drobos is that they do not report their actual size to Windows, so you can never get an accurate gauge on how full they are. You have to go into the Drobo Dashboard for that info. (They always report themselves as 64TB drives, so even when full, the Windows bar-gauge looks mostly empty). See photo to see what that means.

Just amazing...

For us this is overkill way beyond our needs, but for some would be just what they need. We could rip all our CDs and put them on this along with the movie DVDs. Their customer service seems to be at an add on cost although they did with good humor help me get it set up and running. Beautiful visual design and incredible technical design. Would recommend thoughtfulness about the size drives depending on needs

I love it, its a great product

I love it, its a great product, we however needed iSCSI and this is NAS only, so I had to lose all of the features that we have had in order to do the iSCSI B810i Model. I miss this device, and would love to have another one later, iSCSI was more important to me.

Best NAS Storage Solution

I've used Drobo storage devices for the last seven years. My oldest 5-bay unit has issues starting up - drive 5 is reported as missing despite never being physically removed - but I've never lost data and after removing and re-installing the drive it is currently running fine. I bought this as a replacement for the older one. I don't take chances with my data. The Drobo 5N2 has dual LAN connections that may be bridged together to provide very fast access, both read and write. This is much faster than the Drobo FS units I have been using. I am very happy with Drobo despite having a proprietary file system. I just can't think of a better storage solution for data than one of these. Drobo gives you the option of single or dual drive redundancy (protection against one or two drive failures at once). I keep a spare drive for each device and choose single drive redundancy to maximize storage. Support for these devices lasts only as long as the warranty. After that, Drobo offers no customer support without purchasing additional coverage. With their online knowledge base and forum I have had no use for their customer service. I've never had a failed device requiring warranty service so I cannot speak to that. Over the years I've read about people with bad experiences with Drobo - units fail and people believe they've lost their data. In most cases this is simply not true. It's actually difficult to lose data through normal use of these devices. The beauty of these units is their compatibility with similar models. Here's how data protection works with hardware failures: If a drive fails, remove it and install a new drive of the same or higher capacity. Problem solved. If the device fails, it's time to purchase a new device. If it's under warranty Drobo will replace it for you. If not, purchase a device of the same drive capacity - check their website for complete compatibility list. Start the new device empty of drives and perform whatever updates are available. Shut it down. Remove all drives from the failed device and place them in the new device in the same position and order as they were in the old device. By doing this you preserve your data. Start the new device. Problem solved. There is really no reason data should be at risk with one of these devices.

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