Two New Drobos For Your Storage Pleasure Data Robotics Annouces Two New Drobo Models

For those out of the know, Drobos are data storage devices, that feature
multiple hard drive bays and allow you toย hot swapย drives on the fly
and features extensive automated dataย redundancyย backup features.
They've been extremely popular, despite mild critism about the transfer
speeds and the lack of an Ethernet port (stopping you from using one as
a self-contained NAS unit). Today, Drobo manufacture Data Robotics
unveiled two new Drobo models, both serving different niches.
The first new Drobo is the high-end business DroboElite. The DroboElite
has 8 hard drive bays, and with only 2 Ethernet connections, which
pretty much orients it for the enterprise marketplace. The DroboElite
can supportย untoย 16 different hosts using data off of it with 255
different volumes onboard.
It's a pretty impressive piece of computer hardware, but with the lack
of a USB or Firewire port, and the hefty price tag of $3,500, that makes
it clear that this one is for the Enterprise marketplaces.
The Drobo S is the new consumer-based model. Data Robotics addressed one
of the key complaints with the original Drobo by improving the speed of
the unit in the back end (with Engadget reporting 20 to 25% performance
improvement). Where theย originalย Drobo had 4 HDD bays, the new Drobo S
adds a fifth, which allows for more dataย redundancyย optionsย when
backing up your files on the Drobo. Like the first Drobo, the Drobo S
features a USB and Firewire connection.
The smaller Drobo S will retail for $800. Drobos aren't cheap, but they
are fairly impressive for what they do. If you only need 4 hard drive
bays, theย originalย Drobo may be enough for you at only $400. Data
Robitics also has various deals if you order a Drobo bundled with hard
drives from them.