On Wed, May 22, 2013 at 2:33 PM, Merrill Oveson <[email protected]> wrote:
> Pluggers:
>
> Anybody have any experience using Drobo?
>
> I need a backup solution.
> (Someone creates a file, works on it for three days, then accidentally
> deletes it. Right now I only have a Disaster Recovery Solution.)
>
> I went to an ExaGrid presentation. The entry cost is $12,000!
>
> Essentially, ExaGrid provides a NAS box that data gets copied to with a
> couple of fancy features.
>
> I'd like to copy that same idea with a Drobo box and a couple of 4 TB HD
> for well under $2000.
>
> Thoughts? Specifically, anybody messed with a Drobo?
It seems to me the main selling point of the Drobo vs. other small NAS
boxes is the proprietary RAID system they use to allow more flexible
configurations than standard RAID models. Since your data is
presumably backed up elsewhere already (this is what I assume you mean
by 'Disaster Recovery Solution') you won't be completely up a creek if
a Drobo fails on you, but just be sure that you really need the
benefits of their proprietary storage format more than a standard
solution.
The ExaGrid package seems more about backup software and support than
it is about the actual storage mechanism; if you're going to roll your
own backup software, why not roll your own storage box as well? A NAS
box like Drobo is primarily an underpowered CPU with a bunch of SATA
ports and special software. For well under $2000 you could buy a
server chassis with a few drive bays and a regular PC/server
motherboard and run FreeNAS or something like it, and get a
higher-performance NAS for less money.
Anyway, that's just the 'target' part of the backup solution. Getting
the backup/recovery software deployed seems like a much bigger and
more difficult part of the problem to me, though I'm pretty far
removed from my sysadmin days now. I mean, there are some free
solutions for Linux and Windows that I've used for doing the kind of
backup you're discussing, but I haven't taken the time to evaluate
alternatives in much depth at all. I'm sure there are other people on
the list with a lot more knowledge about it who could help with more
specific questions in that area.
--Levi
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