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Drobo
Company and brand of external storage devices

Drobo was a manufacturer of a series of external storage devices for computers, including DAS, SAN, and NAS appliances. Their main product was also known as Drobo. Between 2005 and 2011, the company was known as Data Robotics.

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History

Data Robotics was founded in San Jose, California, in 2005. The company changed its name to Drobo in 2011 since the familiarity with the Drobo name (which had only been the name of their product line until then) far exceeded the Data Robotics name.1 Drobo, Inc. merged with Connected Data, Inc. in June 2013, with the new company taking the Connected Data name. In May 2015, the storage appliance business was spun-off as Drobo, Inc. and acquired by an investment group composed of seasoned tech executives2 Drobo was later acquired by StorCentric in August, 2018.3

All Drobo products had been out of stock or severely inventory constrained in both the Drobo Store and retail channels since the beginning of 2020. Drobo initially blamed this on supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.4 In November, 2021, Drobo stated that more devices would be available in "the next few months".5 In June 2022, StorCentric filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.6 After failing to find a buyer or reorganize the company, it shifted to Chapter 7 bankruptcy in April 2023.7

From the Drobo website: As of January 27th, 2023, Drobo support and products are no longer available. Drobo support has transitioned to a self-service model. The knowledge base, documentation repository, and legacy documentation library are still accessible for your support needs. We thank you for being a Drobo customer and entrusting us with your data.

As of February 8, 2024, the Drobo website at www.drobo.com is no longer accessible.

Products

Overview

Drobo devices can house up to four, five, eight, or twelve 3.5" or 2.5" Serial ATA or Serial Attached SCSI hard disk drives and connect with a computer or network via USB 2.0, USB 3.0, FireWire 800, eSATA, Gigabit Ethernet or Thunderbolt. Drobo devices are primarily designed to allow installation and removal of hard disk drives without requiring manual data migration, for increasing storage capacity of the unit without downtime, and for data protection against drive failure.

Consumer models

Drobo (1st)Drobo (2nd)Drobo (3rd)Drobo 5CDrobo SDrobo S (2nd)Drobo 5DDrobo 5DtDrobo 5D3Drobo 8DDrobo FSDrobo 5NDrobo 5N2Drobo Mini
Model NumberDR04DD10DR04DD14DDR3A21DDR4A21DRDR3A21DRDR4A21DRDR5A21DRDR5A21-TDRDR6A21DRDR7A21DRDS2A21DRDS4A21DRDS5A21DR-Mini-1P11
Release Date5 June 20078 July 200828 May 20144 October 201623 November 200916 November 20102 November 201221 June 201627 June 201713 November 20186 April 201013 December 201221 March 201726 October 2012
TypeDASDASDASDASDASDASDASDASDASDASNASNASNASDAS
Drive Bays4445555+1*5+1**5+1*8+1***55+1*5+1*4+1*
RedundancySingle driveSingle driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual drive
HostsSingleSingleSingleSingleSingleSingleSingleSingleSingleSingleUp to 10 usersSingle
Data-Aware TieringNoNoNoNoNoNoYesYesYesYesNoYesYesYes
USB2.02.03.03.0 (Type C)2.03.03.03.03.0 (Type C)NoNoNoNo3.0
FireWire 800NoYesNoNoYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Gigabit EthernetNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo1x (AFP and CIFS/SMB)1x (AFP and CIFS/SMB)2x (independent, bonded, or failover links)No
eSATANoNoNoNoYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
ThunderboltNoNoNoNoNoNo1.02.03.03.0NoNoNo1.0
Max Storage84TB16TB64TB64TB16TB64TB64TB64TB128TB16TB64TB64TB64TB
Max Volume Size92TB16TB64TB64TB16TB64TB64TB64TB256TB16TB64TB64TB64TB
Largest size drive104TB12TB14TB4TB14TB14TB14TB14TB4TB14TB18TB1112TB
* Plus one mSATA SSD slot for Data-Aware Tiering12 **Plus one 128 GB mSATA SSD card for Data-Aware Tiering13 ***Plus one 2.5" SATA SSD bay for Data-Aware Tiering

Business models

DroboProDroboPro FSB800fsB810nDroboEliteB800iB810iB1200i
Model NumberDRPR1A21DRDS3A21DR-B800FS-4A21DR-B810N-5A21DREL1A21DR-B800I-2A21DR-B810I-3A21DRB1200I1A21
Release Date7 April 20095 October 20108 February 201125 October 201523 November 20098 February 201123 February 20168 February 2011
End of Support1414 December 201430 May 201219 September 2016N/A30 May 201219 September 2016N/A7 August 2019
TypeDASNASNASNASSANSANSANSAN
Drive Bays888888812
RedundancySingle or dual driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual driveSingle or dual drive
HostsSingleUp to 25 usersUp to 100 usersUp to 100 usersUp to 16Up to 8Up to 24
Data-Aware TieringNoNoNoYesNoNoYesYes
USB2.0NoNoNo2.0, Admin only2.0, Admin onlyNoNo
FireWire 800YesNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Gigabit Ethernet1x (iSCSI)2x (AFP and CIFS/SMB)2x (AFP and CIFS/SMB)2x (AFP and CIFS/SMB)2x (iSCSI)2x (iSCSI)2x (iSCSI) and 1x (Management)3x (iSCSI) and 1x (Management)
Max Storage1532TB32TB32TB64TB32TB32TB64TB128TB
Max Volume Size1616TB16TB16TB64TB16TB16TB64TB64TB
Largest Size Drive174TB4TB4TB14TB4TB4TB14TB8TB (SATA) 6TB (SAS)

References

  1. Owens, Jeremy (2011-07-21). "Data Robotics officially changes name, moves to San Jose". MercuryNews.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-09-10. http://www.mercurynews.com/business-headlines/ci_18508466 ↩

  2. "Drobo Acquired by Investment Group Comprised of Seasoned Tech Executives". drobo.com (Press release). Santa Clara, California: Drobo. May 20, 2015. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2018. http://www.drobo.com/news/press-releases/drobo-acquired-by-investment-group-comprised-of-seasoned-tech-executives/ ↩

  3. "StorCentric to Acquire Drobo and Nexsan". storcentric.com (Press release). 2018-08-21. Archived from the original on 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2019-05-18. https://storcentric.com/storcentric-to-acquire-drobo-and-nexsan/ ↩

  4. @Drobo (February 19, 2020). "The Coronoavirus outbreak in China ..." (Tweet) – via Twitter. https://x.com/Drobo/status/1230250784907984897 ↩

  5. @Drobo (November 29, 2021). "We are expecting a restock of 5N2's and 5D3's to our US store in the next few months!" (Tweet) – via Twitter. https://x.com/Drobo/status/1465384649241227271 ↩

  6. Gallagher, William (2022-07-06). "Storage firm Drobo has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy". AppleInsider. Retrieved 2023-06-12. https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/07/06/storage-firm-drobo-has-filed-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy ↩

  7. Hilliard, Wesley (May 15, 2023). "Drobo parent company StorCentric shifts to Chapter 7 bankruptcy". Apple Insider. Retrieved May 15, 2023. https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/05/15/drobo-parent-company-storcentric-shifts-to-chapter-7-bankruptcy ↩

  8. "Maximum Volume Size and Largest Size Drive". Drobo. Data Robotics. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20220707113744/https://myproducts.drobo.com/retrieve/s3/knowledge/AA/AA-01124.html ↩

  9. "Maximum Volume Size and Largest Size Drive". Drobo. Data Robotics. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20220707113744/https://myproducts.drobo.com/retrieve/s3/knowledge/AA/AA-01124.html ↩

  10. "Maximum Volume Size and Largest Size Drive". Drobo. Data Robotics. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20220707113744/https://myproducts.drobo.com/retrieve/s3/knowledge/AA/AA-01124.html ↩

  11. "Capacity Calculator". Drobo. Retrieved 2022-11-27. https://www.drobo.com/storage-products/capacity-calculator/ ↩

  12. "Drobo Mini". drobo.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2015-09-10. http://www.drobo.com/storage-products/mini/ ↩

  13. Bolander, Jane (2016-06-21). "Drobo Announces the Drobo 5D Turbo, the Only 5 Bay DAS With Thunderbolt™ 2 and USB 3.0 for Power Users". drobo.com (Press release). Archived from the original on 2016-11-27. Retrieved 2016-11-27. http://www.drobo.com/news/press-releases/drobo-announces-the-drobo-5d-turbo-the-only-5-bay-das-with-thunderbolt-2-and-usb-3-0-for-power-users/ ↩

  14. "End of Life Announcement". Drobo. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019. https://myproducts.drobo.com/retrieve/s3/knowledge/AA/AA-01378.html ↩

  15. "Maximum Volume Size and Largest Size Drive". Drobo. Data Robotics. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20220707113744/https://myproducts.drobo.com/retrieve/s3/knowledge/AA/AA-01124.html ↩

  16. "Maximum Volume Size and Largest Size Drive". Drobo. Data Robotics. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20220707113744/https://myproducts.drobo.com/retrieve/s3/knowledge/AA/AA-01124.html ↩

  17. "Maximum Volume Size and Largest Size Drive". Drobo. Data Robotics. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20220707113744/https://myproducts.drobo.com/retrieve/s3/knowledge/AA/AA-01124.html ↩