Data Robotics launches Drobo Elite and Drobo S
Data Robotics, the company behind the Drobo range of 'self-managing, self-healing storage solutions' for small businesses and creative professionals, has launched two new additions to its product line — one aimed at each of its target markets.
Drobo Elite For SMEs looking to implement an iSCSI SAN, the 8-drive Drobo Elite extends the functionality of the Editors' Choice-winning Drobo Pro to include multi-host support for consolidating storage across several servers (up to 16). Unlike the Drobo Pro, which has one Gigabit Ethernet port (plus FireWire 800 and USB 2.0), the Elite has two GbE ports for extra performance — up to 50 percent according to Data Robotics — and redundancy. As on the Pro, Data Robotics' BeyondRAID technology supports dual-disk (RAID 6-style) redundancy, but the Elite also supports up to 255 Smart Volumes compared to the Pro's 16. Smart Volumes are virtual (16TB) volumes to which BeyondRAID assigns — and reclaims — data blocks as required.
Drobo Elite: 8 drives, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, multi-host support.
The Drobo Elite costs from £2,179 (ex. VAT) and will be available from selected direct marketers, resellers and integrators.
Drobo S Aimed primarily at creative professionals requiring fast direct-attached storage on the desktop, the new Drobo S is a step up from the original Drobo product. The headline feature on the Drobo S is the addition of an eSATA port for a 50 percent claimed performance improvement over FireWire 800. The Drobo S also accommodates five drives compared to the Drobo's four, giving a maximum physical capacity of 10TB with today's 2TB drives. Dual drive redundancy is now supported for extra data protection, along with up to 15 Smart Volumes.
Drobo S: 5 drives; eSATA, FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 ports; dual-disk redundancy support
The Drobo S costs from £509 (ex. VAT) and will be available from online retailers and direct marketers.
Here's how Data Robotics' product line-up now looks:
Recent Data Robotics developments include certification for VMware virtual machines to operate on the Drobo Pro, the raising of $10 million in a fifth round of venture capital funding and the launch of a European online store.