Storage

Spotlight: Data Robotics DroboElite

By · February 24, 2010, 4:06 AM PST

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  • The DroboElite in all its glory.

    The DroboElite is Data Robotics' latest foray into the SMB storage market. The DroboElite provides 16 TB of iSCSI-accessed storage with powerful BeyondRAID technology for less than $6,000.

    The cover of the Drobo Elite is pretty reflective, and it smudges easily.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Five SATA disks

    Data Robotics shipped me two boxes; one contained five SATA disks and the other contained the DroboElite. After unpacking the box with the disks, I arranged them neatly and took a picture. There are three 2 TB disks and two 1 TB disks.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Drive label for a 1 TB disk

    Here's a look at the drive label for one of the 1 TB disks.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Drive label for a 2 TB disk

    Here's a look at the drive label for one of the 2 TB disks.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • SATA disks

    These are definitely SATA disks, as proven by both the labels and the connectors.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Unboxed

    Data Robotics does a very nice job with the packaging, so that first impression is definitely a positive one.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Contents

    Here is the contents of the DroboElite box.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Contents of DroboElite's accessories box

    The accessories box contains cables, documentation, and an installation CD.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Cables and a cord

    Tthe box includes two Ethernet cables, a power cord, and a USB cable.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • DroboPro's cover

    The cover is removable and is held in place on the chassis with magnets.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Eight drive bays

    Under the cover, you'll find eight drive bays.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • DroboElite's product label

    The product label on the bottom of the unit.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Rubber feet

    The bottom of the unit has rubber feet; this helps reduce noise. Data Robotics advises against setting the DroboElite on its side, as this can affect the drive connections to the backplane.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Back of the DroboElite

    The rear of the unit includes a USB port for administration, two iSCSI ports, a power connector, and a power switch.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Closer look at the back

    This is another look at the back of the DroboElite.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Easy to slide drives into place

    Drives slide into place very easily.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Partially inserted drive

    Here's another look at the partially inserted drive.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Five disks are installed.

    Data Robotics shipped me five disks. In this photo, all disks are installed.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Another look

    Another look at the five installed disks.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • DroboElite is on.

    The unit is powered on.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • LEDs show space used

    Notice the 10 blue LEDs along the side of the unit. This picture was taken during the device startup. During normal operation, these LEDs indicate how much space is being used. For instance, two LEDs lit = 20% of space is being used.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Starting up

    This is a front shot of the device starting up.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Another look at the front

    Another front shot of the DroboElite.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • LEDs come on when drives are initialized.

    Once fully initialized, the LEDs under each drive come on.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Dashboard: Disk usage

    The DroboElite dashboard shows current disk usage.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Dashboard: Size of disks

    The dashboard also shows you the size of the disks in each chassis slot.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

  • Administering the DroboElite

    The dashboard includes a lot of other capabilities and is the primary location from which the DroboElite is administered.

    Photo credit: Scott Lowe

    For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.

The DroboElite in all its glory.

The DroboElite is Data Robotics' latest foray into the SMB storage market. The DroboElite provides 16 TB of iSCSI-accessed storage with powerful BeyondRAID technology for less than $6,000.

The cover of the Drobo Elite is pretty reflective, and it smudges easily.

Photo credit: Scott Lowe

For a complete review of the DroboElite, check out TechRepublic's Servers and Storage blog.
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