Long-time readers of my blog know of my love for Drobo, but the time has come to say goodbye. My old Drobos (and Iomega ix-4) are showing their age and I decided to go in a different direction: I'm building a FreeNAS server. In this article I'll talk about my thinking behind this move; later posts will talk in more detail about the hardware and software setup. Bulk Home … [Read more...] about Hello FreeNAS! Goodbye Drobo and Iomega…
Synology
SMB Arrays: Drive Carriers Or Not?
One reason I decided to work with the folks at DCIG to collect data for their Small Business Storage Array Buyers' Guide was to learn more about the various products in the space. One difference I noted in these small arrays, which usually hold 4 to 8 drives, is their use of hard disk drive carriers or sleds. There are pros and cons to both approaches, but I was pleased to see … [Read more...] about SMB Arrays: Drive Carriers Or Not?
Drobo Adding 4K Drive Support – What About Everyone Else?
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the new generation of hard disk drives that use 4K sectors rather than the historic 512 byte size. As I noted in that piece, although PC and Mac users with recent OS versions had nothing to fear from these, embedded devices like the TiVo and Drobo I use and love might not be compatible. I tried reaching out to these vendors, but only one has … [Read more...] about Drobo Adding 4K Drive Support – What About Everyone Else?