Drobo DroboPro 32TB User manual

User Guide
www.datarobotics.com

DroboPro and DroboElite
User Guide

Note
EN
Please check the following website for the most up to date
Drobo User Guide.
www.drobo.com/support
DE
Bitte sehen Sie auf der unten aufgeführte webseite nach für
die Drobo Gebrauchsanweisung in Ihrer Sprache.
www.drobo.com/support/intl
ES
Por favor consulte el siguiente sitio de web para localizar el
Drobo guia de usuario en su idioma.
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FR
Veuillez voir le site Web ci-dessous pour le manuel d’utilisateur
de Drobo dans votre langue.
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IT
Si prega di consultare il sito web sotto per la Drobo Guida
utente nella vostre lingua.
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日本語
次のウェブサイトで、Drobo ユーザーガイドの最新更新
最新更新日付をチェックしてください。
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Contents
I. Introduction........................................................................................1
II. Getting started ...................................................................................3
Three easy steps.......................................................................................... 3
Selecting hard drives ................................................................................... 3
Choosing capacity ................................................................................... 4
A note about drive capacity .................................................................... 4
Keeping your product up-to-date................................................................ 4
Best Practices .............................................................................................. 5
III. Setup...................................................................................................6
Install Drobo Dashboard.............................................................................. 6
Inserting drives into DroboPro/DroboElite ................................................. 6
Connect DroboPro to your computer.......................................................... 7
USB 2.0.................................................................................................... 7
FireWire 800............................................................................................ 7
iSCSI......................................................................................................... 8
Connect DroboElite to your computer........................................................ 9
Connect power ............................................................................................ 9
Configurations —iSCSI................................................................................ 9
Creating a volume ................................................................................. 13
Picking a file system and volume size ................................................... 14
VMware and Linux Customers .............................................................. 14
DroboPro/DroboElite Lights ...................................................................... 16
IV. Using Drobo Dashboard with your DroboPro/DroboElite................17
Drobo Dashboard basics............................................................................ 17
The main page....................................................................................... 17
Advanced Controls: Data tab ................................................................ 19
Advanced Controls: Tools tab ............................................................... 20
Additional features ............................................................................... 20
Keeping Drobo Dashboard up-to-date.................................................. 21

Advanced Drobo Dashboard ..................................................................... 22
Volume Management ........................................................................... 22
Setting a CHAP Password (DroboElite only).......................................... 22
Settings –General Tab .......................................................................... 23
Settings –iSCSI Tab ............................................................................... 24
Settings –Admin Tab (DroboElite Only)................................................ 26
V. Tips and Troubleshooting .................................................................27
VI. Index .................................................................................................33
Safety and Warranty................................................................................. i

1
I. Introduction
Thank you for giving another Drobo® storage device a good home! We
at Data Robotics, Inc.™ have been working since 2004 to make
protecting, storing and managing your digital content truly effortless.
Why Drobo?
The Drobo family of products (Drobo, DroboPro™ and DroboElite™)
provides effortless, safe and expandable storage. There are many
different ways to store and protect digital content, but Drobo is the only
fully automatic storage device that performs many data management
tasks without user effort. Here’s what you can expect:
Fully automated data protection and management
Drobo automatically configures itself for data protection so you
don’t have to.
When a drive fails, your data is still safe (and all drives do
eventually fail).
Drobo senses any corrupted data and ensures that you only
access non-corrupt data.
No downtime to add capacity. Just add a drive to an empty Data
Bay, or replace a smaller drive with a larger one regardless of
capacity, speed, or manufacturer.
After a drive is installed into an empty bay, the new drive
capacity is immediately available and protected.
Drobo’s Data Bay indicator lights tell you everything you need to
know!
Infinite expansion
Upgrading capacity is as simple as adding ink to a printer.
Mix ’n match any 3.5” (SATA) hard drives; no worrying about
matching make, model or capacity of Drobo’s existing drives.
Upgrade forever—just replace Drobo’s smallest drive with a
larger capacity drive. No data migration or reconfiguration is
required.
storage technology
What does it mean to go BeyondRAID? Going beyond traditional RAID
means leaving choices between striping and mirroring, limitations on

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expandability, drive sizing, and drive ordering behind. BeyondRAID™
technology is the next generation of storage that brings together safety,
reliability, expandability, efficiency and of course ease-of-use.
BeyondRAID can be adopted without any change in infrastructure,
allowing you to maintain your current file system and operating system–
eliminating the friction costs typically associated with moving to a new
technology platform.
Standard RAID levels are full of compromises. Do you want striping or
mirroring? A two-disk or four-disk RAID set? BeyondRAID is able to solve
these issues because it is built on an advanced virtualization platform. If
you already understand how RAID 0, 1, 5 or 6 operate(s), you
understand the fundamentals of BeyondRAID since BeyondRAID relies
on the same underlying algorithms.
Welcome to the world’s best storage experience.
Who is Data Robotics, Inc.?
Data Robotics, Inc. was formed in 2004 in California’s Silicon Valley with
a vision to take the pain out of storage management. Data Robotics, Inc.
developed the technology inside Drobo for people who “have to”
protect their valuable digital assets, but “hate to” – because it’s
complex and time consuming. For those people, we created Drobo, the
world’s first storage robot. It is a fully automated data storage system
that provides the only truly effortless, safe and expandable storage
solution. Unlike outdated technologies that emerged twenty plus years
ago and the frustrating products on the market today, Drobo is an
industry-changing product line that combines the advanced concepts of
storage virtualization and cybernetics, to take the pain out of storage
management.

3
II. Getting started
Three easy steps
To set up your DroboPro or DroboElite, you will need to do the
following:
1. Install Drobo Dashboard –After installation, launch Drobo
Dashboard and leave it running while you complete the setup.
2. Insert drives –Use any 3.5” SATA drives. Start with at least two
drives to protect your valuable data. If you plan to use dual disk
redundancy, start with at least three drives. (All data on the
drives will be erased.)
3. Connect cables –Connect the DroboPro/DroboElite to your
computer and then connect power. Use the USB connection
during initial configuration to set IP address(es), set passwords
(DroboElite), create volumes, etc. If you are setting up a
DroboElite, then use the iSCSI connection for formatting and
transferring data. (Note: you cannot transfer data using USB on
DroboElite.)
Drobo Dashboard will automatically discover your DroboPro/DroboElite.
Once it does, follow Drobo Dashboard’s onscreen instructions. You are
well on your way to protecting your valuable data.
For more details on any of these steps, please continue to read through
this User Guide and then refer to the appropriate section for specific
information.
Selecting hard drives
All Drobo storage products, including DroboPro and DroboElite, are
unlike typical storage devices. DroboPro and DroboElite make it
extremely easy to increase storage capacity in the future just by
inserting additional drives or replacing existing drives with larger ones.
This means you can buy the storage you need today and then easily
expand later. You can save hundreds of dollars over time.
Your Drobo storage device doesn’t care what manufacturer, capacity or
rotational speed of hard drive you install. It accepts standard 3.5 inch
internal SATA1 or SATA2 (also referred to as SATA/150 or SATA/300)
hard drives. SSD and older IDE or ATA-type drives will not work.

4
Warning! Please note that when adding hard drives to DroboPro/DroboElite,
any pre-existing data on those drives will be erased.
Choosing capacity
The number and capacity of drives determine how much usable
protected storage your DroboPro or DroboElite provides. Take the
guesswork out by using our Capacity Calculator
(www.drobo.com/calculator), a web-based tool which determines the
usable protected capacity, based on any combination of drives. To
calculate the approximate capacity yourself, omit the largest drive and
then add-up the capacity of the remaining drives. If you plan to use dual
disk redundancy, omit the largest two drives. For example (largest
drives are crossed out):
Single Disk (Default) Redundancy
# of Drives
Drive Capacities
Usable Protected Capacity
3
250GB + 250BG + 250GB
=
500GB
4
250GB + 250BG + 250GB + 500GB
=
750GB
4
750GB + 250BG + 250GB + 500GB
=
1000GB
Dual Disk Redundancy
# of
Drives
Drive Capacities
Usable Protected
Capacity
4
250GB + 250BG + 250GB + 500GB
=
500GB
5
750GB + 500BG + 500GB + 500GB + 250GB
=
1250GB
6
750GB + 1TB + 500GB + 500GB + 500GB
=
1500GB
A note about drive capacity
Some years ago, computer manufacturers and hard drive manufacturers
started using different systems for measuring capacity. The net result is
that not all of a drive’s rated capacity is available to your computer. For
example, a 750GB drive will have approximately 700GB worth of
capacity. This discrepancy has nothing to do with Drobo storage devices.
Keeping your product up-to-date
During your initial setup, Drobo Dashboard asks you if you want to
check for updates automatically. We highly recommend you select the
“Yes” option to assure optimal performance of your DroboPro or
DroboElite. This feature enables you to keep both Drobo Dashboard and
your product’s firmware current. Subsequently, you will receive a notice

5
when a newer version is available. You can check for the most current
versions anytime at www.drobo.com/support/updates.
Best Practices
There are a number of things you can do to protect your valuable data.
Using a DroboPro or DroboElite storage product is obviously a major
step. However, there are additional actions you can take to provide
even greater safety for your data. To learn more about this important
topic, please visit our Best Practices site at:
www.drobo.com/support/best_practices.

6
III. Setup
Install Drobo Dashboard
Before setting up your DroboPro or DroboElite, you need to install
Drobo Dashboard on your computer. Drobo Dashboard is used to
format your Drobo storage device if you are connecting it to a Windows
or Mac OS X computer. Also, it will install the Microsoft iSCSI initiator on
older Windows operating systems, such as XP and Windows Server
2003, if the initiator is not already installed. After setup, you can use
Drobo Dashboard to monitor and manage your device(s) and volumes.
Drobo Dashboard is included on the Drobo Resource CD. You can also
download Drobo Dashboard by visiting
www.drobo.com/support/updates.
Insert the Drobo Resource CD that came with DroboPro/DroboElite into
your computer. From the on-screen menu, select Install. After Drobo
Dashboard is installed, it will start automatically. It will display “Waiting
to Connect” until you complete the hardware setup.
Inserting drives into DroboPro/DroboElite
Once you’ve chosen the number of drives and which capacities to
install, all you have to do is remove the face plate by simply pulling it off
and then slide the drives into the Data Bays. It doesn’t matter which
drive goes into which Data Bay. You should note that any pre-existing
data on the drives will be erased. Be sure not to touch any exposed
hard drive circuit boards after unpacking.
First orient the drive
connectors so that the
connectors are pointed
towards the DroboElite and
they are facing the left side of the

7
DroboPro/DroboElite. The top silver colored plate of the drive should be
facing to the right. Open the Drive Lock by pressing it down and slide
the drive into the Data Bay until you feel the connector “mate” at the
rear of the unit. If the connectors seat properly, the Drive Lock will snap
behind the drive, securing it into place.
Warning! Do not place your DroboPro or DroboElite on its side during normal
operation. There is a chance the drives will disconnect if you do this. For
optimal performance and protection of your data we recommend that
DroboPro/DroboElite remain in its normal horizontal position.
Connect DroboPro to your computer
There are several ways to connect DroboPro to your computer. You
should select the fastest connection you have available. Please note
that only one connection type can be used at any given time. The
connections, listed slowest to fastest, are USB 2.0, FireWire 800 and
iSCSI.
USB 2.0
DroboPro gives you the option to use USB 2.0 to connect to your
computer. While not as fast as FireWire 800 or iSCSI, it is found on every
computer made in the past few years.
FireWire 800
FireWire 800 will give you excellent performance with your DroboPro. If
your computer does not have a FireWire 800 port, then please contact
your computer manufacturer for a compatible add-on card. (Make sure
that you select a card that fully supports your computer and operating
system since not all FireWire cards provide optimal performance.) If

8
your computer only has a FireWire 400 connector then you will need to
purchase a FireWire 800 to FireWire 400 cable.
Note: Windows based computers will not get optimal performance with the
standard Microsoft FireWire drivers. Visit our support knowledgebase at
www.drobo.com/support for details on how to optimize performance with
FireWire on Windows (search keywords “FireWire performance”).
iSCSI
iSCSI uses a standard Ethernet cable to give you the best performance
possible with your DroboPro. We recommend directly connecting the
DroboPro’s iSCSI connection to your computer if your computer has two
or more Ethernet ports. (If you don’t have a second Ethernet port and
want to use iSCSI, then you will need to install a standard gigabit
Ethernet add-on card that is compatible with your computer.) One
Ethernet port should be used to connect your computer to your local
network and the other should be used to connect to DroboPro’s iSCSI
port. Directly connecting will insure you achieve the best performance.
You can also connect your DroboPro via iSCSI through a switch, where
one port of the switch is connected to your computer and another port
is connected to the DroboPro’s iSCSI connection. You will need to
manually set an IP address on the DroboPro (see Configurations on page
9). Depending on the amount of traffic using your switch, connecting it
in this manner might impact the performance.

9
Connect DroboElite to your computer
Your DroboElite provides one USB 2.0 connector and two iSCSI
connectors. The USB connector is used for administrative purposes only,
including initial setup. You must use the iSCSI connector(s) for
formatting volumes and data transfers. Using both iSCSI ports will allow
you to get the maximum performance out of your DroboElite. To set up
your DroboElite, you will first connect DroboElite to your computer
using the USB connector. After configuring the iSCSI port(s) for your
network, safely shut down DroboElite, disconnect the USB cable, and
connect your iSCSI cable(s). Note that you must use the iSCSI interface
to format volumes on your DroboElite. You cannot format using the USB
connection. See “Configurations” on page 9 for the setup procedure
that matches your environment.
Connect power
After you have connected DroboPro/DroboElite to your network, simply
connect the power cord to the back of the device and to an AC power
source. Then press the power button located on the back of the
DroboPro/DroboElite. When the device is first turned on, all of the Drive
Lights and Capacity Indicator Lights are illuminated.
Note: As with all electronic equipment, we recommend connecting your
DroboPro/DroboElite to a surge protector or uninterruptible power supply
(UPS), designed for electronics.
Configurations iSCSI
There are three basic configurations you can use to set up iSCSI on your
DroboPro or DroboElite:

10
Configuration 1: DroboPro/DroboElite connected to a switch
that is NOT directly connected to a network
Configuration 2: DroboPro/DroboElite connected to a switch
that is connected to a network
Configuration 3: Direct-connect to a computer
The following apply to all configurations:
Drobo Dashboard is required for iSCSI setup. Please install
Drobo Dashboard with the CD that came with your
DroboPro/DroboElite or from
www.drobo.com/support/updates.
To get the best performance with your iSCSI connection, you
must use a Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000) network card. . A
Fast Ethernet (10/100) network card will provide poor iSCSI
performance. DroboPro has one iSCSI port and DroboElite has
two. Since DroboElite supports jumbo frames, make sure your
Gigabit Ethernet card supports modifying the MTU setting. On
the DroboElite, you can access the MTU setting in Drobo
Dashboard: Advanced Controls -> Tools -> Settings -> iSCSI
A standard Ethernet cable gives you the best iSCSI performance
with your DroboPro/DroboElite. One is included with DroboPro
and two are included in the original DroboElite package.
Ensure your firewall is configured to allow inbound and
outbound network connections for the Drobo Dashboard
application (iSCSI uses port 3260).
Windows XP 64-bit and Windows Server 2003 64-bit computers
should have .NET 2.0 (or later) framework installed in order to
connect to DroboPro/DroboElite.
An iSCSI initiator is required when connecting over Ethernet. On
Windows computers, we use Microsoft’s iSCSI initiator that is
included in Vista, Windows 7, Server 2008 and beyond. (If you
are running earlier versions, Drobo Dashboard will install the
Microsoft iSCSI initiator.) For Macs, we provide our own iSCSI
initiator, installed by the Drobo Dashboard installer. If you are
running Linux, please consult our website,
www.drobo.com/linux for further information. ESX users can
use the iSCSI initiator provided by VMware. For more
information on Linux and ESX please visit the Data Robotics
support site at www.drobo.com/support.

11
If you are using a computer that is running Windows Vista, SP1
(or later) must be installed. Otherwise, Drobo Dashboard cannot
discover DroboPro/DroboElite.
Configuration 1: DroboPro/DroboElite connected to a switch that is
NOT directly connected to a network:
If you have a 1 Gbps switch, you can connect DroboPro or
DroboElite and your designated computer (in other words, the
mount point) to the same switch.
You can connect multiple DroboPro’s or DroboElite’s to the
same switch, provided the Drobo storage devices and your
computer(s) each have unique static IP addresses (see below).
You will need to assign an IP address to the iSCSI port(s) in this
configuration. Use the USB connection to configure the port(s).
Please note that depending on the amount of traffic using your
switch, connecting it in this manner might impact the
performance.
Setup:
1. Once your DroboPro or DroboElite has connected successfully
via the USB connection (including successful discovery by Drobo
Dashboard), click Advanced Controls -> Tools -> Settings ->
iSCSI.
2. Choose a unique IP address for each iSCSI connection and each
DroboPro/DroboElite you are configuring and set any other
configuration settings.
3. After saving your settings, safely shut your DroboPro/DroboElite
down (Advanced Controls -> Tools -> Shutdown) and disconnect
the USB cable.
4. Connect one end of the supplied Ethernet cable to the iSCSI
(Ethernet) port on the back of your DroboPro/DroboElite. Then
connect the other end to the switch. On DroboElite, repeat for
the second iSCSI port if applicable.
5. Plug in the power cord and flip the power toggle switch on the
rear left side of DroboPro/DroboElite.
6. After the boot sequence, Drobo Dashboard should recognize
your Drobo storage device(s) and you can begin the volume
setup and formatting process.