Drobo vs Buffalo Drivestation (quad or duo)

[claw999]

Hey guys,

I am trying to decide which one will suit my needs more. I want to use it in JBOD mode and should be able to replace the drives or add storage space with any Seagate Barracuda Internal or Samsung or Hitachi drive.

I am not going to be using RAID because I cannot afford to have 2 drives storing one copy of my data.

If one of the drives inside my storage unit is full in JBOD mode I need to be able to take it out, add an empty hard drive and just continue using the unit.

If I need the data on the drive that I replaced, I should simply be able to put it back in and take the data I want and take it out again (Basically it needs to be hot swap).

The reason I want this is because I feel it is better than stacking normal external usb 3.0 hard drives with power.

Please tell me which USB 3.0 Multi drive system of what I mentioned above or from other good that will meet my needs?

 

[chesteracorgi]

What is the time frame on your decision? I expect to be reviewing a duo drive station from Seagate (2X 2 TB) this week and it prospectively meets with your requirements.

I have had to research the SOHO NAS offerings and see that it is a market niche that is heating up, particularly with entries from Seagate and WD.

If you have the time to wait I may be able to provide you with some incite into things you should look at. BTW, SOHO NAS is very app/usage oriented. So if you have targeted uses it makes it easier to give better info.

From what you describe it looks like you should stay away from pooling the disks because if you create a pool you cannot bail out a single HD and not destroy the pooled storage. If you need to hot swap drives you need to maintain the integrity on each individual drive of the data it holds (and the technical term JBOD implies pooling storage). Taking a single drive out of a JBOD destroys integrity.

 

[claw999]

I am actually planning to do it within the next year, I just wanted to get an idea.

So wait JBOD does not mean Each drive running on their own? I basically want something like a Server just for hard disks ( I think its called a SAN). I to be able to access it exactly like if I was keeping multiple hard disks on my Desktop; no raid, I can just remove a secondary drive if I want etc., no downtime.

 

[chesteracorgi]

There are a number of NAS solutions. There are basically two sorts: those with some sort of processor and those without a processor. Either type will allow access from other compuiters if they have accass privileges. I suggest a plain NAS setup.

 

[claw999]

Alright, so basically I should buy something like my book live duo or and activate drive spanning or when you say plain nas setup are you suggesting single disk systems like the buffalo linkstation pro, linkstation live or wd my book live?