droboshare, network attached companion for drobo

Rating:
Date: 2008-07-05
Too slow for a network drive
The data transfer over the network is slow that it does not meet the standard of today's network drive. You probably won't notice it if you copy a file or two. But if you try to copy large files (over gigabyte), you may want come back in a few hours. Trust me, I have other network drives at home in comparison to the Droboshare. In addition, it's overprice for something that doesn't perform.

Rating:
Date: 2008-05-28
Nice but too slow
This is a neat product, much like the original Drobo device in that is very easy to setup and use.

The big problem, however, is that it is very slow. I expected some added latency with this device but I have to say that it is much more significant than I was hoping. The device goes into a sleep mode after a period of inactivity, so waking it up takes some added time, 3 or 4 seconds maybe. But even after it is spun up, it is still quiet slow, particularly when I am moving files around or flipping through photos. This is the first personal home NAS device I've used so maybe this amount of slowness is typical with these things.

The convenience of being able to access my Drobo easily from any computer in the house is worth it to me and it integrates very nicely with my Drobo, so I am keeping it.

Rating:
Date: 2008-05-23
Droboshare
EXCELLENT product, and installation was essentially automatic when adding to my iMac and existing Drobo (LOVE DROBO). But MAC users take note - I didn't research this carefully prior to purchase. My main usage of Drobo is backup using Time Machine. When Drobo is installed on my network via Droboshare, Time Machine DOES NOT recognize it, and it CANNOT be utilized for backup with Time Machine. I am very disappointed, but Apple does not support this (I wish I knew why). Awesome product for network storage, but still waiting for the ability to use it like I intended. (Note - entirely my own over-sight - the Drobo web-site clearly states it cannot be used with Time Machine).

Rating:
Date: 2008-05-18
the worst /most expensive network card for the $
I generally do not leave reviews, but had to for this product.

I am Trying DROBO as NAS product for my home (amongst many others, nto to be mentioned here). While I have no problems with Drobo, it is great for what it is and requires no IT expertise, Droboshare on the other hand is a BAD and overpriced external USB network card. This product looks to be slapped on top, just to add network functionality. It really needs to be integrated and FREE.. here is why:

While hooking this to my gigabit switched network the Droboshare looks to have connected at 1GBPS, so I am expecting corresponding transfer speeds.

My first test has been to play a 1.4 Gig AVI file located on the DROBO. I wa svery surprised when the video playback came back choppy. Then trying to transfer this same file, it took 15 MINUTES !! or close to 1 Megabyte per second, or about 300 Times slower then the Gigabit speed that it is supposed to deliver !!!

Now, if you store your documents on Drobo, this may be ok, but for VIDEO or even MUSIC, this is unacceptably slow.

Now, some of you will say that my computer must be screwed up (BTW, this was tested on a MAC and 2 PC's). Other then this, I may only say that I a m a network engeneer with over 10 years experience..

here is my 2 cents.. if you can wait untill DROBO 2.0, I am sure this issue will be fixed with an intergrated NIC. Otherwise stick to the USB cable.. or even try a cheap USB NIC by linksys/dlink. (~50) It just can not be any workse then this.. and the price $$$.. NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE.

Rating:
Date: 2008-04-25
Perfect Drobo companion.
Works great. Shut your Drobo down (an important step), connect the Droboshare, plug it into your router. Use the Drobo Dashboard to put the Droboshare in your workgroup and away you go, NAS Drobo.

List Price: $39.99
Lowest Price: $19.95

New Items Remaining: 24

Lowest Price: $7.35

New Items Remaining: 1

List Price: $99.99
Lowest Price: $77.38

New Items Remaining: 9

List Price: $49.99
Lowest Price: $36.59

New Items Remaining: 17

List Price: $169.95
Lowest Price: $72.00

New Items Remaining: 4