[Leica] Drobos... If you have them what can you expect?

[Richard Man]

I had a 5N that developed some issues late last year. Looking at all the
available options, I just built a Linux server out of a Mini-PC, put ZFS on
it and hook it up with 5x 8TB hard drive so have ~24TB of redundant storage
that is more robust than traditional RAID:

richard at file-server:~$ zpool status
  pool: share0
 state: ONLINE
  scan: scrub repaired 0B in 16:31:49 with 0 errors on Sun May 12 16:55:51
2024
config:

        NAME        STATE     READ WRITE CKSUM
        share0      ONLINE       0     0     0
          raidz2-0  ONLINE       0     0     0
            sdb     ONLINE       0     0     0
            sdc     ONLINE       0     0     0
            sdd     ONLINE       0     0     0
            sde     ONLINE       0     0     0
            sdf     ONLINE       0     0     0

errors: No known data errors

On Thu, May 16, 2024 at 12:02 PM Frank Filippone via LUG <
lug at leica-users.org> wrote:

> Yes, I am helping Tina with her file system.  She is replacing her Drobos
> with a Synology NAS.   I "am" her tech support person.
>
> Why?  Because Drobo is out of business.  Who cares?  SHE AND YOU SHOULD
> CARE!
>
> How old is your Drobo, in terms of development..... look at this chart....
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drobo
>
> It tells you when your Drobo model was first introduced to the marjket...
> assume it took at least 1 year to design... Your Drobo was designed in
> roughly 2010., or even earlier  That was the year Windows 7 was in
> vogue..... Windows 7.  That was when the various software was written to
> run the
> box and interface with Windows. Windows 7, not Windows 11.  Things have
> changed....
>
> /If you have a Drobo, it will eventually fail/.  Let me explain....
> Windows is not a fixed immovable O/S.  It changes ( somewhat at the whim of
> Microsoft.).
>
> Drobo Software ( yes, it does run on software) is not and will not change
> to accommodate Windows changes. The company no longer exists.   The SW is
> frozen.  ( probably some amateur code writer will fix this, but if you are
> not willing to take this chance on code written by some 16 year old who
> lives on Pizza and Energy-Caffeine drinks being responsible for taking
> care of everything on your Dobo, read further....)..
>
> An analogy is for SW written for Windows 3.1 and using that SW on Windows
> 11....  Some of it just will not work.
>
> Your computer gets Windows updates all the time, and implements them.
> sometime, either now or "tomorrow", some change in Windows will not allow
> your
> Drobo Software to perform as it did yesterday.  YOU WILL HAVE NO
> WARNING>>>>. It will be a brick.  It will not be reversible ( almost).
> EVERYTHING on
> your Drobo will be permanently inaccessible.
>
> No you can not just remove the HDD from the Drobo and put them into
> something else and they will work..... THEY WILL NOT.
>
> Your data may be safely ON the Drobo, but unless you can get to it,
> ....... and eventually you will not be able to,,,,,,   you own a brick.
>
> It is time NOW to fix this situation you are in, before Windows and Drobo
> no longer work together.
>
> You do have choices.... replace the Drobo boxes with large external HDD
> boxes that work on USB.  They can be bought for a few hundred dollars.
> Probably the lowest cost and fully equivalent to what you have now, but
> since the USB box is modern and built to work with WIndows, and uses no SW
> on
> your computer, it will last a LONG time.....
>
> Replace the Drobo with a LAN box... called NAS ( Network Attached
> Storage).  Same as above only it works on a network connection to your
> computer
> rather than USB.  There are a bunch of differences, but in essence, for
> very large file systems ( Tina has about 1 MILLION images), this solution
> will
> provide  faster response time for search and other functions.  But you
> must deal with the LAN issues.... Not so easy.... not terrible, but not
> easy.
> They are more expensive.
>
> There you go.... if you use Drobo HDD enclosures, do something NOW.
>
> If you are running your BUSINESS on a Drobo, you are living a nightmare in
> the making... You want the IRS to permanently live in your office,
> demanding you get old records from your now dead computer because the
> Drobo is dead?  Want/NEED the email address of that 16 year old that lives
> on
> Pizza and Energy-Caffeine drinks?
>
> I want to point out that this is NOT a hardware issue.... the HDD and the
> box will probably work for a long time in the future,,,, it is an issue of
> incompatible software.
>
> But you will not be able to access it......
>
> If you have questions, you may email me directly and I will help you to
> make decisions and, to the extent I can, I will help you implement those
> decisions.
>
> No, I do not charge.
>
> Frank Filippone
> BMWRed735i at Gmail.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information



-- 
// richard http://imagecraft.com