On Sun, Nov 20, 2016 at 10:52 PM, Lew Wolfgang <wolfgang@sweet-haven.com> wrote:
On 11/19/2016 06:37 PM, Greg Freemyer wrote:
On Fri, Nov 18, 2016 at 6:19 PM, Lew Wolfgang <wolfgang@sweet-haven.com> wrote:
Hi Greg,
Why don't you try a Drobo?
Lew,
I'm thinking seriously of getting a Drobo 5 bay. More flexible than what I can do with openSUSE from what I see and a used chassis isn't bad at all. And I don't have an existing openSUSE box I could dedicate to this, so I'd have to buy/build a PC to do this. I'd likely spend as much as a Drobo chassis would cost, even a new chassis. Do you have any experience with a Drobo? The Drobo FS is a 2010 model retired chassis, but it looks like it would be fine for my need. (ie. relatively low performance i/o interfaced via 1 Gbit NIC)
Actually I don't have Drobo experience, but I've heard good things about them. I've got lots of experience with server-class RAID controllers, but I've been thinking about getting the 5n for home use.
But as I look at the documentation I'm getting a bit queasy about controlling it from Linux. There are apps for Windows and Apple, but Linux isn't mentioned. I'd like to see evidence of a general web interface for configuration and control.
I have plenty of windows boxes, so that isn't an issue. (I can think of 4 in my lab).
I'd also like to see NFS and rsync server support, but it's unclear if the Drobo does all that. I guess that CIFS would be okay.
Different models have different support. Looking on ebay, the 5N is the most expensive for a used unit. There's one that has the bidding end tomorrow. $360 right now. I bid up to $350, but I'm done. Above $350, I'd just buy a new unit I think. Anyway, there's a model with iSCSI support and another one with USB3 support. If I can get a really good price on an 8-bay unit, that would be my preference. I just don't want to pay $1500 for it. Anyway the 5N was my first thought, but I could get by with iSCSI or USB3 I think. I'm going to watch ebay and see if I can snag a deal.
My biggest question is if it would work with current generations largest drives. And if so there a point if quits working. ie. I just got a 10TB yesterday. I imagine 12+TB will be available next year, etc. I've seen a lot of PATA/SATA controllers that quit working at 512GB, then more at 2TB, etc.
I've seen server class hotswap chassis have problems with SATA transfer speeds. Drive capacity hasn't been a problem in my experience. I've even seen newer chassis that fail to negotiate with slower-speed SATA disks. Indeed, I'm having to retire four 24-drive chassis now because of connection compatibility issues.
I used to do a lot of high-end raid enclosure work myself (certified SAN architect if you can believe it). But it was Compaq enclosures and you had to buy the SCSI drives from them. I don't recall ever working with SATA drives in an enclosure like that.
Also, I wonder how big a volume the older Drobo FS can support. The replacement unit is the Drobo 5N and it says it can go up to 64TB on a volume.
I don't know about that. I think I'll continue to look around for now.
I suspect I'll buy one in the next month. I'll let you know if I do.
Regards, Lew
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