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frankspin

Drobo releases the first portable storage array providing on-the-go redundancy but would you benefit from it?


The Drobo Mini is a 4-bay storage array supporting 2.5" SATA drives for on-the-go redundancy for up to 3TB of storage. It's got USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt ports, which means you know it should have some pretty high read/write speeds. If you're someone who is mobile a lot and worried about your data, this seems like it's a good fit. At 2.2lbs, minus drives, it's not the lightest thing but it's still pretty portable, and far lighter than some of the other Thunderbolt-based RAID arrays out there. One big reservation with this is that while redundancy is great, making something portable means it becomes more susceptible to drops which we all knows means something can break.

That aside, do you see yourself investing in one of these? I'd imagine these to be interesting to people that are photographers, videographers or engineers.

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5 replies
sillymansamOCN

Videographers I can see having to lug one around. As a digital tech for photographers I might could see myself using one but I'd think it would be over kill. It being small just means more desk space and possibly less heat. Doesn't seem as distracting as larger RAID enclosures.
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luc

I think I have something to think about...
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Rubik

This would be great to do if you're spending a week or two with one of the newer DSLR's. 30+ megapixel images take a lot of space too, and they're always worrying about losing images in the field. heck, Maybe I'd trust ssd's for my computer better if I had them in a raid array ;-)
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sillymansamOCN

30MP+ DSLR cameras are only using maybe about 30 to 40MB files(RAW). Shooting with dated medium format cameras with 30MP CCD sensors are easily 85MB+ in size. Assuming if you're on the road and are filling 8GB cards, unless shooting only video, a 1TB drive should do the trick if not less. The cost of this device for photographers just wouldn't justify dishing out for a RAID array.

Usually what you see is a smaller drive that will later be backed up to some form of stationed device being NAS or RAID array. Which I can see this being a neat solution for tight workspaces.
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dennyc69

The specs alone are impressive, and with SSD drives, it will be really hard to beat. Pros will jump on it and if priced that home users can afford, it's a definite winner.
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