http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/FireWire+800 used for category lists, takes arguments en http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/drobo_adds_performance_with_new_firewire_800usb_20_version <!--paging_filter--><div style="text-align: center"><img src="/files/u21826/fw_drobo_header.png" alt="Drobo adds FireWire 800 ports, faster USB 2.0" width="410" height="178" /></div> <p>The Drobo storage robot, which we<a href="/article/data_robotics_drobo"> tested</a> in 2007, offers a fascinating combination of advanced data protection features, flexibility and support for SATA drives. Unfortunately, the original Drobo provides low throughput via its USB 2.0 connection. While its optional DroboShare accessory and forthcoming <a href="/article/news/windows_home_server_and_central_axis_look_out_drobo_broadens_network_media_server_category">DroboApps application family</a> enable it to operate as a storage device or a streaming media server on your Gigabit Ethernet network, better performance is what we'd like to see in either use.</p> <h3>Drobo, the Second Generation</h3> <p>Stung, perhaps, by our review's less-than-stellar 6 out of 10 score, <a href="http://www.drobo.com">Data Robotics</a> is now rolling out a <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5022913/new-drobo-arrives-and-its-packing-firewire">new version</a> that features FireWire 800 (aka IEEE-1394b) ports as well as USB 2.0 ports. If you don't have a FireWire 800 port, the new Drobo has you covered. It includes <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FireWire#FireWire_800_.28IEEE_1394b-2002.29">bilingual ports</a> that also run in FireWire 400 (IEEE-1394a) mode.</p> <h3>Making Drobo Faster</h3> <p>The new Drobo is designed to be faster, even if you use USB ports instead of FireWire ports. According to <a href="http://www.drobo.com/Products/Drobo.html">Data Robotics</a>, &quot;even if you’re now using USB 2.0, the new Drobo is up to three times as fast its predecessor in typical usage.&quot; </p> <p>Give credit to a faster processor under the hood. Data Robotics says that the new Drobo is now fast enough for video editing.</p> <h3>Considering Drobo? Use Drobolator!</h3> <p>The Drobolator <a href="http://www.drobo.com/Products/drobolator.html">online capacity calculator</a> will help you determine how many drives to install in a Drobo to reach your desired capacity (Drobo reserves some drive capacity for its RAID-like redundancy data protection features). For example, install three 500GB drives, and you'll have effective storage space of 929GB.</p> <h3>Bargain-Hunting for Drobo</h3> <p>The first-generation USB 2.0-only Drobos are now being <a href="http://www.drobo.com/Products/Drobo.html">cleared out</a> at the <a href="http://www.drobostore.com">Drobo Store</a>, and you can buy either the new or the original Drobo in various 2TB and 4TB drive bundles.</p> <p>With greater speed for USB 2.0 users and support for FireWire 800 ports, Drobo 2nd Generation looks like a sequel that could be better than the original.</p> <p>Graphic courtesy <a href="http://www.drobo.com">Data Robotics</a>.</p> <p>&#160;</p> http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/drobo_adds_performance_with_new_firewire_800usb_20_version#comments News Windows consumer electronics data robotics Drobo FireWire 800 Gigabit Ethernet hardware IEEE-1394b sata storage USB 2.0 windows Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:44:51 -0500 Mark Edward Soper 2644 at http://www.maximumpc.com