Data Robotics unveils new models

Two new Drobo models have been launched by Data Robotics, offering faster performance, and extra storage.

Doubling their range of so-called intelligent backup systems, the firm's Drobo S and DroboElite improve on predecessors with extra drive bays.

Drobo S has five drive bays, compared to the original four, as well as an eSATA port and enhanced FireWire 800 performance, which promises hardware redundancy against up to two simultaneous hard drive failures.

It also has a faster ARM processor and 150% the performance of the earlier model, but is not compatible with the DroboShare network adapter.

Equipped with storage capacity of up to 10TB depending on redundancy, the system can heal itself and sets up automatically when a new drive is installed or an existing one replaced.

The device is currently available at $799 (£485) without drives or up to $1,799 (£1,090) with five 2TB drives.

DroboElite, which starts at $3,499 (£2,117) sans-drives, offers full eight drive bays and dual iSCSI ports, and is aimed at small and medium businesses demanding 16TB or more of backup space.

For absolute speed, it drops the DroboPro's FireWire and USB 2.0 connectivity. DroboElite can take up to 255 Smart Volumes along with up to 16 simultaneous hosts and a choice between space or data safety with single or dual-drive redundancy.

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