Drobo 5D and Mini with Thunderbolt

If you're looking for a simple way to expand your computer storage capacity, but want to add a bit more security in case of a hard drive failure - while at the same time having some room for future growth - you'll inevitably head towards the Drobos.

And now, we're getting some new Drobos that might get even more attention. For starters, we have the  new Drobo 5D, which as you could probably imply by its name, can carry up to 5 hard drives (3.5" hot-swappable) and comes with USB 3.0 and 2 Thunderbolt ports. You also get a nive little mSata SSD to act a disk accelerator cache to speed things up.

But if you're looking for something a little bit different... I urge you to take a look at this new: Drobo Mini.

Drobo seems to think that people might want to carry their data with them while on the road (and I believe some people do). So, this Drobo Mini is roughly the same size as an external hard drive case, but carries 4 2.5" drives inside, tucked away in spring loaded slots that make changing drives as easy as pushing SD cards into their slots. But don't let its size fool you: you get the same USB 3.0 and 2x Thunderbolt ports as you get in the 5D - and even the SSD cache accelerator! Looks like a winner...

... Now... all they need to be perfect is to have a Gigabit Ethernet port for network access without a computer... :)

[via engadget]

16TB on Small Computer

This is exactly what I need, 16TB of storage space in the size of small form factor computer (and Raid5 to top it off.)

I present you Black Dwarf - a custom-made system with a simple goal: to place as many hard drives - and the computer to run it - in as little space as possible. And the results are truly impressive.

Besides the 8 mais hard drives, it even carries two additional 2.5" drives - which made me think about the possibility to use an SSD as a fast read/write memory cache to make even faster.
Now... if only I had the budget to do it all...

Drobo FS - NAS at Last

My search for the perfect NAS might now be a little closer to fruition than before. Data Robotics has finally announced the Drobo FS.

With five hard drive bays, this Drobo FS is very similar to the existing models... except for the added (and very needed) gigabit Ethernet port in its back.

With its new dual-core CPU and added RAM acrescida, Data Robotics says we can expect 30-40MB/s transfer rates - and of course, you still the amazing replacing/exchange/expansion capabilities that made the Drobo famous.

Prices start at $699 for an empty Drobo FS... I hope they soon get it under $500, and they'll have a customer for life!

USB to NAS Adapter

This sure will come in handy.

This USB-NAS adapter from Addonics allows you to easily transform any external USB storage device into a NAS.

Meaning, you'll no longer need you PC turned on to share your external HDDs on your network. You just plug a couple of drives into your network and you'll have instant sharing throughout your house.

And best of all, it costs just $55 USD.