Drobo 5N vs. Synology DS1512+

[hungarianhc]

Anyone have some advice on which to choose? I was pretty set on going with the Synology, but the 5N has the ability to accept an msata SSD for caching, which is very intriguing. Drobo used to have a bit of a bad rap for performance, but it seems like the 5N has pretty good reviews. I'm still leaning toward the DS1512+ as the Synology seems like more of a "real" product. Thoughts? thanks!

 

[stevech]

I urge you to omit Drobo and choose between Synology, QNAP and Thecus. And try to not over-buy.

These vendors have on-line NASes for demo, on their web sites.
And there are the reviews here to consider.

I'd not put much stock in that caching on SSD, for the typical SOHO / residential users.

 

[hungarianhc]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the feedback. I have thought all previous Drobo products were crap, and I'm mostly decided on a Synology DS1512+, but I just recently came across the 5N. It looks like a nice product, and the reviews are good. What are your thoughts on why it is poor? Thanks!

 

[macmuchmore]

I urge you to omit Drobo and choose between Synology, QNAP and Thecus. And try to not over-buy.

These vendors have on-line NASes for demo, on their web sites.
And there are the reviews here to consider.

I'd not put much stock in that caching on SSD, for the typical SOHO / residential users.

Hi Steve - this leads me to a general question about Drobo and SNB. Is there a reason that SNB does not have any Drobo's as part of their reviews?

Also, and please forgive me if this has been answered before, but what are the specific reasons to avoid Drobo's? I only ask because I may be in the market to replace my Drobo 2nd Gen and Drobo FS this year. I have not had any issues with these 2 Drobos, even though I have heard of others who have had many. I also recognize that my current Drobos are dreadfully slow, however I assumed the newer models are much faster.

I have been looking at the new Drobos (5N, 5D, and now the Drobo 4 DAS), and also at the Synology DS1513+ as a replacement for my Drobo FS and Drobo 2nd Gen DAS, but I have not found any other good options for a 4 disk DAS. I definitely welcome any advice or suggestions.

Thanks!
Macmuchmore

 

[thiggins]

Hi Steve - this leads me to a general question about Drobo and SNB. Is there a reason that SNB does not have any Drobo's as part of their reviews?

Drobo has declined multiple requests to submit product for review. The reason given to me by a Drobo rep was that they feel our reviews focus only on performance and they know their products will not rate well since that is not their focus.

 

[L&LD]

I would agree to keep away from Drobo: just too proprietary (i.e. buggy) even if the subpar performance was not an issue (and when isn't performance an issue?).

With the Qnap (QTS 4.1 beta) support for Storage spaces (similar to Windows 8.1 I believe) the idea of a Drobo just keeps getting less and less appealing.

Glad I wasn't able to purchase them when they first appeared (read many horror stories since).

 

[macmuchmore]

Drobo has declined multiple requests to submit product for review. The reason given to me by a Drobo rep was that they feel our reviews focus only on performance and they know their products will not rate well since that is not their focus.

Thanks - that makes sense. Do you have any recommendations for a replacement DAS for my Drobo 2nd Gen? It seems like all of the reviews on your site are for NAS (which is awesome!), so I can see the best options on the site for that. Will probably go with a Synology DS1513+.

If not here, do you know of any site that has ratings/comparisons of 4 bay DAS?

Thanks again,
Macmuchmore