[Discuss] Do you have experience with "Drobo" Raid boxes?

[bill at horne.net (Bill Horne)]

On 12/29/2014 10:21 AM, Dan Ritter wrote:
> On Sun, Dec 28, 2014 at 09:08:33PM -0500, Bill Horne wrote:
>> Thanks for reading this.
>>
>> I'm setting up a file server, and it's attached to a couple of
>> "Drobo" Raid boxes (http://www.drobo.com/), type "TD", which have
>> about 18TB of storage each. They are connected via Thunderbolt 2
>> cables, and according to a couple of disk-speed measuring apps,
>> they're sending and receiving in excess of 180 MB/s.
>>
>> Actual transfer speeds from a fiber-channel controller, however, as
>> measured by rsync transfers of large files, are only ~2 MB/s. All
>> suggestions welcome.
>>
>> It's a Mac Mini, running OS X "Yosemite", with Server v4.1.
>>
> Drobo uses ZFS.

Please tell me more: the "Drobo Dashboard" software offered the option 
to format them with HFS+, and since it's attached to Mac Mini, I clicked 
"OK".

>
> I don't think any of them have FiberChannel interfaces. They
> come with Thunderbolt, gig-e, and USB-3, depending.

You are, of course, correct: I was referring to the /source/ of the 
files I was copying /onto/ the Drobo, which is a Nexsan SAN with a 
fiber-channel connection. It's a Promise controller that has both 
Thunderbolt and Fiber connectors.

> Also, I don't think any of them are called "TD". Do you mean
> "5D"?

Indeed I do, and thanks for pointing that out.

> Are the drives re-silvering?

Not AFAICT.

> Do you get better results with a straight copy of a file than an
> rsync?

No, but I may have found the problem: the Thunderbolt cables were looped 
through the Promise Fiber-channel controller, and then through two 
Drobos. We have tdmi -> VGA converters on the ends of the chain, to 
drive the KVM video switch in our lab, and when I unplugged the VGA 
converters, speeds increased dramatically. I'm running a large copy now 
to confirm the results.

THANK YOU for your help!

Bill

-- 
E. William Horne
339-364-8487