Selecting Drives - Drobo 8D User Manual

1.1.4.1

Selecting Drives

The Drobo 8D supports both standard 3.5" SATA hard disk drives (HDDs) as well as SATA solid state
drives (SSDs) for added performance. For HDDs, these drives can be from any manufacturer and with
any capacity. For a complete list of recommended drives, please visit our web page for
drive options.
In addition, the Drobo 8D has a Drobo Accelerator Bay, which accepts an industry-standard SSD.
When the back slot SSD is installed, Drobo's Data-Aware Caching feature is enabled, accelerating
performance when reading data from the Drobo device. Having a back slot SSD installed leaves all
drive bays available for high-capacity hard disk drives (HDDs) so that you can get both high-capacity
and accelerated performance out of the Drobo device.
Alternatively,using 7200 RPM HDDs in the main drive bays of the Drobo 8D along with an SSD in the
back slot provides fast performance when reading data to and from the Drobo.
Note that you need at least two drives in the drive bays to ensure your data is protected in the event
of drive failure.
Important Notes:
If an incompatible SSD is inserted into the Drobo device, the drive light will blink red,
indicating the need to replace that drive. In the back slot HDDs are NOT supported.
Please refer to our web page on
The back slot SSD is not part of the disk pack of the Drobo 8D, allowing you to leave it
installed even if you transfer drives from the drive bays to another Drobo device.
SSDs that require 12v are only compatible with the front slots with a converter dock
To achieve better performance, we recommend to use 7200 RPM Seagate Barracuda Pros
or WD Blacks drives in your device.
The Drobo 8D is not compatible with IDE, SCSI, PATA or SAS drives.
The Drobo 8D supports migrating entire disk packs from a Drobo 5D3, Drobo 5Dt, Drobo
5C, Drobo Gen3, Drobo 5D or Drobo S, preserving its data. For more information, and to
ensure a safe and successful migration of the drives, carefully follow the instructions in
Migrating a Disk Pack from Another Drobo
Warning:
Any pre-existing data on the drives will be erased while formatting or resetting the Drobo
8D.
Drobo 8D User Guide
compatible drive options
Device.
compatible
for more information.
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