Protection and external storage

It’s not just one disk drive: it’s a whole boxful of drives

1 Operation

The Drobo 5C reformats any drive you insert, so be aware that you will lose all the data currently on the drive. The Drobo 5C is not an external drive ‘reader’; it overwrites any existing data and formats and manages drives according to its own internal processes.

2 Disk drives

These are regular 3.5-inch SATA II/III drives that you would normally fit inside a computer. There are no screws or cable clips to attach – the drives just slot in and a clip closes behind them. The Drobo 5C gets its name from the number of drives (five) and the USB Type-C connection.

3 USB connection

The Drobo 5C is USB Type-C compatible, but comes with a cable to connect to regular USB ports. It will also work with USB 2, though only at slower USB 2 speeds. However many drives you insert, your computer ‘sees’ the Drobo 5C as a single drive.

4 Status lamps

Each drive has its own status lamp to indicate its health. Green indicates that the drive is functioning normally; amber indicates the drive cannot be removed for the moment; and red indicates a problem either with that drive or the Drobo settings.

5 Front panel

This front panel is attached magnetically and covers the internal disk drives while allowing the status lamps to shine through. It’s easy to unclip by hand and doesn’t require the use of a screwdriver or any other tools.

6 Capacity indicator lamps

This row of blue lamps at the base of the unit gives you a quick visual indication of how much of your available storage is unused. (Your computer will show the Drobo’s maximum capacity, not the actual capacity fitted, so this is a useful visual guide.)