Re: New Macs....so what hard drive and enclosures??

[Kenneth Watt <kwatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 21 Oct 2009, at 09:09, Dean Barrett wrote:

> So how bad is the DroboShare then Kenneth ?

Utterly useless.

> I've got one sitting in a box waiting to attached my Drobo to -
but=20=20
> as its
> primarily used for movie streaming this doesn=92t sound good :(

IMO, it's little to no use for that purpose.

I did have it streaming DVD rips connected to a PC and it was okay=20=20
but, as you say, there was the odd stutter. When I used the
Droboshare=20=20
it was unwatchable due to the constant stalling.

I've not tried it with HD material and now I just use it as a big
data=20=20
dump connected to a Time Capsule.

> I have occassional stuttering when streaming BluRay via Drobo=20=20
> connected to a
> Athlon 2gig PC with 1 gig ram and blame it on the PC -but by the=20=20
> sounds of
> it its going to get worse with the Droboshare ?

Nope, it's the Drobo that's the issue, the PC is more than adequate
to=20=20
decode and playback an HD movie let alone stream it.

> Will a faster PC with gigabit connection help with the transfer=20=20
> rates rather
> than the Droboshare ?

Nope, I use 1Gb switching all the way from the Drobo to the Mini and=20=20
it no worky. And that's like a Netgear main switch, one wire, Netgear=20=20
local switch, connected to the Mini so there's not much in the way
and=20=20
it's pretty good kit.

I've also used a Drobo here in work and, compared to the WHS or=20=20
Thecus, any files (especially of the larger variety) take an age to=20=20
open off the Drobo using Droboshare. It was better connected to the
PC=20=20
but still slower than the other NAS storage, even connected to the PC.

There's probably some way to increase the amount of data that's=20=20
buffered but, life's too short for that and therefore I've not=20=20
explored that as a possibility.

Don't get me wrong, the Drobo is a cracking little device but it=20=20
doesn't really have the sheer grunt to deal with large files and/or=20=20
heavy use IME but it does have its uses. Video streaming however is=20=20
not a use for it that I'd recommend.

HTH

K.

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