Drobo 5D3 User Guide
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 2
1 Drobo 5D3 User Guide ....................................................................................................... 6
2 Before You Begin................................................................................................................ 7
2.1 Product Features at a Glance ..................................................................................... 7
2.2 Checking Box Contents .............................................................................................. 8
2.3 Checking System Requirements ................................................................................ 9
2.3.1 Operating Systems Supported ............................................................................. 9
2.3.2 Connectivity Interfaces Supported for Drobo 5D3 .............................................. 9
2.4 Checking the Hardware You Need ........................................................................... 12
2.4.1 Selecting Drives .................................................................................................. 13
2.4.2 Determining Drive Space Requirements ............................................................ 15
2.4.3 Using Power Protection ..................................................................................... 16
3 Setting Up Your Drobo 5D3.............................................................................................. 17
3.1 Downloading and Installing Drobo Dashboard ........................................................ 17
3.1.1 Installing Drobo Dashboard on Windows .......................................................... 18
3.1.2 Installing Drobo Dashboard on Mac .................................................................. 21
3.2 Inserting Drives ........................................................................................................ 27
3.3 Connecting Cables on Your Drobo 5D3 .................................................................... 28
3.3.1 Connecting Directly to Your Drobo 5D3 ............................................................ 29
3.3.2 Connecting Your Drobo in a Daisy Chain ........................................................... 30
3.4 Powering On Your Drobo 5D3 .................................................................................. 33
3.5 Initializing and Updating Your Drobo 5D3 to the Latest Firmware ......................... 34
3.6 Formatting the Drives for Your Drobo 5D3.............................................................. 37
3.6.1 Selecting a File System and Volume Size for Your Drobo 5D3 .......................... 37
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 3
3.6.2 Turning On Your Drobo 5D3 and Formatting the Drives ................................... 38
3.7 Registering Your Drobo 5D3 .................................................................................... 42
3.8 Migrating a Disk Pack from Another Drobo Device ................................................. 45
3.9 Using Drobo 5D3 with Time Machine or Backup Software ..................................... 47
4 Where To Go Next ........................................................................................................... 51
4.1 Using Best Practices for Protecting Data ................................................................. 51
4.2 Keeping Your Software Up to Date .......................................................................... 51
4.2.1 Checking for Software Updates ......................................................................... 52
4.3 Using the Online User Guide .................................................................................... 52
4.4 Using Context-Sensitive Help ................................................................................... 53
4.5 Using Knowledge Base ............................................................................................. 54
4.6 Registering Your Drobo 5D3 .................................................................................... 54
4.7 Getting Support........................................................................................................ 57
5 Using and Managing Your Drobo 5D3 ............................................................................. 59
5.1 Using Drobo Dashboard ........................................................................................... 59
5.1.1 Keeping Your Software Up to Date .................................................................... 59
5.1.1.1 Checking for Software Updates .................................................................. 60
5.1.2 Manually Updating Firmware from Drobo Website .......................................... 60
5.1.3 Touring Drobo Dashboard ................................................................................. 61
5.2 Renaming Your Drobo 5D3 ...................................................................................... 65
5.3 Formatting Your Drobo 5D3..................................................................................... 66
5.4 Safely Shutting Down Your Drobo 5D3 .................................................................... 71
5.4.1 Safely Shutting Down Your Drobo 5D3 Using Drobo Dashboard ...................... 71
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 4
5.5 Resetting Your Drobo 5D3 ....................................................................................... 73
5.6 Blinking Lights to Test Connectivity ......................................................................... 74
5.7 Enabling or Disabling System Tray ........................................................................... 75
6 Modifying Device Settings for Your Drobo 5D3 ............................................................... 77
6.1 Enabling or Disabling Dual Disk Redundancy ........................................................... 77
6.2 Modifying the Disk Drive Spin Down Time .............................................................. 79
6.3 Dimming the Lights on Your Drobo 5D3 .................................................................. 80
7 Managing Capacity (Drive Space) .................................................................................... 81
7.1 Calculating Capacity to Use ...................................................................................... 81
7.2 Adding Capacity (or Drives)...................................................................................... 82
7.3 Removing Capacity (or Drives) ................................................................................. 84
7.4 Inserting an mSATA SSD ........................................................................................... 85
7.5 Removing an mSATA SSD ......................................................................................... 87
8 Checking Storage Usage and Device Status Information ................................................ 89
8.1 Checking Storage Usage ........................................................................................... 89
8.1.1 Viewing Capacity Chart ...................................................................................... 90
8.1.2 Viewing Storage Usage ...................................................................................... 91
8.2 Checking the Status of Your Drobo 5D3 .................................................................. 93
8.3 Checking Your Drobo 5D3's Serial Number ............................................................. 94
8.4 Checking Your Drobo 5D3's Firmware Version ........................................................ 95
8.5 Checking the Current Version of Drobo Dashboard ................................................ 96
8.6 Checking System Information .................................................................................. 98
8.7 Checking Drive Information ..................................................................................... 99
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 5
8.8 Checking Performance Information ....................................................................... 101
8.9 Getting Diagnostics on Your Drobo 5D3 ................................................................ 102
8.10 Understanding the Indicator Lights ....................................................................... 104
9 Using On-Screen and E-mail Alerts ................................................................................ 106
9.1 Setting Up or Modifying E-mail Alerts ................................................................... 106
9.2 Modifying When to Send E-mail Alerts .................................................................. 112
9.3 Disabling E-mail Alerts ........................................................................................... 113
9.4 Modifying When to Send On-Screen Alerts ........................................................... 114
9.5 Disabling On-Screen Alerts .................................................................................... 115
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 6
1 Drobo 5D3 User Guide
Congratulations on your new Drobo!
This Getting Started section will help you get your Drobo 5D3 set up and running in just a
few steps.
Topics:
Before You Begin
Setting Up Your Drobo 5D3
Where to Go Next
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 7
2 Before You Begin
Before you begin setting up your Drobo 5D3, it’s a good idea to check system and
hardware requirements.
Topics:
Product Features at a Glance
Checking Box Contents
Checking System Requirements
Checking the Hardware You Need
2.1 Product Features at a Glance
For a quick overview of features of the Drobo 5D3, refer to the following images.
Figure 1: Front of the Drobo 5D3 with the bezel (faceplate) removed.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 8
Figure 2: Back of the Drobo 5D3
2.2 Checking Box Contents
Check your product's box to ensure it contains all the components in the list below.
● Drobo 5D3
● 1 m (3.3 ft) Thunderbolt 3 cable (compatible with USB Type-C as well)
● 1.8 m (6.6 ft) power cord with power supply
● Quick Start Card
● Safety and Warranty Guide
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 9
2.3 Checking System Requirements
Check to ensure your operating system and cable interface are supported.
Topics:
Operating Systems Supported
Connectivity Interfaces Supported for Drobo 5D3
2.3.1 Operating Systems Supported
For the most current list of supported operating systems, check the specifications for
your products online at www.drobo.com/products/index.php.
2.3.2 Connectivity Interfaces Supported for Drobo
5D3
Your Drobo 5D3 connects directly to your computer using one of the following
connectivity ports. We recommend that you use the fastest connection you have
available on your computer.
Your Drobo 5D3 device has Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.0 Type-C interface.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 10
Figure 1: Back of the Drobo 5D3
Notes:
You can only use one connection at a time.
Drobo provides Thunderbolt 3 cable with the device. Depending on the model of
your computer, it may have USB Type-A or Type-C interface. You have to buy a Type-
A to Type-C cable if your computer has a Type-A interface. Speed of data
communication is limited by the slowest interface of your computer and the Drobo
device.
Thunderbolt 3
The Drobo 5D3 has two Thunderbolt ports, enabling you to take advantage of
Thunderbolt's daisy-chaining capabilities. With Thunderbolt, you can daisy-chain up to
six peripheral devices and one display from a single computer. Note that because
Thunderbolt has dual-protocol support (with DisplayPort and PCI Express), you can
connect your computer to Thunderbolt devices or DisplayPort products. You can also
connect non-Thunderbolt devices at the end of a daisy-chain by using Thunderbolt
technology adapters.
Here is the illustrative examples of your Drobo 5D3 in a daisy-chain:
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 11
There are three options for connecting your Drobo device using its Thunderbolt
interface.
1. Your Drobo device directly connected to a computer (with no daisy-chain).
2. Multiple Drobo devices connected in a chain with a DisplayPort monitor at the end.
3. Your Drobo device connected to an external Thunderbolt monitor that is then
connected to a computer (with the Drobo device at the end).
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 12
USB 3.0 Type-C
Your Drobo 5D3 device has USB 3.0 Type-C interface. Drobo provides Thunderbolt 3
cable with the device, which is compatible with USB Type-C as well. Depending on the
model of your computer, it may have USB Type -A or Type-C interface. You have to buy a
Type-A to Type-C cable if your computer has a Type-A interface. Speed of data
communication is limited by the slowest interface of your computer and the Drobo
device.
2.4 Checking the Hardware You Need
To use your Drobo 5D3, you will need at least two drives. If you plan to use Dual Disk
Redundancy, which protects your data against two drive failures, you will need at least
three drives.
Topics:
Selecting Drives
Determining Drive Space Requirements
Using Power Protection
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 13
2.4.1 Selecting Drives
The Drobo 5D3 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 SSDs, please visit our web page for
compatible drive options.
In addition, the Drobo 5D3 has a Drobo Accelerator Bay, which accepts an industry-
standard mSATA SSD. When the mSATA SSD is installed, Drobo’s Data-Aware Tiering
feature is enabled, accelerating performance when reading data from your Drobo
device. Having an mSATA 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 your Drobo device.
Using only SSDs in the main drive bays of your Drobo 5D3 provides the fastest
performance when reading and writing data to and from your Drobo device.
In summary, here are the recommended number and type of drives you can use with
your Drobo 5D3. Note that you need at least two drives in the drive bays to ensure your
data is protected in the event of drive failure.
● 2 to 5 HDDs in the main drive bays - enables you to maximize capacity
● 2 to 5 SSDs in the main drive bays with no mSATA SSD - enables you to maximize
read and write performance
● 2 to 5 HDDs in the main drive bays plus an mSATA SSD installed - enables you to
maximize capacity and accelerate read performance
For a performance comparison of these options, see the image below:
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 14
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. Please refer to our web page on
compatible drive options for more information.
The mSATA SSD is not part of the disk pack of your Drobo 5D3, allowing you to
leave it installed even if you transfer drives from the drive bays to another Drobo
device, for example.
To achieve better performance, we recommend to use high performance drives
in your device.
The Drobo 5D3 is not compatible with IDE, SCSI, PATA or SAS drives.
The Drobo 5D3 supports migrating entire disk packs from a 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 Device.
Warning:
Any pre-existing data on the drives will be erased while formatting or resetting
your Drobo 5D3.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 15
2.4.2 Determining Drive Space Requirements
In order to protect your data from drive failure, your Drobo 5D3 requires more space
than what you will use for your data, sometimes as much as double or more the amount
of space.
The best way to determine how much usable, protected storage space you will have
available for your data, based on the number and capacity of your drives, is to use our
Capacity Calculator at www.drobo.com/calculator.
A shortcut to estimating the capacity available for your data is to omit the largest drive
and then add the capacity of the remaining drives. If you plan to use Dual Disk
Redundancy, omit the largest two drives. For example:
Single Disk (Default) Redundancy
Dual Disk Redundancy
Notes:
Actual capacity may vary from the value shown in the above example due to
different systems used for rating capacity. This has nothing to do with Drobo devices.
All the Drobo devices enable you to easily increase storage capacity at any time
by simply inserting additional drives or replacing smaller drives with larger ones.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 16
2.4.3 Using Power Protection
Drobo device has an internal battery to protect critical data during sudden or
unexpected power failures. The device will shutdown without any loss of data, so UPS
(uninterruptible power supply) is not required.
We recommend using the following power protection with your Drobo device:
● A power surge protector to protect against power surges
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 17
3 Setting Up Your Drobo 5D3
Once you have unpacked your Drobo 5D3 from its box and ensured you meet all system
and hardware requirements, it is time to set up your Drobo 5D3 for use. This can be
done in just a few easy steps!
1. Downloading and Installing Drobo Dashboard
2. Inserting Drives
3. Connecting Cables on Your Drobo 5D3
4. Initializing and Updating Your Drobo 5D3 to the Latest Firmware
5. Formatting the Drives for Your Drobo 5D3
6. Registering Your Drobo 5D3
7. Migrating a Disk Pack from Another Drobo Device
8. Using Drobo 5D3 with Time Machine Backup or Backup Software
9. Inserting an mSATA SSD (optional)
Note:
The Drobo 5D3 supports migrating entire disk packs from other devices,
preserving its data. To ensure a safe and successful migration of the drives, carefully
follow the instructions in Migrating a Disk Pack from Another Drobo Device
3.1 Downloading and Installing Drobo
Dashboard
The Drobo Dashboard application will help you to set up and manage your Drobo 5D3.
After installation of the Dashboard, you can configure the settings to automatically
install version updates, which is highly recommended.
Drobo software and firmware updates for Drobo 5D3 can be downloaded and installed
from Start Drobo 5D3 page.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 18
This section covers the following topics:
● Installing Drobo Dashboard on Windows
● Installing Drobo Dashboard on Mac
Note:
You need a full admin user account and internet access on the computer on which
you are going to install the Drobo Dashboard.
3.1.1 Installing Drobo Dashboard on Windows
To install the Drobo Dashboard on a Windows machine:
1. Go to the Start 5D3 page and download the Drobo Dashboard installation file for
Windows.
2. After downloading, double-click the Drobo Dashboard Installer to launch it.
3. A pop up will appear asking you to choose the language for installation. Select the
language of your choice and click OK.
4. The Drobo Dashboard Installer (or Installation Wizard) will appear.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 19
5. Click the Next button to proceed.
6. Follow the instructions of the Installation Wizard by clicking the Next button after
each page.
7. Once you reach the installation page, click the Install button.
8. In some Windows operating systems, the Windows Access Control dialog box
appears, asking if you want to allow changes to your computer. Click the Allow or Yes
button. This installs the Drobo Dashboard.
9. After the installation is complete, be sure that the Launch Drobo Dashboard
checkbox is selected and then, click the Finish button.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 20
10. The Drobo Dashboard application launches and you will be prompted to register
your Drobo 5D3. You can either register the Drobo 5D3 or skip the step and register it
later. Select an option based on your preference.
The serial number is printed on the compliance label at the bottom of the device. For
more information see Registering Your Drobo 5D3.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 21
Note:
Do not flip the device to record the serial number while it is still ON.
11. Click the Next button to view the All Drobos page. After a few seconds, Drobo
"discovers" all Drobo devices currently connected and displays them on this page.
12. If you have no Drobo device connected to the computer or powered on, a "No
Drobos Detected" message displays until you do.
Note:
Your Drobo 5D3 will not work properly until you update the firmware.
3.1.2 Installing Drobo Dashboard on Mac
To install the Drobo Dashboard on a Mac machine:
1. Go to the Start 5D3 page and download the Drobo Dashboard installation file for
Mac.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 22
2. After downloading, double-click the Drobo Dashboard Installer to launch it.
3. A pop up will appear asking whether to open the Installer. Click Open.
4. The Install Drobo Dashboard page will appear. Click Continue to proceed to the next
screen.
5. The Firewall Warning page appears. Click Continue.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 23
6. Next, the Installation Wizard page appears. Click Continue to proceed.
7. The Software License Agreement page appears. From here, you can choose the
language in which you want to proceed the installation process.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 24
8. After choosing the desired language, Click the Continue button.
9. A dialog box will appear asking you to Agree or Disagree the terms of the license
agreement. Click Agree to proceed.
10. You will reach the Installation Type section. Click the Install button to proceed.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 25
11. You will be prompted to enter the administrator password. Enter the password and
click Install Software.
12. Then, you will be prompted to restart your computer in order to complete the
installation. Click Continue Installation to proceed.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 26
13. When the installation completes, you will see the following screen to restart the
computer to finish the installation. Click Restart.
14. Once the computer restarts, launch the Drobo Dashboard application.
15. The application will prompt you to register your Drobo 5D3. You can either register it
or skip the step and register it later. Select an option based on you preference.
Note:
We highly recommend to register your product in order to obtain support.
16. Click the Next button to view the All Drobos page. After a few seconds, Drobo
"discovers" all Drobo devices currently connected and displays them on this page.
Note:
After the Drobo Dashboard launches, you may be asked if Drobo can collect
anonymous information on your usage. Click Yes or No, as desired.
17. If you have no Drobo device connected to the computer or powered on, a "No
Drobos Detected" message displays until you do.
18. Your Drobo 5D3 will not work until you upgrade the firmware. For information on
updating the firmware to the latest version, see Updating your Drobo 5D3 to the latest
firmware.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 27
3.2 Inserting Drives
As a first step to set up your Drobo 5D3, insert the drives into your device. For more
information on drive requirements, see Selecting Drives.
Also, see this link on the Drobo website: http://www.drobo.com/storage-
products/choose-drive/.
Warning:
Any pre-existing data on the drives will be erased, as the drives will be formatted.
If you wish to keep the data, copy it to another drive or medium before using with
your Drobo 5D3.
Notes:
Once you insert the drives into your Drobo 5D3, they function as a unit or “pack.”
To access the data on them, you will need the entire pack.
The Drobo 5D3 supports migrating entire disk packs from other devices,
preserving its data. To ensure a safe and successful migration of the drives, carefully
follow the instructions in Migrating a Disk Pack from Another Drobo Device.
How to insert the drives
To insert the drives to your Drobo 5D3:
1. Remove the front bezel (faceplate) from the front of your Drobo 5D3 by pulling it off.
2. With one hand, hold the drive so that the label on the top of the drive faces up (and
its connectors are positioned at the device and toward the left). Refer to the image
below.
3. With your other hand, use your thumb to depress and hold open one of the drive
locks to a selected drive bay. Refer to the image below.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 28
4. Slide the drive into the drive bay, release the drive lock and push the drive into place
until you feel it connect. The drive lock snaps behind the drive, securing it into place.
5. Insert additional drives in the same manner, following steps 2 through 4.
Note:
Once you insert the drives into your Drobo 5D3, they function as a unit or “pack.”
To access the data on them, you will need the entire pack.
6. When finished, replace the bezel right side up, so that when your Drobo device is
turned on, you will be able to see the indicator lights. For more information on Indicator
lights, see Guide to meaning of indicator lights (LEDs).
For more information see Selecting Drives .
You are now ready to connect cables and power on your Drobo device.
3.3 Connecting Cables on Your Drobo 5D3
After installing Drobo Dashboard and inserting the drives into your Drobo 5D3, you are
ready to connect the power and data cables on your Drobo device. There are two ways
you can connect the data cables:
You can connect the Drobo 5D3 directly to your computer using the Thunderbolt 3 port
or the USB 3.0 Type-C port. For information on the different connectivity interfaces
available and their requirements, see Connectivity Interfaces Supported for Drobo 5D3.
If you use the Thunderbolt port, you also have the option to connect the Drobo 5D3 to
another Thunderbolt-enabled device that is attached to your computer (including
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 29
another Drobo device or a display monitor) in a daisy-chain manner. The Drobo 5D3 can
be the first in the daisy-chain (directly attached to your computer), in the middle, or at
the end. For more information and steps, see Connecting Your Drobo 5D3 in a Daisy-
chain.
Next in the Setup for Your Drobo 5D3:
Connecting Directly to Your Drobo 5D3 or Connecting Your Drobo 5D3 in a Daisy-
chain
Return to Setting Up Your Drobo 5D3
3.3.1 Connecting Directly to Your Drobo 5D3
You can connect the Drobo 5D3 directly to your computer using the Thunderbolt 3 port
or the USB 3.0 Type-C port. For information on the different connectivity interfaces
available and their requirements, see
Connectivity Interfaces Supported for Drobo 5D3.
If you are using a Thunderbolt port and would like to connect the Drobo 5D3 in a daisy-
chain, see Connecting Your Drobo 5D3 in a Daisy-chain.
As you follow the steps below, refer to the following image.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 30
1. Plug one end of the Thunderbolt cable into the back of your Drobo 5D3.
2. Plug the other end of the cable into your host computer.
3. Connect the power cord to the power connection at the back of your Drobo device.
4. Connect the other end of the power cord to a power source.
5. You are now ready to turn on your Drobo device and format the drives.
Note:
We recommend connecting a surge protector to protect against power surges.
For more information, see Using Power Protection.
Next in the Setup for Your Drobo 5D3
Formatting the Drives for Your Drobo 5D3
Return to Setting Up Your Drobo 5D3
3.3.2 Connecting Your Drobo in a Daisy Chain
With the Thunderbolt 3 port, you can connect the Drobo 5D3 directly to your computer
or to another Thunderbolt-enabled device in a daisy-chain manner. The Drobo 5D3
performs best when it is the first in the daisy-chain, but it can also be in the middle or at
the end.
You can daisy-chain up to six peripheral devices and one display (which can be a Display
Port monitor) from a single computer. The non-Thunderbolt display needs to be at the
end of the chain.
Note:
As long as they are plugged in, Drobo devices do not need to be powered on for
Thunderbolt interfaces to remain active. This enables other devices in the chain to
remain accessible by the computer.
Here are three options for connecting your Drobo device using its Thunderbolt interface.
1. Your Drobo device directly connected to a computer (with no daisy-chain).
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 31
2. Multiple Drobo devices connected in a chain with a DisplayPort monitor at the end.
3. Your Drobo device connected to an external Thunderbolt monitor that is then
connected to a computer (with the Drobo device at the end).
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 32
As you follow the steps below, refer to the following image.
1. Plug one end of the Thunderbolt cable into the back of your Drobo 5D3.
2. Do one of the following:
● Plug the other end of the cable into your host computer, so that the Drobo
5D3 is the first peripheral in the daisy-chain. Be sure to connect the next
Thunderbolt-enabled peripheral or non-Thunderbolt display monitor to the
second port on your Drobo 5D3, as needed to extend the chain.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 33
● Plug the other end of your cable into another Thunderbolt-enabled device
that is attached to your host computer. You can optionally connect another
Thunderbolt-enabled peripheral or non-Thunderbolt display monitor to the
second port on your Drobo 5D3, as needed to extend the chain.
3. Connect the power cord to the power connection at the back of your Drobo device.
4. Connect the other end of the power supply to a power source.
You are now ready to turn on your Drobo devices in the chain.
Note:
We recommend plugging into a surge protector to protect against power surges.
For more information, see Using Power Protection.
Next in the Setup for Your Drobo 5D3
Formatting Drives for Your Drobo 5D3
Return to Setting Up Your Drobo 5D3
3.4 Powering On Your Drobo 5D3
To power on your Drobo 5D3:
1. Once you attach one end of the power cord to your Drobo 5D3 and the other end of
the cord to a power source. Turn on the Drobo using the power switch located on the
back of the device.
2. Drobo will take several minutes to complete the power on cycle.
3. When the power on cycle is complete, the Drobo will flash blue and yellow lights.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 34
3.5 Initializing and Updating Your Drobo 5D3
to the Latest Firmware
When you first receive a new Drobo 5D3 device, you must use the Drobo Dashboard
application to update it to the latest firmware release.
Note:
Make sure that you have installed the Drobo Dashboard on your system before
following the steps given below. For more information see Downloading and
Installing Drobo Dashboard.
To update the firmware of your Drobo 5D3 to the latest one:
1. Connect the USB or the Thunderbolt cable to the back of your Drobo 5D3.
2. Ensure that the Mac or PC you are using for this setup has a valid Internet/network
connection.
3. Verify that the Drobo is powered off.
4. Insert the drives.
5. Turn on your Drobo 5D3. Wait for your Drobo device to appear on the Dashboard.
Your Drobo should appear with a yellow Drobo device icon on your main dashboard
screen. Double click on the Drobo 5D3 icon.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 35
6. Your Drobo should begin updating to the latest firmware. Please allow Drobo up to
20 minutes for the total initialization process.
Note:
Leave the Dashboard idle while the initialization process is going on.
7. Here is what you will see happen:
During initialization, all of the drive slot LEDs will be yellow and the capacity LEDs will
blink blue. When initialization is complete, your Drobo 5D3 will restart to finish the
firmware upgrade process.
Important Notes:
If the Drobo Dashboard does not detect your Drobo 5D3 and initialization does
not begin, please disable any firewall and antivirus programs.
If the Drobo Dashboard will still not detect your Drobo 5D3 and the lights remain
solid red, please call our support line for assistance or open a ticket on your support
account. For more info, please see: How do I contact technical support?
8. The device temporarily disappears from the Dashboard while it is rebooting. Once
the initialization process is completed, the Drobo device icon will appear green and the
drive bay lights will also turn green. After the device reboots, click on the green Drobo
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 36
device icon in the main dashboard screen and follow the on-screen instructions on the
Drobo Dashboard to format your Drobo device.
9. If the red drive lights are seen again (e.g. "Unknown Disk Set"), please go to the
Drobo Dashboard's Tools section and choose Drobo Reset. This process will erase all the
data on the disk set. If the issue still continues, please contact support. For more
information see Getting Technical Support.
Warning:
This procedure will erase all data from all drives and return your Drobo 5D3 to
default settings.
Note:
You can also visit the following website for more information drobo.com/start
If you need to assess that the process is moving smoothly, see Understanding the
indicator lights (LEDs).
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 37
3.6 Formatting the Drives for Your Drobo
5D3
After installing Drobo Dashboard, inserting the drives into your Drobo 5D3 and
connecting cables, you are ready to turn on your Drobo device and format the drives.
Before formatting the drives, it is important to determine the proper file system format
and volume size suitable for your device.
Note:
If you have migrated the entire disk pack from another Drobo device to this one,
you do not need to format the drives as they have already been formatted. For
additional information, see Migrating a Disk Pack from Another Drobo Device.
Next in the Setup for Your Drobo 5D3
Selecting a File System and Volume Size for Your Drobo 5D3
Turning On Your Drobo 5D3 and Formatting the Drives
3.6.1 Selecting a File System and Volume Size for
Your Drobo 5D3
When you turn on your Drobo 5D3, you will be prompted to format the drives in your
Drobo 5D3 with a particular file system. The file system formats available to you
depends on your operating system. (See the Figure below.)
You have to format your Drobo 5D3 into at least one volume and should choose an
appropriate size for the volume created. A volume is a storage area that has been
formatted with a file system format which your operating system can recognize. In
Windows, volumes are sometimes called “logical drives” or “partitions.”
The largest volume size you are allowed depends on the file system format you choose
and the total capacity of the drives in your Drobo device. The following table shows the
maximum volume size allowed for each file system format.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 38
Important Notes:
The term Volume does not represent how much actual storage space is available
on your Drobo 5D3. It represents virtual storage space.
For example, your Drobo 5D3 may be loaded with 2TB of drive space, but you can
create a volume of 64TB.What this enables you to do is, add more capacity to your
Drobo 5D3 (by inserting an additional drive or replacing a smaller capacity drive with
a larger capacity one) without having to format an additional volume. The additional
capacity becomes part of the same volume you formatted originally.
Your operating system may show the virtual space available on your Drobo
device, as defined by the volume size.
If the amount of available, protected storage space in your Drobo 5D3 ever
exceeds the size of the volume that you chose (this may occur when you add one or
more additional drives to your Drobo 5D3), then Drobo Dashboard will automatically
create a new volume (or volumes) of the same size as the original volume. Drobo
Dashboard will notify you when this occurs and ask you to format and name the new
volume(s).
Next in the Setup for Your Drobo 5D3
Turning On Your Drobo 5D3 and Formatting the Drives
Return to Setting Up Your Drobo 5D3
3.6.2 Turning On Your Drobo 5D3 and Formatting
the Drives
With Drobo Dashboard installed on your host computer and cables connected, you are
ready to turn on your Drobo 5D3 and format the drives.
To format the drives:
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 39
1. Open the Drobo Dashboard on your computer and press the power toggle button on
the back of your Drobo device once. Your Drobo device powers on and appears on the
All Drobos page in Drobo Dashboard.
Note:
Some of the Windows and Mac operating systems will prompt you to format the
drives. Click Cancel or Ignore, as appropriate, and continue with formatting from
Drobo Dashboard.
2. Double-click on the Drobo 5D3 icon on the All Drobos page. A message appears,
asking if you would like to format the device.
3. Click the Yes button. The Format Type page opens. Depending on your operating
system the page displays with different options.
If you are using a Mac machine, the File Format page will appear as:
If you are using a Windows machine, the File Format page will appear as:
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 40
4. Select the appropriate file format for your operating system and click the Next
button. The Volume Name page opens.
5. If applicable, from the Drive Letter drop-down list, select the drive letter to assign to
the volume.
6. In the Name text box, modify the default name for the volume as you like.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 41
Tip:
We recommend using the word “volume” in the name so as not to confuse the
volume name with your Drobo device’s name.
7. Click the Next button. The Confirm Format page opens.
8. Click the Format button. A message appears, informing you that it can take up to five
minutes to format your drives, and that this may require rebooting your Drobo device.
Afterwards, the Format dialog box opens.
9. Click the OK button. The volumes page of Drobo 5D3 will appear.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 42
Notes:
Drobo Dashboard automatically assigns “Drobo” as the default name for your
Drobo device, which you can rename later.
To use the Drobo's Dual Disk Redundancy feature, you will have to enable the
Dual Disk Redundancy checkbox in the General Settings page.
For more information see Enabling or Disabling Dual Disk Redundancy
Next in the Setup for Your Drobo 5D3
Where to Go Next
Return to Setting Up Your Drobo 5D3
3.7 Registering Your Drobo 5D3
If you did not register your Drobo device during initial setup, you can register the device
from your Drobo Dashboard.
Note:
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 43
You will need to be connected to the Internet to perform this action.
To register your Drobo 5D3 follow the steps shown below:
1. Open the Drobo Dashboard and from the All Drobos page, click the Drobo device you
need to register.
2. Then, click the Help and Support option in the Navigation menu. This opens the Help
and Support page for that Drobo device.
3. From the Drobo Registration area, click on the Register my Drobo devices link to
open the Registration page.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 44
4. Then, do one of the following:
● If you do not have a Drobo account, click the Create a new Drobo account
link. A one-page form opens in your web browser. Fill this in and click Create
Account. Then return to the Registration page to log into your account.
● If you already have a Drobo account, select the Register new Drobo with my
Drobo account option, and then enter your Drobo username and password. You
can click the Forgot username or password link if needed. Continue with step 5.
5. Click the Next button. The connected Drobo devices, and their serial numbers will
appear.
6. Select the Drobo device you would like to register. Enter its purchase date and select
the region from where you purchased it.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 45
Tip:
You can click the Skip this step for now check box at any time.
7. Once done, click the Register Drobo button.
8. The next page shows with a check mark that your product has been registered.
Note:
You can purchase a DroboCare license by clicking on the Buy additional license
link. You will be redirected to the DroboCare page.
9. Repeat steps 5 and 6 to register additional Drobo devices.
10. When finished, click the Done button. You will return to the Help and Support page.
3.8 Migrating a Disk Pack from Another
Drobo Device
The Drobo 5D3 supports migrating entire disk packs from Drobo 5C, Drobo Gen3, Drobo
5D and Drobo S, preserving all the data and volumes you had created. You can also
migrate disk packs from one Drobo 5D3 to another.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 46
Note:
A disk pack functions as a unit. When you migrate a disk pack, you move ALL the
drives from one Drobo device to another. Only after migration of the disk pack is
complete can you add additional drives to the new Drobo device, one at a time, if
desired.
If you are migrating the disk pack from a Drobo 5C, Drobo Gen3, Drobo 5D or
Drobo S to a Drobo 5D3, note that this is a one-way migration. After the migration,
you will not be able to use the disk pack in the Drobo 5C, Drobo Gen3, Drobo 5D or
Drobo S.
For information on migration of disk pack see Migrating Your Disk between Drobo
Products
Warning:
Do not migrate drives when either of the Drobo device is powered on. This can
result in data loss.
To ensure a safe and successful migration, carefully follow the steps below.
1. Ensure that the latest version of Drobo Dashboard is installed on a host computer.
See Installing Drobo Dashboard.
2. Ensure that both the devices are updated to the latest version of firmware by
"checking for updates" in Drobo Dashboard.
To do this:
● Ensure you have set up your Drobo 5D3 (but without inserting drives) and
connected it to your host computer.
● Ensure that your Drobo 5C, Drobo Gen3, Drobo 5D or Drobo S (with its
drives) is still connected to the host computer.
● In Drobo Dashboard, on the All Drobos page, select the Drobo 5C, Drobo
Gen3, Drobo 5D or Drobo S, and then click the Tools option on the Navigation
menu.
● In the Software Updates area of the Tools page, click the Check for Updates
option.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 47
● If needed, follow the same steps to ensure the Drobo 5D3 has the latest
firmware.
To migrate a disk pack from another Drobo device to Drobo 5D3:
1. Safely shut down the Drobo 5C, Drobo Gen3, Drobo 5D or Drobo S and the Drobo
5D3. For steps, see Safely Shutting Down Your Drobo 5D3
2. Remove ALL drives from the Drobo 5C, Drobo Gen3, Drobo 5D or Drobo S and insert
ALL drives into the Drobo 5D3.
3. Turn the Drobo 5D3 back on by pressing its power toggle button.
4. The Drobo 5D3 may take a few minutes to boot up. When finished, all the data and
volumes will be available on the Drobo 5D3 as it was on the Drobo 5C, Drobo Gen3,
Drobo 5D or Drobo S.
Note:
You can also follow the above steps to migrate a disk pack from one Drobo 5D3 to
another Drobo 5D3.
3.9 Using Drobo 5D3 with Time Machine or
Backup Software
Drobo 5D3 introduces the ability to create a dedicated backup volume for use with OS X
Time Machine, Windows Backup and Restore, or other backup software. The backup
volume is compatible with encrypted backup options. This article will show you how to
set it up.
Creating a backup volume
These steps will create a fixed-size backup volume that will appear as a new disk,
separate from your main Drobo volume. Having this dedicated, fixed-size backup volume
will prevent backup software from filling your main Drobo volume with daily backups.
Follow these steps:
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 48
1. Open the Drobo Dashboard and wait for your Drobo 5D3 to appear in the All
Drobos page.
2. Double-click the image of your Drobo 5D3.
3. Then, click Volumes from the menu. Volume details of the selected Drobo will
appear.
4. Click the Enable Backup button.
5. Enter a name for your backup volume and the desired size (GB).
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 49
6. Click the OK button.
7. When you see the "Confirm Restart" dialog, take a moment to stop any activity on
the Drobo 5D3, because it must restart. When you are ready, click Yes to continue.
8. Wait until you receive the message that "Volume management changes have been
made successfully," then click the OK button.
9. Now you will see the backup volume you created listed under Volumes. You may
now close the Drobo Dashboard.
10. To finish the process, open the settings for your third-party backup software, such as
Time Machine, and select the backup volume that you created as the destination
volume.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 50
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 51
4 Where To Go Next
After you have set up your Drobo 5D3, you are ready to store and back up data onto it.
Next steps include the following. Click on a topic below to learn more.
Using Best Practices for Data Protection
Keeping Drobo Dashboard and Drobo 5D3’s Firmware Up to Date
Using the Online User Guide
Using Context-Sensitive Help
Using Knowledge Base
Registering Your Drobo 5D3
Getting Technical Support
4.1 Using Best Practices for Protecting Data
Although your Drobo 5D3 provides redundancy and automatically protects your data
against a drive failure, it should only be one part of an overall digital asset management
strategy.
To better safeguard your valuable data, we strongly encourage you to review our
guide on best practices, which can be found at myproducts.drobo.com/article/AA-
01861
Our guide offers strategies to protect data beyond drive failures. Following best
practices will help maximize the safety of your data.
4.2 Keeping Your Software Up to Date
To ensure optimal performance, we highly recommend that you set your Drobo device
to automatically check for software updates (you may have already done this during the
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 52
initial set up). This feature keeps both the Drobo Dashboard and your device’s firmware
up to date.
You can also install updates from the Start 5D3 page. If you would like to install a
firmware update from the Drobo website, see Manually Updating Firmware from the
Website.
4.2.1 Checking for Software Updates
The following steps ensure that Drobo Dashboard and your Drobo device’s firmware are
up to date.
1. In Drobo Dashboard, select the appropriate Drobo 5D3 device on the All Drobos
page.
2. Click the Tools option on the Navigation menu to open the Tools page.
3. In the Software Updates area of the Tools page, click the Check for Updates option.
4. If a software update is available, a dialog box opens, asking if you would like to install
the update. Click the Yes button and follow the prompts to install the update.
4.3 Using the Online User Guide
After you have set up your Drobo 5D3, you are ready to use it to store and back up data.
To learn how to manage and use your Drobo 5D3, refer to the Online User Guide for
your product available at the Drobo 5D3 page.
You can also access the user guide from the Drobo Dashboard by clicking the Help &
Support option on the Navigation menu. This will lead to the Help and Support. page.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 53
From here, click the View Drobo User Guide link to open the Online User Guide in a web
browser.
4.4 Using Context-Sensitive Help
On the top right corner of the Drobo Dashboard, you will find the Help button (?). Click
this button to view the context-sensitive help. The Help window opens in your Internet
browser providing information particular to the page from which you clicked for help.
Topics:
Using the Online User Guide
Using Knowledge Base
Getting Support
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 54
4.5 Using Knowledge Base
Our searchable knowledge base provides answers to almost any question related to your
Drobo 5D3 that you cannot find in the Online User Guide.
To access our knowledge base, follow the steps below.
1. From the Drobo Dashboard, click the Help and Support option on the Navigation
menu. This opens the Help and Support page.
2. Under the Check Drobo online resources! area, click the Search Knowledge Base link
to open the Drobo Knowledge Base web page. From the page, you can search for topics
related to you Drobo device.
Note:
You can access our knowledge base at Drobo Support page.
4.6 Registering Your Drobo 5D3
If you did not register your Drobo device during initial setup, you can register the device
from your Drobo Dashboard.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 55
Note:
You will need to be connected to the Internet to perform this action.
To register your Drobo 5D3 follow the steps shown below:
1. Open the Drobo Dashboard and from the All Drobos page, click the Drobo device you
need to register.
2. Then, click the Help and Support option in the Navigation menu. This opens the Help
and Support page for that Drobo device.
3. From the Drobo Registration area, click on the Register my Drobo devices link to
open the Registration page.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 56
4. Then, do one of the following:
● If you do not have a Drobo account, click the Create a new Drobo account
link. A one-page form opens in your web browser. Fill this in and click Create
Account. Then return to the Registration page to log into your account.
● If you already have a Drobo account, select the Register new Drobo with my
Drobo account option, and then enter your Drobo username and password. You
can click the Forgot username or password link if needed. Continue with step 5.
5. Click the Next button. The connected Drobo devices, and their serial numbers will
appear.
6. Select the Drobo device you would like to register. Enter its purchase date and select
the region from where you purchased it.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 57
Tip:
You can click the Skip this step for now check box at any time.
7. Once done, click the Register Drobo button.
8. The next page shows with a check mark that your product has been registered.
Note:
You can purchase a DroboCare license by clicking on the Buy additional license
link. You will be redirected to the DroboCare page.
9. Repeat steps 5 and 6 to register additional Drobo devices.
10. When finished, click the Done button. You will return to the Help and Support page.
4.7 Getting Support
To get support, first be sure to register your product at www.drobo.com/registration, if
you have not already done so. You can then go to www.drobo.com/support for details
on how to contact support.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 58
You can also find support in Drobo Dashboard.
In Drobo Dashboard on the All Drobos page, select the Drobo device for which you need
to get support, and then click the Help and Support option on the Navigation menu.
The Help and Support page opens and allows you to register your Drobo, access the
online user guide and knowledge base, contact the Drobo support team and create a
diagnostics file.
You can also obtain additional hardware and phone support by purchasing DroboCare.
The DroboCare™ support program extends your peace of mind beyond the standard
warranty term and phone support that is included with your Drobo product purchase. To
learn more about DroboCare visit: www.drobo.com/drobocare.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 59
5 Using and Managing Your Drobo 5D3
Once you have set up your Drobo device, you are ready to use and manage it.
Topics:
Using Drobo Dashboard
Renaming Your Drobo 5D3
Formatting Your Drobo 5D3
Safely Shutting Down Your Drobo 5D3
Resetting Your Drobo 5D3 (erasing all data on the drives)
Blinking Lights to Test Connectivity
Enabling or Disabling the System Tray
5.1 Using Drobo Dashboard
Drobo Dashboard is the software companion of your Drobo 5D3, enabling you to easily
set up, manage and use your Drobo device.
5.1.1 Keeping Your Software Up to Date
To ensure optimal performance, we highly recommend that you set your Drobo device
to automatically check for software updates (you may have already done this during the
initial set up). This feature keeps both the Drobo Dashboard and your device’s firmware
up to date.
You can also install updates from the Start 5D3 page. If you would like to install a
firmware update from the Drobo website, see Manually Updating Firmware from the
Website.
Next steps:
Checking for Software Updates
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 60
Manually Updating Firmware from the Website
5.1.1.1 Checking for Software Updates
The following steps ensure that Drobo Dashboard and your Drobo device’s firmware are
up to date.
1. In Drobo Dashboard, select the appropriate Drobo 5D3 device on the All Drobos
page.
2. Click the Tools option on the Navigation menu to open the Tools page.
3. In the Software Updates area of the Tools page, click the Check for Updates option.
4. If a software update is available, a dialog box opens, asking if you would like to install
the update. Click the Yes button and follow the prompts to install the update.
5.1.2 Manually Updating Firmware from Drobo
Website
To manually update the firmware from the website, take the following steps.
1. Launch the Drobo Dashboard and select Drobo 5D3 from the All Drobos page. Also, if
applicable, log in to this Drobo device.
2. Click the Tools option on the Navigation menu for the selected Drobo device to open
the Tools page.
3. From the Software Updates area, click the Manual Update option.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 61
4. A warning message opens, asking you to complete or stop any data transfers.
5. Ensure that the Drobo device is not actively transferring data (blinking yellow and
green), and then click the OK button. A dialog box opens, asking you to locate the zip file
on your computer.
6. Please do so and then click the Open or OK button.
7. Drobo installs the firmware. When finished, a message opens, asking you to reboot
your Drobo device to complete the installation.
8. Click the Yes button. Drobo shuts down and restarts after the new firmware is
installed.
5.1.3 Touring Drobo Dashboard
In this topic, the two main areas of Drobo Dashboard are defined for the Drobo 5D3: the
All Drobos page and the Navigation menu.
All Drobos Page
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 62
When you first open the Drobo Dashboard, by default, the All Drobos page appears
displaying all Drobo devices connected to your computer and/or network.
View
● The View buttons in the upper-right corner of the page enable you to
view your Drobo devices in one of the two following ways:
● View by Icon– This button provides a view of the connected Drobo devices
displaying each device as an icon. The selected Drobo device is highlighted with a green
border.
● View as List – This button provides a view of your Drobo devices in table format.
Information in the list includes total protected capacity available for data, used capacity,
free capacity, your device’s serial number and whether you are currently logged in or
out (if applicable). The currently selected Drobo device has a blue border.
For more information on understanding capacity values, see Checking Storage Usage.
You can click on a button to change the view. In both views, Drobo devices appear with
green glowing lights if they are healthy.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 63
Sort By
The Sort By buttons enable you to sort your Drobo devices
in one of the following ways:
● Health – This button sorts Drobo devices by their health, with Drobo devices in red
displayed first, followed by yellow, and then green. This is the default view.
● Red - indicates the Drobo device is 95% full and you need to add capacity (or
drives), or a drive needs to be replaced, or your data is currently busy working
to protect your data right now. Flashing red indicates that one of the drives
needs to be replaced immediately.
● Yellow - indicates the Drobo device is more than 85% full, but less than 95%
full.
● Green - indicates that the Drobo device is less than 85% full and that your
data is protected.
● Name – This button sorts Drobo devices alphabetically by the names you gave them,
with Drobo devices which are directly attached listed first.
● Product – This button sorts Drobo devices alphabetically by their model numbers or
product names, with Drobo devices which are directly attached listed first.
To select a Drobo device, just click on it once on the All Drobos page. All subsequent
commands in Drobo Dashboard (found on the Navigation menu on the left), will apply
to the selected device.
Tip:
You can double-click on a Drobo device on the All Drobos page to open the Status
page for that device.
Navigation Menu
The Navigation menu appears on the left side of the screen. Options and commands in
this menu apply to the currently selected Drobo device. (You can select a Drobo device
on the All Drobos page.)
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 64
Menu options include the following:
● All Drobos (#), where # is the number of Drobo devices you have connected – Opens
the All Drobos page.
● Status – Opens the Status page, where you can view a variety of status information
for the selected Drobo device, such as drive information, device serial number and
more.
● Capacity – Opens the Capacity page, where you can view how your Drobo device’s
storage capacity is being used.
● Volumes – Opens the Volumes page, which enables you to view and manage
volumes for your Drobo device.
● Tools – Opens the Tools page, which provides access to special tools, such as those
to restart your Drobo device or check for software updates.
● Drobo Settings – Opens a sub-menu with the option to modify various types of
settings, such as General, Admin and Network.
Note:
Not all Drobo devices include all of these options.
● Dashboard Preferences – Opens the Dashboard Preferences page, which enables
you to modify Dashboard settings, such as those for automatic software updates and e-
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 65
mail settings. (E-mail settings enable you to receive e-mail alerts on the status of your
Drobo devices).
● Help and Support – Opens the Help and Support page, which provides access to
various forms of help, including the Online User Guide and the Drobo knowledge base.
Tip:
For Status, Capacity, Volumes and Tools pages, you can view the same
information for other connected Drobo devices (if applicable) by clicking the up or
down arrow key that displays to the left of the Drobo device name, which is in the
upper-left corner of the page. For example, see the arrows in the following image:
5.2 Renaming Your Drobo 5D3
To rename your Drobo 5D3:
1. Open the Drobo Dashboard and select the Drobo device that you would like to
rename from the All Drobos page.
2. Click the Tools option on the Navigation menu. The Tools page for that Drobo device
opens.
3. In the Drobo Operations area, click the Rename Drobo option. The Rename Drobo
dialog page opens.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 66
4. Click in the Drobo Name text box and modify the text as desired.
5. When finished, click the OK button. You will return to the Tools page with the new
name displayed on the top.
5.3 Formatting Your Drobo 5D3
When you first set up your Drobo 5D3, you are soon prompted to format the drives in
your device. (See Formatting Drives for Your Drobo 5D3).You may choose to re-format
the drives at anytime thereafter.
Warning:
Any data on the drives will be lost when you re-format. Be sure to move the data
to another location first.
Follow these steps to format your Drobo 5D3:
1. In Drobo Dashboard on the All Drobos page, select the Drobo device that you would
like to format.
2. Click the Tools option from the Navigation menu. The Tools page for that Drobo
device opens.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 67
3. In the Drobo Operations area, click the Format option. A dialog box opens, warning
that your data on the drives will be lost and asking if you would like to continue.
4. Click the Yes button to continue. The Format Type page opens. Depending on your
operating system the page displays with different options.
This is the Format Type page for Drobo 5D3 in Windows
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 68
This is the Format Type page for Drobo 5D3 for Macintosh
5. Select the appropriate file format for your operating system and click the Next
button. The Volume Name page opens.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 69
6. If applicable, from the Drive Letter drop-down list, select the drive letter to assign to
the volume.
7. In the Name text box, modify the default name for the volume as you like.
Tip:
We recommend using the word “volume” in the name so as to not confuse the
volume name with your Drobo device’s name.
8. Click the Next button. The Confirm Format page opens.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 70
9. Click the Format button. A message opens, informing you that it can take up to five
minutes to format your drives, and that this may require rebooting your Drobo device.
Afterwards, the Format dialog box opens.
10. Click the OK button. Your Drobo device displays on the Tools page in Drobo
Dashboard.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 71
5.4 Safely Shutting Down Your Drobo 5D3
If you plan to shut down your Drobo 5D3 for any reason, it is very important that you
always do so safely. Improper Drobo device shutdowns may cause file corruption
and/or data loss.
It is a good idea to shut down your Drobo device before any of the following situations:
● You are not going to be using your Drobo 5D3 for an extended period
● You are going to disconnect the cable(s) or power cord
● You want to move your Drobo to another location
● You are going to remove the entire disk pack
● You are going to apply operating system updates
5.4.1 Safely Shutting Down Your Drobo 5D3 Using
Drobo Dashboard
This is the recommended method for safely shutting down your Drobo device.
To safely shutdown your Drobo device:
1. Check that the activity light on your Drobo device is off, indicating that no data is
actively being transferred to or from your Drobo device.
Note:
If data is actively being transferred, the activity light will be blinking green.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 72
2. Also check to ensure the drive bay action indicator lights are not blinking alternately
between yellow and green. This indicates that your Drobo device is busy working to
protect your data. Wait until these lights are a solid green.
Note:
If one or more drive bay lights are red, you need to add capacity or replace the
current drive (see Understanding the Indicator Lights). However, you can still safely
shut down your Drobo 5D3.
3. In the Drobo Dashboard, select the Drobo 5D3 that you would like to shut down from
the All Drobos page, and click the Tools option on the Navigation menu. The Tools page
opens.
4. In the Drobo Operations area, select the Shutdown option. A message box opens,
asking you to confirm the shutdown.
5. Click the Yes button.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 73
6. It can take up to two minutes for your Drobo 5D3 to power down. Afterwards, the
power light turns off, indicating your Drobo device has shut down.
5.5 Resetting Your Drobo 5D3
You can reset your Drobo device back to its factory defaults.
Warning:
Resetting your Drobo device erases all the data on the drives.
To reset your Drobo 5D3:
1. Open the Drobo Dashboard and select the appropriate Drobo device from the All
Drobos page.
2. From the Navigation menu, click the Tools option. This opens the Tools page for that
Drobo device.
3. In the Drobo Reset area, click the Drobo Reset option. The Confirm Erase dialog
page opens.
4. If you are sure you would like to proceed, in the text box, type ERASE and click the
Confirm button.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 74
5. Your Drobo device gets reset to its factory settings, which can take a few minutes.
Once complete, this Drobo device will no longer appear in the Drobo Dashboard.
Note:
If the Drobo device remains powered on and connected to your host computer, the
Drobo Dashboard will re-discover the Drobo device as if it were new.
5.6 Blinking Lights to Test Connectivity
A simple test to verify that your Drobo 5D3 is connected, directly or indirectly, to your
host computer, is to use Drobo Dashboard to blink the lights on your Drobo device.
To make the lights blink:
1. From the All Drobos page, select the Drobo device whose connectivity you would
like to check.
2. Click the Tools option on the Navigation menu. The Tools page for that Drobo device
opens.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 75
3. In the Drobo Operations area, click the Turn Blink Lights ON option.
4. The drive lights on your Drobo device blink red and green alternatively for 15
seconds.
5.7 Enabling or Disabling System Tray
By default, the Drobo icon appears in your system tray. When you right-click the Drobo
icon, a short-cut menu opens, enabling you to:
● Launch Drobo Dashboard.
● Find out the version of Drobo Dashboard.
● Hide or show alerts for your Drobo device.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 76
You can choose to disable the Drobo shortcut in the system tray and later enable it at
any time. To enable/disable the system tray:
1. Open the Drobo Dashboard and click the Dashboard Preferences option on the
Navigation menu. The Dashboard Preferences page opens.
2. If the system tray feature is already enabled, then you will see a tick mark in the
Enable System Tray Application check box. If the tick is not present, then you can
enable the feature by selecting the Enable System Tray Application check box.
3. If you want to disable the system tray feature, then clear the Enable System Tray
Application check box.
Note:
If the system tray is disabled, on-screen alerts will not be displayed.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 77
6 Modifying Device Settings for Your
Drobo 5D3
You can modify various settings for your Drobo device, such as IP addresses.
Topics:
Enabling or Disabling Dual Disk Redundancy
Modifying the Disk Drive Spin Down Time
Dimming the Lights on Your Drobo 5D3
6.1 Enabling or Disabling Dual Disk
Redundancy
Dual Disk Redundancy protects your Drobo 5D3 in the event of two simultaneous drive
failures. Although it provides additional protection, it requires more disk space. To learn
more about how much more disk space is required, see Determining Drive Space
Requirements.
Note:
Enabling dual disk redundancy will not erase your data.
To use Dual Disk Redundancy, you will need a minimum of three drives. The
option will not be available to you if you do not have a sufficient number of drives or
capacity. First, you may need to Add Capacity.
To enable or disbale dual disk redundancy:
1. In Drobo Dashboard on the All Drobos page, select the Drobo device for which you
would like to enable or disable Dual Disk Redundancy.
2. Click the Drobo Settings option on the Navigation menu, and click General. The
General Settings page opens.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 78
3. Select the Dual Disk Redundancy check box to enable it, or de-select it to disable
Dual Disk Redundancy.
A message box automatically appears, asking you to confirm the change and letting
you know that the protected capacity on your Drobo device will decrease (if enabling
Dual Disk Redundancy) or increase (if disabling).
4. Click the Yes button in the dialog box to continue.
5. In the General Settings page, click the OK button.
6. If you are enabling Dual Disk Redundancy, an "In Progress" status bar may appear on
the Status page, letting you know that data protection is in progress. This may take
some time.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 79
6.2 Modifying the Disk Drive Spin Down Time
When the disk drives spin down, it helps to save electricity and can prolong the life of
the drives. Note, however, it will take your Drobo 5D3 a few moments to spin the drives
back up again when accessed. The default setting for this feature is 15 minutes on most
Drobo devices.
Note:
When drives spin down, the lights on the Drobo device will dim. When the drives
spin back up again, the lights will fully illuminate.
To modify the disk drive spin down time:
1. In Drobo Dashboard on the All Drobos page, select the appropriate Drobo device.
2. Click the Drobo Settings option on the Navigation menu, and click General. The
General Settings page opens.
3. Select the Disk Drive Spindown check box to enable it, or de-select it to disable Disk
Drive Spindown.
4. Click the OK button. The setting is changed.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 80
6.3 Dimming the Lights on Your Drobo 5D3
On the Drobo 5D3, you have the option to dim the lights on your device.
To do so, follow these steps:
1. In Drobo Dashboard on the All Drobos page, select the appropriate Drobo device.
2. Click the Drobo Settings option on the Navigation menu, and click General. The
General Settings page opens.
3. Click and drag to slide the pointer for the Dim Lights to the level of brightness you
want, where 10 is the brightest and 1 is the dimmest. The default level of brightness is
“10".
4. Click the OK button. The setting is changed.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 81
7 Managing Capacity (Drive Space)
In order to protect your data from drive failure, your Drobo 5D3 requires more drive
space, or capacity, than what you will use for your data, sometimes as much as double
or more the amount of space.
You may need to calculate how much capacity you need for your Drobo device in order
to ensure your data is protected. You may also be ready to add or remove capacity, or
install or remove an mSATA SSD.
This section includes the following topics:
Calculating Capacity to Use
Adding Capacity (or Drives)
Removing Capacity (or Drives)
Inserting an mSATA SSD
Removing an mSATA Card
7.1 Calculating Capacity to Use
The best way to determine how much usable, protected storage space you will have
available for your data, based on the number and capacity of the drives you use in your
Drobo device, is to use our Capacity Calculator at www.drobo.com/calculator.
A shortcut to estimating the capacity available for your data is to omit the largest drive
and then add the capacity of the remaining drives. If you plan to use Dual Disk
Redundancy, omit the largest two drives. For example:
Single Disk (Default) Redundancy
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 82
Dual Disk Redundancy
Notes:
Actual capacity may vary from the value shown in the above example due to
different systems used for rating capacity. This has nothing to do with Drobo devices.
Based on your operating system, 64TB of volume is shown as 64TB in Windows
and 70 TB in Mac. Windows uses 2^10 while Mac uses 10^10 for calculating the
volume.
Approximately 91% of the stated capacity will be available for data storage
purpose.
Know that all Drobo devices enable you to easily increase storage capacity at any
time by simply inserting additional drives or replacing smaller drives with larger
ones.
7.2 Adding Capacity (or Drives)
When you find your Drobo 5D3 is running low on space, you can easily add capacity by
either replacing a smaller capacity drive with a larger one, or by inserting a new drive in
an empty drive bay of your Drobo device. Note that once you add the new drive, it
becomes part of the overall storage pool, with all drives functioning as a unit or “pack.”
You can use drives from any manufacturer and with any capacity. For more information,
see Selecting Drives.
Warning:
Any pre-existing data on the drives you add will be erased during installation.
Tip:
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 83
In the event that your Drobo device becomes nearly full and all the drives are of
the same capacity, you will need to replace two drives, one at a time, in order to
increase the overall amount of protected capacity. Replacing one drive will not
increase your overall protected capacity in this situation.
1. Ensure the drive lights on your Drobo device are not blinking yellow and green,
which indicates that your Drobo device is working to protect your data. Wait until the
blinking stops.
Warning:
Removing or adding a drive during this process may result in loss of data
2. Remove the bezel (faceplate) from the front of your Drobo device by pulling it off.
3. If you are replacing a smaller capacity drive with a larger one, first remove the
smaller capacity drive by using your thumb to depress (and open) the drive lock for the
data bay that contains the drive you would like to remove. Refer to the image below.
4. The drive ejects from the drive bay. Carefully remove it.
Note:
The drive light turns a solid red, indicating that you need to add a drive or replace
the current drive with a larger drive. It may stay red for up to 15 minutes after you
replace the drive.
5. With one hand, hold the drive so that the label on the top of the drive faces up (and
its connectors are positioned at the device and toward the left). Refer to the image
below.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 84
6. With your other hand, use your thumb to depress and hold open the drive lock to an
empty drive bay.
7. Slide the drive into the data bay, release the drive lock and push the drive into place
until you feel it connect. The drive lock will snap behind the drive, securing it into place.
8. Add or replace additional drives in the same manner, following steps 3 through 6.
9. When finished, replace the bezel right side up, so that you will be able to see the
indicator lights whenever your Drobo device is turned on.
7.3 Removing Capacity (or Drives)
You may wish to remove one or more drives from your Drobo 5D3, thereby reducing
overall capacity. Before doing so, keep the following in mind:
● Your Drobo device requires a minimum of two drives, or three drives if you are using
Dual Disk Redundancy, to ensure your data is protected. See Managing Capacity for
more information.
● Remove only one drive at a time while your Drobo device is powered on, giving your
Drobo device the opportunity afterwards to rearrange your data into the safest
configuration across the remaining drives.
● If you would like to remove all drives from your Drobo device, first safely shutdown
your Drobo 5D3, and then unplug the power.
● Data stored on drives removed from your Drobo device cannot be read by other
systems.
If you would like to remove your mSATA card, see Removing an mSATA Card.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 85
To remove the capacity or drives from you Drobo 5D3:
1. Ensure the drive lights on your Drobo device are not blinking yellow and green,
which indicates that your Drobo device is working to protect your data. Wait until the
blinking stops.
Warning:
Removing a drive during this process may result in loss of data.
2. If you are removing all drives from your Drobo device, first safely shut it down and
unplug it from the power source.
Warning:
Not shutting down safely may result in loss of data.
3. Remove the bezel (faceplate) from the front of your Drobo device by pulling it off.
4. Use your thumb to depress (and open) the drive lock for the drive bay that contains
the drive you would like to remove. Refer to the image below.
5. The drive ejects from the drive bay. Carefully remove it.
6. Repeat step 4 to remove additional drives.
7. Replace the bezel when finished.
7.4 Inserting an mSATA SSD
You can install an mSATA SSD into your Drobo 5D3.
Doing so provides accelerated performance when reading data from your Drobo 5D3.
For more information on drive requirements, see Selecting Drives.
The mSATA SSD is not part of your Drobo device's disk pack, so you can add or remove it
at any time.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 86
Important Notes:
It is important to ground yourself before installing the mSATA SSD in order to
discharge static electricity. To do so, touch a grounded metal object just before
installation.
Warning:
If there is any pre-existing data on the mSATA SSD, it will be erased. If you wish to
keep the data, copy it to another drive or medium before using with your
Drobo device.
To install an mSATA SSD, perform these steps:
1. Your Drobo device must be powered off and unplugged before the mSATA
installation.
2. Gently turn the Drobo 5D3 on to its side to access the bottom of the Drobo 5D3, and
open the Drobo Accelerator Bay door by turning the latch from lock to unlock using a
coin.
3. Slide the mSATA SSD into the slot as depicted in the image below.
4. Push the mSATA SSD down to lock in place by using the two pins on the mSATA latch.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 87
5. When finished, close the Drobo Accelerator Bay door and return the Drobo 5D3 to its
normal position.
Next in the Setup for Your Drobo 5D3:
Inserting Drives
Return to Setting Up Your Drobo 5D3
7.5 Removing an mSATA SSD
Because the mSATA SSD card is not part of your device's disk pack, you can remove it
from your Drobo 5D3 at any time.
Note:
Your Drobo device must be powered off and unplugged before removing the
mSATA card.
It is important to ground yourself before doing this in order to discharge static
electricity. To do so, touch a grounded metal object just before installation.
Warning:
Any pre-existing data on the mSATA card will be erased. If you wish to keep the
data, copy it to another drive or medium before using with your Drobo device.
To remove an mSATA card:
1. Safely shut down your Drobo 5D3.
2. Gently turn the Drobo 5D3 on to its side to access the bottom of the Drobo 5D3, and
open the Drobo Accelerator Bay door.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 88
3. Unclip the mSATA card, and remove it. Refer to the image below.
4. When finished, close the Drobo Accelerator Bay door and return the Drobo 5D3 to its
normal position.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 89
8 Checking Storage Usage and Device
Status Information
You can check how your storage is being used, the status of your Drobo 5D3 when in
particular states, and other important information. Your Drobo device’s indicator lights
also provide important key information.
Topics:
Checking Storage Usage
Checking the Status of Your Drobo 5D3
Checking Your Drobo 5D3's Serial Number
Checking Your Drobo 5D3's Firmware Version
Checking Your Current Version of Drobo Dashboard
Checking System Information
Checking Drive Information
Checking Performance Information
Getting Diagnostics on Your Drobo 5D3
Understanding the Indicator Lights
8.1 Checking Storage Usage
There are different ways to view how your Drobo 5D3's storage capacity is being used.
Viewing the Capacity Chart
The capacity chart gives you a quick glance of how much total space is being used, how
much space is allocated for data storage, and finally, how much free space is available
for additional data.
Viewing Storage Usage
This page displays a capacity breakdown bar, which provides more detailed information
about how your drive space is being used. It shows how much space on your Drobo
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 90
device is available for data, used for data protection, reserved for expansion, and used
for overhead administration.
8.1.1 Viewing Capacity Chart
The capacity chart gives you a quick glance, and visual, of how your drive space is being
used on the Drobo 5D3.
To view the capacity chart:
1. In Drobo Dashboard on the All Drobos page, select the Drobo device whose capacity
chart you would like to view.
2. Click the Capacity option on the Navigation menu. The Capacity page for the Drobo
device opens.
3. If the capacity chart is not currently displayed, click the Capacity button to
open the Capacity page.
The capacity is displayed as follows:
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 91
● Total – The total available protected capacity.
● Used Space – The part of the total protected capacity that is currently being
used for data storage.
● Free Space – The part of the total protected capacity available for use.
Tip:
To view this information for other connected Drobo devices (if applicable), you
can click the up or down arrow key that displays to the left of the Drobo device
name, which is in the upper-left corner of the page. See the arrows in the image
below.
8.1.2 Viewing Storage Usage
The Storage Usage view of the Capacity page displays a capacity breakdown bar, which
provides more detailed information about how your drive space is being used on the
Drobo 5D3.
To view the storage usage:
1. In Drobo Dashboard on the All Drobos page, select the Drobo device whose storage
usage you would like to view, and click the Capacity option on the Navigation menu. The
Capacity page for that Drobo device opens.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 92
2. Click the Usage button. The Storage Usage view of the Capacity page
displays.
The capacity breakdown bar displays the following:
● Available for data – The total protected capacity available on which to store
your data.
● Reserved for expansion – The capacity reserved for future use. When one
drive is larger than the others, the difference between the largest and the
second largest drive is reserved for future use. This capacity becomes available
when you add a larger capacity drive or replace a smaller capacity drive with a
larger capacity one.
● Used for protection – Capacity used by the Drobo device to protect your
data in the event of drive failure.
● Overhead – Capacity used by the Drobo device to manage the drives and
how your data is stored.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 93
Tip:
To view this information for other connected Drobo devices (if applicable), you
can click the up or down arrow key that displays to the left of the Drobo device
name, which is in the upper-left corner of the page. See the arrows in the image
below.
8.2 Checking the Status of Your Drobo 5D3
The Status page in Drobo Dashboard provides in-depth information on the status of your
Drobo 5D3.
To view the Status page, do the following:
1. In Drobo Dashboard on the All Drobos page, select the appropriate Drobo device.
2. Click the Status option on the Navigation menu. The Status page opens.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 94
3. From this screen, you can view the status of different aspects of the Drobo 5D3, such
as system information, drive information and performance information, by selecting one
of the options in the drop-down list. The information you can view on this page includes:
● Name - The name of the selected Drobo 5D3.
● Serial # - The serial number for the selected Drobo 5D3.
● Health - The health of the selected Drobo device. It displays as Good (in green) when
healthy or Warning (in orange) when you need to add capacity.
● Firmware - The firmware version running on the selected Drobo 5D3.
● Hot Data Cache - If the value for this is "on," it indicates that you have all HDDs in the
standard drive bays with an mSATA SSD present. The mSATA SSD is used as a cache for
"hot" data that is frequently read.
● Active Interface - The connectivity interface currently being used.
Tip:
To view this information for other connected Drobo devices (if applicable), you
can click the up or down arrow key that displays to the left of the Drobo device
name, which is in the upper-left corner of the page. See the arrows in the image
below.
8.3 Checking Your Drobo 5D3's Serial
Number
You can check for your Drobo 5D3’s serial number from the Status page of Drobo
Dashboard.
To view the serial number of your Drobo device:
1. In the Drobo Dashboard on the All Drobos page, select the appropriate Drobo 5D3.
2. Click the Status option on the Navigation menu. The Status page opens.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 95
3. Select System Information from the drop-down list to view the serial number for the
selected Drobo device.
8.4 Checking Your Drobo 5D3's Firmware
Version
You can check for your Drobo 5D3’s firmware version on the Status page in Drobo
Dashboard.
To view the firmware version of your Drobo device:
1. In Drobo Dashboard on the All Drobos page, select the appropriate Drobo 5D3.
2. Click the Status option on the Navigation menu. The Status page opens.
3. Select System Information from the drop-down list to view the firmware version for
the selected Drobo device.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 96
8.5 Checking the Current Version of Drobo
Dashboard
To check the current version of Dobo Dashboard installed on a Windows machine,
follow these steps:
1. Locate the Drobo icon in your system tray.
Note:
You may need to enable your system tray.
2. Right-click on the icon. A shortcut menu will appear.
3. Select About Drobo Dashboard from the shortcut menu.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 97
4. A message box opens, displaying the Drobo Dashboard version number.
5. Click the OK button to close the message box.
To check the current version of Dobo Dashboard installed on a Mac machine, follow
these steps:
1. Locate the Drobo icon in your system tray.
Note:
You may need to enable your system tray, see Enabling or Disabling the System
Tray
2. Click on the icon and a shortcut menu will appear.
3. Select About Drobo Dashboard from the shortcut menu.
4. A message box opens, showing the Drobo Dashboard version number.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 98
5. Click the OK button to close the message box.
8.6 Checking System Information
The System Information view provides information such as the serial number, firmware
version, and health of your Drobo 5D3. If you use SSDs, their positions are identified in
the image of the Drobo 5D3.
To check the system information of your Drobo 5D3:
1. Open the Drobo Dashboard and select the appropriate Drobo device from the All
Drobos page.
2. Click the Status option from the Navigation menu. This opens the Status page.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 99
3. If the page is not displaying the system information, make sure that you have
selected the System Information from the drop-down list.
The information you can view on this page includes:
● Name - The name of the selected Drobo 5D3.
● Serial # - The serial number for the selected Drobo 5D3.
● Health - The health of the selected Drobo device. It displays as Good (in green) when
healthy or Warning (in orange) when you need to add capacity.
● Firmware - The firmware version running on the selected Drobo 5D3.
● Hot Data Cache - If the value for this is "on," it indicates that you have all HDDs in the
standard drive bays with an mSATA SSD present. The mSATA SSD is used as a cache for
"hot" data that is frequently read.
● Active Interface - The connectivity interface currently being used.
8.7 Checking Drive Information
To check the drive information of your Drobo deviceL
1. In Drobo Dashboard on the All Drobos page, select the appropriate Drobo 5D3.
2. Click the Status option on the Navigation menu. The Status page opens.
3. Select Drive Information from the drop-down list at the top.
4. Select the disk drive whose information you need by clicking the associated drive bay
in the image of the Drobo device.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 100
Notes:
You can also traverse the different drive bays using the arrows on the table
header.
If no disk exists in the selected drive bay, the disk status pane will be empty.
You can view the following drive information for the selected drive bay:
● Vendor ID - The manufacturer of the selected drive.
● Product ID - The product ID for the selected drive.
● Serial # - The serial number of the selected drive.
● Firmware - The firmware version for the selected drive.
● Health - The health status of the drive, based on the errors identified by Drobo while
using the drive. Values include:
● Failed (blinking red) - Indicates that the drive has failed and needs immediate
replacement.
● Warning (orange) - Indicates that the drive is almost full and you need to add
capacity soon.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 101
● Critical (red) - Indicates that the drive is full and you need to add capacity now.
● Good (green) - Indicates that the drive is healthy and no action is needed.
Note:
In addition, if the drive is a Solid State Drive (SSD), the percentage of wear is
reported.
● Capacity - The drive size.
● Drive Type – Options include SSD or HDD.
● Drive Interface – The drive type. It can take one of the following values: SATA/SSD.
8.8 Checking Performance Information
1. In Drobo Dashboard on the All Drobos page, select the appropriate Drobo 5D3.
2. Click the Status option on the Navigation menu. The Status page opens.
3. Select the Performance option from the Status drop-down list to view the following
information:
● IOPS – The average IOPS value for the entire disk pack.
● Read Throughput – The average read throughput value for the entire disk pack,
measured in MB/s.
● Write Throughput – The average write throughput value for the entire disk pack,
measured in MB/s.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 102
8.9 Getting Diagnostics on Your Drobo 5D3
You can view and print an encrypted diagnostic file about your Drobo 5D3.
1. In Drobo Dashboard, click the Help & Support option on the Navigation menu. The
Help and Support page opens.
2. Select the appropriate Drobo device from the drop-down list at the bottom of the
screen and then click the Get Diags button.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 103
3. In the Problem Description text box type in a description of your issue, if you have
support incident number please include it and then click Send button.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 104
The Upload Diags Successful dialog box opens, indicating that the diagnostics has been
successfully uploaded to support.
Generating a diagnostics this way does not automatically create support incident, you
will need to create a support incident if you require assistance.
If you cannot generate a diagnostics file because your Drobo device does not mount,
see: What should I do if my Drobo storage device will not mount?
8.10 Understanding the Indicator Lights
Your Drobo 5D3 is equipped with various indicator lights which provide valuable
information. Refer to the image below.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 105
Drive
Lights
Green: No action is required. All drives are healthy.
Solid Yellow: Add a drive or replace the current drive with a larger drive soon.
Your Drobo device is running out of disk space. See Adding Capacity (or
Drives).
Blinking Yellow and Green: Do not remove these drives or power down. Your
Drobo device is working to protect your data.
Solid Red: Add a drive or replace the current drive with a larger drive
immediately. Your Drobo device is critically low on space. See Adding
Capacity(or Drives)
Blinking Red: Replace this drive immediately. This drive has failed. See Adding
Capacity(or Drives)
Power
Light
Green: The power is on and your Drobo device is ready.
Yellow: Your Drobo device is in the process of powering on.
Red: Your Drobo device has overheated. Safely power down your Drobo 5D3,
disconnect the data cable and then the power cable. Let it cool down and then
restart.
Activity
Light
Blinking Green: Data is actively being transferred between your computer and
your Drobo device. Do not remove or add drives during this process.
Capacity
Gauge
Blue: Displays the percentage of your Drobo device that is full, in 10%
increments. There are 10 capacity gauge lights. So, for example, if your Drobo
device is 30% full, three blue lights display.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 106
9 Using On-Screen and E-mail Alerts
In Drobo Dashboard, you can have e-mail alerts sent to one or more e-mail addresses
with relevant information about all your connected Drobo devices. This helps you
anticipate potential issues or critical situations that could arise with one or more of your
Drobo devices, such as the need to increase capacity. You can also set on-screen alerts.
You can set e-mail or on-screen alerts to one of three levels, from informational to
critical.
Topics:
Setting Up or Modifying E-mail Alerts
Modifying When to Send E-mail Alerts
Disabling E-mail Alerts
Modifying When to Send On-Screen Alerts
Disabling On-Screen Alerts
9.1 Setting Up or Modifying E-mail Alerts
Enabling e-mail alerts in Drobo Dashboard keeps you informed of the status of all your
Drobo devices, as well as critical issues such as drive failures, low capacity etc. Once you
have set up e-mail alerts, you can also modify these settings.
Drobo provides users with two options:
● Drobo Email Relay
● Custom Email Server
To configure the e-mail alerts follow the steps given below
1. In Drobo Dashboard, click the Dashboard Preferences option on the Navigation
menu.
2. Click the E-mail Settings link in the Drobo Dashboard E-mail Alerts section.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 107
3. Drobo email settings can be configured using one of the two options, Use Drobo
Email Relay or Use Custom Email Server.
Note:
If you had already configured the mail server before and upgraded to the latest
Dashboard version now, by default the Use Custom Mail Server option remains
configured as shown in the figure below.
Only one of the Mail Servers can be configured at a time.
Drobo Email Relay
To configure Drobo Email relay Sever, follow the steps given below:
1. Select the Use Drobo Email Relay radio button and click Configure.
2. Enter the e-mail address in the space provided at which you wish to receive the
notifications and click the Send Verification Email button.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 108
Note:
If you already have a key, click the Skip button. Then enter the code in the text
area and click Validate.
3. A message appears informing that you will receive a test email shortly. Click OK.
4. You will receive an email from Drobo in your mailbox which contains the Validation
code. Enter the code in the text area and click Validate.
5. If successfully configured, the the Drobo Email settings page will show Drobo Email
Relay configured.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 109
Note:
Once a key is generated, you can reuse it the next time.
It is not possible to configure the Drobo Email Relay Server using the same email-
id if the validation code has already been sent to the email-id recently.
Custom Email Server
To configure Custom Email Server, follow the steps given below:
1. Click the radio button for Use Custom Email Server and click Configure.
2. In the To E-mail Address text box, enter e-mail addresses, separated by commas, to
which you want the alerts sent.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 110
3. In the From E-mail Address text box, enter an e-mail address from which the alerts are
sent.
4. In the Mail Server text box, enter the server from which to send the alerts. This can be
specified as a server name (e.g., smtp.company.com) or a server’s IP address (e.g.,
127.0.0.1). If you are unsure, contact your network administrator or your e-mail service
provider.
Note:
If you are unsure, please contact your network administrator or e-mail service
provider.
Tip:
You can send a test message by clicking the Send Test E-mail button.
5. In the Port text box, modify the TCP/IP port through which your server expects SMTP
submissions, if needed. The default is 25.
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6. If your SMTP server requires authentication, select the Authentication check box and
enter the following information for the “from” e-mail address:
● In the Username text box, enter the username used to retrieve incoming e-
mail.
● In the Password text box, enter the password used to retrieve incoming e-
mail.
● If your SMTP server uses an encrypted connection, select the Use SSL check
box.
7. Click the OK button. The Dashboard Preferences page opens.
Navigate to the Drobo Dashboard E-mail Alerts area, ensure that Send e-mail alerts
check box is selected and then select one of the following options:
● On all useful information – All alerts related to the condition of your Drobo
devices will be e-mailed. These are Drobo Notifications and can include, for
example, when a new drive is added to or removed from your Drobo device.
● When a situation is important – Alerts will be e-mailed only to warn of an
important change to one or more of your Drobo devices that could lead to a
critical situation in the near future. These are Drobo Warnings and can include,
for example, when you convert to Dual Disk Redundancy on your Drobo device.
● On critical situations only – Alerts will be e-mailed only to warn of a critical
status with one or more of your Drobo devices that could lead to potential data
loss. These are Critical Drobo Alerts, which can include when your Drobo device
cannot currently protect your data against drive failure, when your Drobo
device doesn’t recognize one or more of the drives installed, when your Drobo
device does not detect any drives or when too many drives have been removed.
Note:
Once a mail server is configured, it is possible to switch between either of the
Mail Server configurations, but it is not possible to de-configure it. However, you can
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uncheck the Send email alerts checkbox in the Dashboard Preferences page to stop
receiving any e-mail alerts.
9.2 Modifying When to Send E-mail Alerts
You can modify when to send e-mail alerts on all your connected Drobo devices, such as
only when the situation is critical.
1. In Drobo Dashboard, click the Dashboard Preferences option on the Navigation
menu. The Dashboard Preferences page opens.
2. In the Drobo Dashboard E-mail Alerts area, ensure the Send email alerts check box
is selected to enable this feature, and then modify your selection of one of the following
options as needed for the level of alerts you want:
● On all useful information – All alerts related to the condition of your Drobo
devices will be e-mailed. These are Drobo Notifications and can include, for
example, when a new drive is added to or removed from your Drobo device.
Drobo 5D3 User Guide 113
● When a situation is important – Alerts will be e-mailed only to warn of an
important change to one or more of your Drobo devices that could lead to a
critical situation in the near future. These are Drobo Warnings and can include,
for example, when you convert to Dual Disk Redundancy on your Drobo device.
● On critical situations only – Alerts will be e-mailed only to warn of a critical
status with one or more of your Drobo devices that could lead to potential data
loss. These are Critical Drobo Alerts, which can include when your Drobo device
cannot currently protect your data against drive failure, when your Drobo
device doesn’t recognize one or more of the drives installed, when your Drobo
device does not detect any drives or when too many drives have been removed.
9.3 Disabling E-mail Alerts
You can disable e-mail alerts at any time without changing your e-mail alert settings.
To disable e-mail alerts, follow these steps:
1. From the Drobo Dashboard, click the Dashboard Preferences option on the
Navigation menu. The Dashboard Preferences page opens.
2. In the Drobo Dashboard E-mail Alerts area, ensure the Send e-mail alerts check box
is cleared.
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9.4 Modifying When to Send On-Screen
Alerts
You can modify when to send on-screen alerts on all your connected Drobo devices,
such as only when the situation is critical.
1. In Drobo Dashboard, click the Dashboard Preferences option on the Navigation
menu. The Dashboard Preferences page opens.
2. In the Drobo Dashboard Onscreen Alerts area, ensure the Show visual alerts check
box is selected to enable this feature, and then modify your selection of one of the
following options as needed for the level of alerts you want:
● On all useful information – All alerts related to the condition of your Drobo
devices will be displayed on your screen. These are Drobo Notifications and can
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include, for example, when a new drive is added to or removed from your
Drobo device.
● When a situation is important – Alerts will display on your screen only to
warn of an important change to one or more of your Drobo devices that could
lead to a critical situation in the near future. These are Drobo Warnings and can
include, for example, when you convert to Dual Disk Redundancy on your Drobo
device.
● On critical situations only – Alerts will display on your screen only to warn
of a critical status with one or more of your Drobo devices that could lead to
potential data loss. These are Critical Drobo Alerts, which can include when
your Drobo device cannot currently protect your data against drive failure,
when your Drobo device doesn’t recognize one or more of the drives installed,
when your Drobo device does not detect any drives or when too many drives
have been removed.
9.5 Disabling On-Screen Alerts
You can disable on-screen alerts at any time. To do so, follow these steps:
1. From the Drobo Dashboard, click the Dashboard Preferences option on the
Navigation menu. The Dashboard Preferences page opens.
2. In the Drobo Dashboard Onscreen Alerts area, ensure the Show visual alerts check
box is cleared.