5D3 - Uncategorized Drobo - Free user manual and instructions

USER MANUAL 5D3 Drobo

Black electronic device labeled 'drobo' with green indicator lights and control buttons (no readable text beyond branding)

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 Operang Systems Supported 9
2.3.2 Connecvity Interfaces Supported for Drobo 5D3....9

2.4 Checking the Hardware You Need....12

2.4.1 Selectng Drives....13
2.4.2 Determining Drive Space Requirements....15
2.4.3 Using Power Protecon 16

3 Seng 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 Inserng Drives 27
3.3 Connecng Cables on Your Drobo 5D3....28

3.3.1 Connecng Directly to Your Drobo 5D3 29
3.3.1 Connecng Directly to Your Drobo 5D3 29
3.3.2 Connecng Your Drobo in a Daisy Chain 30

3.4 Powering On Your Drobo 5D3....33
3.5 Inializing and Updang Your Drobo 5D3 to the Latest Firmware ....34
3.6 Formang the Drives for Your Drobo 5D3....37

3.6.1 Selecng a File System and Volume Size for Your Drobo 5D3 ....37

3.6.2 Turning On Your Drobo 5D3 and Formang the Drives....38

3.7 Registering Your Drobo 5D3 ....42
3.8 Migrang a Disk Pack from Another Drobo Device 45
3.9 Using Drobo 5D3 with Time Machine or Backup Soware ....47

4 Where To Go Next ....51

4.1 Using Best Pracces for Protecng Data 51
4.2 Keeping Your Soware Up to Date....51

4.2.1 Checking for Soware 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 Geng Support....57

5 Using and Managing Your Drobo 5D3 ....59

5.1 Using Drobo Dashboard....59

5.1.1 Keeping Your Soware Up to Date....59

5.1.1.1 Checking for Soware Updates....60

5.1.2 Manually Updang Firmware from Drobo Website....60
5.1.3 Touring Drobo Dashboard 61

5.2 Renaming Your Drobo 5D3....65
5.3 Formang Your Drobo 5D3....66
5.4 Safely Shung Down Your Drobo 5D3....71
5.4.1 Safely Shung Down Your Drobo 5D3 Using Drobo Dashboard ....71

5.5 Reseng Your Drobo 5D3....73
5.6 Blinking Lights to Test Connecvity....74
5.7 Enabling or Disabling System Tray....75

6 Modifying Device Sengs 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 Calculang Capacity to Use....81
7.2 Adding Capacity (or Drives)....82
7.3 Removing Capacity (or Drives)....84
7.4 Inserng an mSATA SSD....85
7.5 Removing an mSATA SSD....87

8 Checking Storage Usage and Device Status Informaon 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 Informaon....98
8.7 Checking Drive Informaon 99

8.8 Checking Performance Informaon....101
8.9 Geng Diagnoscs on Your Drobo 5D3....102
8.10 Understanding the Indicator Lights 104

9 Using On-Screen and E-mail Alerts....106

9.1 Seng 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

1 Drobo 5D3 User Guide

Congratulaons on your new Drobo!

This Geng Started secon will help you get your Drobo 5D3 set up and running in just a few steps.

Topics:

Before You Begin
Seng Up Your Drobo 5D3
Where to Go Next

2 Before You Begin

Before you begin seng 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.

Drive Bay Drive Lock Drive Bay Indicator Power Capacity Gauge Activity Indicator

Figure 1: Front of the Drobo 5D3 with the bezel (faceplate) removed.

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) Thunderbolt 3 cable (compatible with USB Type-C as well)
• 1.8 m (6.6) power cord with power supply
• Quick Start Card
  • Safety and Warranty Guide

2.3 Checking System Requirements

Check to ensure your operang system and cable interface are supported.

Topics:

▶ Operang Systems Supported
▶ Connecvity Interfaces Supported for Drobo 5D3

2.3.1 Operang Systems Supported

For the most current list of supported operang systems, check the specicaons for your products online at www.drobo.com/products/index.php.

2.3.2 Connecvity 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 conneccon you have available on your computer.

Your Drobo 5D3 device has Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.0 Type-C interface.

Power Toggle Button Thunderbolt 3 Ports USB 3.0 Type-C Port Power

Figure 1: Back of the Drobo 5D3

Notes:

You can only use one conneccon at a me.

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 communicaon 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 illustrave examples of your Drobo 5D3 in a daisy-chain:

There are three opons for connecng your Drobo device using its Thunderbolt interface.

1. Your Drobo device directly connected to a computer (with no daisy-chain).

drogo Probo. Different. Unique. The book has unique problems in your home. You can add your resources. My device is available.

1. Mulple Drobo devices connected in a chain with a DisplayPort monitor at the end.

Desktop setup with monitor, two server racks, and a laptop (no visible text or symbols)

1. Your Drobo device connected to an external Thunderbolt monitor that is then connected to a computer (with the Drobo device at the end).

drobo Drobo. Different. unique. The best offer is not to be used for this business. Starting in 2015.

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 communicaon 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:

▶ Selecng Drives
▶ Determining Drive Space Requirements
Using Power Protecon

2.4.1 Selecng 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 opons.

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 wring 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 opons, see the image below:

HDDs Only 3.5" Drive Bays HDD HDD Drobo Accelerator Bay

• 2 HDDs required
• 3 open bays for expansion
• Drobo Accelerator Bay for performance boost

Advantage = Highest capacity, best price per TB of storage

SSDs Only SSD SSD

• 2 SSDs required
  • 3 open drive bays for expansion

Advantage = Highest performance

graph TD
    A["HDD"] --> B["HDD"]
    B --> C["HDD"]
    C --> D["HDD"]
    D --> E["HDD"]
    E --> F["SSD"]

• 2 HDDs required
• 3 open drive bays for expansion
• mSATA SSD in Drobo Accelerator Bay

Advantage = Highest capacity, best price per TB of storage, SSD accelerated performance

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 opons for more informaon.
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 beer 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 migrang enre disk packs from a Drobo 5C, Drobo Gen3, Drobo 5D or Drobo S, preserving its data. For more informaon, and to ensure a safe and successful migraon of the drives, carefully follow the instrucons in Migrang a Disk Pack from Another Drobo Device.

Warning:

Any pre-exisng data on the drives will be erased while formang or reseng your Drobo 5D3.

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, somemes 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 esmang 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

# Drives	Drive Capacities	Usable Protected Capacity
3	3TB + 3TB + 3TB-	5.44 TB
4	3TB + 1.5TB + 4TB + 5TB-	7.71 TB
4	4TB + 4TB + 5TB + 10TB-	11.8 TB

Dual Disk Redundancy

# Drives	Drive Capacities	Usable Protected Capacity
4	3TB + 3TB + 3TB + 3TB-	5.44 TB
5	3TB + 1.5TB + 4TB + 4TB + 5TB-	7.71 TB
5	4TB + 4TB + 5TB + 5TB + 10TB	11.8 TB

Notes:

Actual capacity may vary from the value shown in the above example due to dierent systems used for rang capacity. This has nothing to do with Drobo devices.

All the Drobo devices enable you to easily increase storage capacity at any me by simply inserng additional drives or replacing smaller drives with larger ones.

2.4.3 Using Power Protecon

Drobo device has an internal baery to protect critical data during sudden or

unexpected power failures. The device will shutdown without any loss of data, so UPS (uninterruptable power supply) is not required.

We recommend using the following power protecon with your Drobo device:

- A power surge protector to protect against power surges

3 Seng 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 me 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. Inserng Drives
3. Connecng Cables on Your Drobo 5D3
4. Inializing and Updang Your Drobo 5D3 to the Latest Firmware
5. Formang the Drives for Your Drobo 5D3
6. Registering Your Drobo 5D3
7. Migrang a Disk Pack from Another Drobo Device
8. Using Drobo 5D3 with Time Machine Backup or Backup Soware
9. Inserng an mSATA SSD (oponal)

Note:

The Drobo 5D3 supports migrang enre disk packs from other devices, preserving its data. To ensure a safe and successful migraon of the drives, carefully follow the instrucons in Migrang a Disk Pack from Another Drobo Device

3.1 Downloading and Installing Drobo Dashboard

The Drobo Dashboard applicaon will help you to set up and manage your Drobo 5D3.

Aer installaon of the Dashboard, you can conjure the sengs to automacally install version updates, which is highly recommended.

Drobo soware and rmware updates for Drobo 5D3 can be downloaded and installed from Start Drobo 5D3 page.

This secon 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 installaon le for Windows.

2. Aer downloading, double-click the Drobo Dashboard Installer to launch it.

3. A pop up will appear asking you to choose the language for installaon. Select the language of your choice and click OK.

4. The Drobo Dashboard Installer (or Installaon Wizard) will appear.

Drobo Dashboard - InstallShield Wizard Welcome to the InstallShield Wizard for Drobo Dashboard The InstallShield(R) Wizard will install Drobo Dashboard on your computer. To continue, click Next. WARNING: This program is protected by copyright law and international treaties. < Back Next > Cancel

1. Click the Next buon to proceed.
2. Follow the instrucons of the Installaon Wizard by clicking the Next buon aer each page.
3. Once you reach the installaon page, click the Install buon.

Ready to Install the Program The wizard is ready to begin installation. Click Install to begin the installation. If you want to review or change any of your installation settings, click Back. Click Cancel to exit the wizard. InstallShield < Back Install Cancel

1. In some Windows operang systems, the Windows Access Control dialog box appears, asking if you want to allow changes to your computer. Click the Allow or Yes buon. This installs the Drobo Dashboard.
2. Aer the installaon is complete, be sure that the Launch Drobo Dashboard checkbox is selected and then, click the Finish buon.

Drobo Dashboard - InstallShield Wizard InstallShield Wizard Completed The InstallShield Wizard has successfully installed Drobo Dashboard. Click Finish to exit the wizard. ✓ Launch Drobo Dashboard < Back Finish Cancel

1. The Drobo Dashboard applicaon 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 opon based on your preference.

The serial number is printed on the compliance label at the boom of the device. For more informaon see Registering Your Drobo 5D3.

Welcome to the world of Drobo... Please take a couple of minutes to register your Drobo. This will enable us to help you in case you ever need assistance. Note: To register your Drobo, a Support account is required. If you do not have an account, please use the link below to create one. Create a new Drobo Support Account Register new Drobo with my Drobo Support account Username Password Forgot username or password Skip this step for now (you can register your Drobo at any time from the Help and Support section.) Next Cancel

Note:

Do not ip the device to record the serial number while it is sll ON.

1. Click the Next buon to view the All Drobos page. Aer a few seconds, Drobo "discovers" all Drobo devices currently connected and displays them on this page.

All Drobos Sort By: Health Name Product Icons | List Drobo Drobo 503 Drobo5N Drobo 5N Drobo Discovery Settings Double-click a Drobo to open its details screen.

1. 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 rmware.

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 installaon le for Mac.

2. Aer downloading, double-click the Drobo Dashboard Installer to launch it.

Drobo Dashboard Installer

1. A pop up will appear asking whether to open the Installer. Click Open.

"Install.app" is an application downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it? "Install.app" is on the disk image "Drobo-Dashboard-3.0.1.dmg". Safari downloaded this disk image today at 10:38 AM from www.drobo.com. Don't warn me when opening applications on this disk image Cancel Show Web Page Open

1. The Install Drobo Dashboard page will appear. Click Connue to proceed to the next screen.

Install Drobo Dashboard This package will run a program to determine if the software can be installed. To keep your computer secure, you should only run programs or install software from a trusted source. If you're not sure about this software's source, click Cancel to stop the program and the installation. Cancel Continue

1. The Firewall Warning page appears. Click Connue.

Firewall Warning Important! If the Mac Firewall is turned on, after the installation finishes please make sure to configure it to allow Drobo Dashboard, DDserviced and DDserviced64 to connect. More information regarding firewall can be found here: https://myproducts.drobo.com/article/ AA-01820 Go Back Continue

1. Next, the Installaon Wizard page appears. Click Connue to proceed.

Install Drobo Dashboard Welcome to the Drobo Dashboard Installer Welcome to the Installation Wizard for Drobo Dashboard This Installation Wizard will install Drobo Dashboard on your computer. Click Continue. WARNING: This program is protected by copyright law and international treaties. Go Back Continue

1. The Soware License Agreement page appears. From here, you can choose the language in which you want to proceed the installaon process.

Install Drobo Dashboard Software License Agreement English DROBO, INC. END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT PLEASE READ CAREFULLY -- This End User License Agreement ("Agreement") is an agreement between Drobo, Inc. ("Drobo") and you or the legal entity you represent ("You"). This Agreement applies to any software that accompanies this Agreement, any software included in or with any Drobo hardware device, and any software that is purchased or made available for download from a Drobo website ("Software"). The terms of this Agreement also apply to any Drobo updates, supplements, Internet-based services, and support services for the Software as well as any Drobo hardware device, unless other terms accompany those items. If so, those terms apply. BY USING THE RELATED DROBO HARDWARE DEVICE ("PRODUCT"), BY CLICKING "ACCEPT" BELOW OR AT THE TIME OF DOWNLOAD, OR BY INSTALLING OR USING THE SOFTWARE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, DO NOT USE THE PRODUCT, DO NOT CLICK "ACCEPT" AND DO NOT INSTALL OR USE ANY SOFTWARE. INSTEAD, YOU MAY RETURN THE PRODUCT AND SOFTWARE TO YOUR PLACE OF PURCHASE FOR A REFUND OR CREDIT. 1. SOFTWARE LICENSE. Subject to Your compliance with all the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Drobo hereby grants You a limited, non-transferable, non-exclusive license to use for Your personal or internal business purposes the Software and Documentation on the number of computers for which You have Print... Save... Go Back Continue

1. Aer choosing the desired language, Click the Connue buon.

Install Drobo Dashboard Software License Agreement ✓ English Français Deutsch jp PLEASE READ C ("Agreement") is an agreement between Drobo, Inc. ("Drobo") and you or the legal entity you represent ("You"). This Agreement applies to any software that accompanies this Agreement, any software included in or with any Drobo hardware device, and any

1. A dialog box will appear asking you to Agree or Disagree the terms of the license agreement. Click Agree to proceed.

To continue installing the software you must agree to the terms of the software license agreement. Click Agree to continue or click Disagree to cancel the installation and quit the Installer. Read License Disagree Agree supplements, Internet-based services, and support services for the software as well as any Drobo hardware device, unless other terms accompany those items. If so, those terms apply.

1. You will reach the Installaon Type secon. Click the Install buon to proceed.

Install Drobo Dashboard Standard Install on "Macintosh HD" This will take 69.7 MB of space on your computer. Click Install to perform a standard installation of this software for all users of this computer. All users of this computer will be able to use this software. Firewall Warning Introduction License Destination Select Installation Type Installation Summary drobo Go Back Install

1. You will be prompted to enter the administrator password. Enter the password and click Install Soware.

Installer is trying to install new software. Type your password to allow this. Username: Administrator Password: Cancel Install Software

1. Then, you will be prompted to restart your computer in order to complete the installaon. Click Connue Installaon to proceed.

Install Drobo Dashboard When this software finishes installing, you must restart your computer. Are you sure you want to install the software now? Cancel Continue Installation Firewall W Introduction License Destination Select Installation Type Installation Summary drobo Go Back install

1. When the installaon completes, you will see the following screen to restart the computer to nish the installaon. Click Restart.

Install Drobo Dashboard The installation was completed successfully. Firewall Warning Introduction License Destination Select Installation Type Installation Summary the installation was successful. The software was installed. Click Restart to finish installing the software. Go Back Restart

1. Once the computer restarts, launch the Drobo Dashboard applicaon.

2. The applicaon will prompt you to register your Drobo 5D3. You can either register it or skip the step and register it later. Select an opon based on you preference.

Note:

We highly recommend to register your product in order to obtain support.

1. Click the Next buon to view the All Drobos page. Aer a few seconds, Drobo "discovers" all Drobo devices currently connected and displays them on this page.

Note:

Aer the Drobo Dashboard launches, you may be asked if Drobo can collect anonymous informaon on your usage. Click Yes or No, as desired.

1. If you have no Drobo device connected to the computer or powered on, a "No Drobos Detected" message displays unl you do.

2. Your Drobo 5D3 will not work until you upgrade the rmware. For information on updang the rmware to the latest version, see Updang your Drobo 5D3 to the latest rmware.

3.2 Inserng Drives

As a rst step to set up your Drobo 5D3, insert the drives into your device. For more informaon on drive requirements, see Selecng Drives.

Also, see this link on the Drobo website: hp://www.drobo.com/storage-products/choose-drive/.

! Warning:

Any pre-exisng data on the drives will be erased, as the drives will be formaed. 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 funcon as a unit or "pack." To access the data on them, you will need the enre pack.

The Drobo 5D3 supports migrang enre disk packs from other devices, preserving its data. To ensure a safe and successful migraon of the drives, carefully follow the instrucons in Migrang 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 o.
2. With one hand, hold the drive so that the label on the top of the drive faces up (and its connectors are posioned at the device and toward the le). Refer to the image below.

Connectors

1. 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.

Drive Lock Drive Bay Drive Bay Indicator

1. 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.

2. Insert additional drives in the same manner, following steps 2 through 4.

Note:

Once you insert the drives into your Drobo 5D3, they funcon as a unit or "pack." To access the data on them, you will need the enre pack.

1. When nished, 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 informaon on Indicator lights, see Guide to meaning of indicator lights (LEDs).

For more informaon see Selecng Drives.

You are now ready to connect cables and power on your Drobo device.

3.3 Connecng Cables on Your Drobo 5D3

Aer installing Drobo Dashboard and inserng 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 informaon on the dierent connectivity interfaces available and their requirements, see Connectivity Interfaces Supported for Drobo 5D3.

If you use the Thunderbolt port, you also have the opon to connect the Drobo 5D3 to another Thunderbolt-enabled device that is aached to your computer (including

another Drobo device or a display monitor) in a daisy-chain manner. The Drobo 5D3 can be the rst in the daisy-chain (directly aached to your computer), in the middle, or at the end. For more informaon and steps, see Connecng Your Drobo 5D3 in a Daisy-chain.

Next in the Setup for Your Drobo 5D3:

▶ Connecng Directly to Your Drobo 5D3 or Connecng Your Drobo 5D3 in a Daisy-chain
▶ Return to Seng Up Your Drobo 5D3

3.3.1 Connecng 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 informaon on the dierent 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 Connecng Your Drobo 5D3 in a Daisy-chain.

As you follow the steps below, refer to the following image.

Power Toggle Button Thunderbolt 3 Ports USB 3.0 Type-C Port Power

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 conncon 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 connecng a surge protector to protect against power surges. For more informaon, see Using Power Protecon.

Next in the Setup for Your Drobo 5D3

Formang the Drives for Your Drobo 5D3

Return to Seng Up Your Drobo 5D3

3.3.2 Connecng 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 rst 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 acve. This enables other devices in the chain to remain accessible by the computer.

Here are three opons for connecng your Drobo device using its Thunderbolt interface.

1. Your Drobo device directly connected to a computer (with no daisy-chain).

drobo Drobo. Different. Unique. The best upgrade is recommended to use your computer.

1. Mulple Drobo devices connected in a chain with a DisplayPort monitor at the end.

Desktop setup with monitor, keyboard, mouse, and two server units connected by a laptop (no visible text or symbols)

1. Your Drobo device connected to an external Thunderbolt monitor that is then connected to a computer (with the Drobo device at the end).

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 rst 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.

- Plug the other end of your cable into another Thunderbolt-enabled device that is aached to your host computer. You can onally connect another Thunderbolt-enabled peripheral or non-Thunderbolt display monitor to the second port on your Drobo 5D3, as needed to extend the chain.

1. Connect the power cord to the power conncon at the back of your Drobo device.
2. 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 informaon, see Using Power Protecon.

Next in the Setup for Your Drobo 5D3

Formang Drives for Your Drobo 5D3

Return to Seng Up Your Drobo 5D3

3.4 Powering On Your Drobo 5D3

To power on your Drobo 5D3:

1. Once you each 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 ash blue and yellow lights.

3.5 Inializing and Updang Your Drobo 5D3 to the Latest Firmware

When you rst receive a new Drobo 5D3 device, you must use the Drobo Dashboard applicaon to update it to the latest rmware release.

Note:

Make sure that you have installed the Drobo Dashboard on your system before following the steps given below. For more informaon see Downloading and Installing Drobo Dashboard.

To update the rmware 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 conncon.

3. Verify that the Drobo is powered o.

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.

All Drobos Sort By: Health Name Product Drobo Drobe 803 Icons | List Drobe Discover Settings Double-click a Drobo to open its details screen.

1. Your Drobo should begin updang to the latest rmware. Please allow Drobo up to 20 minutes for the total inializaon process.

Note:

Leave the Dashboard idle while the inializaon process is going on.

1. Here is what you will see happen:

During inializaon, all of the drive slot LEDs will be yellow and the capacity LEDs will blink blue. When inializaon is complete, your Drobo 5D3 will restart to nish the rmware upgrade process.

Important Notes:

If the Drobo Dashboard does not detect your Drobo 5D3 and inializaon does not begin, please disable any rewall and anvirus programs.

If the Drobo Dashboard will sll not detect your Drobo 5D3 and the lights remain solid red, please call our support line for assistance or open a cket on your support account. For more info, please see: How do I contact technical support?

1. The device temporarily disappears from the Dashboard while it is reboong. Once the inializaon process is completed, the Drobo device icon will appear green and the drive bay lights will also turn green. Aer the device reboots, click on the green Drobo

device icon in the main dashboard screen and follow the on-screen instrucons on the Drobo Dashboard to format your Drobo device.

All Drobos Sort By: Health Name Product Icons | List Drobo Drobo 503 Drobo5N Drobo 5N Drobo Discovery Settings Double-click a Drobo to open its details screen.

1. If the red drive lights are seen again (e.g. "Unknown Disk Set"), please go to the Drobo Dashboard's Tools secon and choose Drobo Reset. This process will erase all the data on the disk set. If the issue sll connues, please contact support. For more informaon see Geng Technical Support.

! Warning:

This procedure will erase all data from all drives and return your Drobo 5D3 to default sengs.

Note:

You can also visit the following website for more informaon drobo.com/start

If you need to assess that the process is moving smoothly, see Understanding the indicator lights (LEDs).

3.6 Formang the Drives for Your Drobo 5D3

Aer installing Drobo Dashboard, inserng the drives into your Drobo 5D3 and connecng cables, you are ready to turn on your Drobo device and format the drives.

Before formang the drives, it is important to determine the proper le system format and volume size suitable for your device.

Note:

If you have migrated the enre disk pack from another Drobo device to this one, you do not need to format the drives as they have already been formaed. For additional informaon, see Migrang a Disk Pack from Another Drobo Device.

Next in the Setup for Your Drobo 5D3

▶ Selecng a File System and Volume Size for Your Drobo 5D3
Turning On Your Drobo 5D3 and Formang the Drives

3.6.1 Selecng 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 le system. The le system formats available to you depends on your operang 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 formaed with a le system format which your operang system can recognize. In Windows, volumes are somemes called “logical drives” or “parons.”

The largest volume size you are allowed depends on the le 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 le system format.

File System Format	OS Compatibility	Max Volume Size
HFS+	Mac OS X 10.10+	64TB
NTFS	Windows 7 SP1+Windows 8/8.1Windows 10	64TB

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 inserng 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 formaed originally.

Your operang system may show the virtual space available on your Drobo device, as dened 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 noty 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 Formang the Drives

▶ Return to Seng Up Your Drobo 5D3

3.6.2 Turning On Your Drobo 5D3 and Formang 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:

1. Open the Drobo Dashboard on your computer and press the power toggle buon 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 operang systems will prompt you to format the drives. Click Cancel or Ignore, as appropriate, and connue with formang from Drobo Dashboard.

1. Double-click on the Drobo 5D3 icon on the All Drobos page. A message appears, asking if you would like to format the device.

2. Click the Yes buon. The Format Type page opens. Depending on your operang system the page displays with dierent opons.

If you are using a Mac machine, the File Format page will appear as:

How do you plan to use your Drobo device? (This information is used to determine how to format your drives) HFS+ Drobo will be directly attached to a Mac. Next Cancel

If you are using a Windows machine, the File Format page will appear as:

Format Type How do you plan to use your Drobo device? (This information is used to determine how to format your volume) NTFS Drobo will be directly attached to a Windows Server 2012, Windows 7 or newer versions of Windows. Next Cancel

1. Select the appropriate le format for your operang system and click the Next buon. The Volume Name page opens.

Volume Name drobo How would you like Drobo to name your volumes? (You have selected a maximum volume size of 64 TB and you have 346.9 GB available capacity. Therefore, a single volume will be created.) Drive Letter Name F: Drobo Back Next Cancel

1. If applicable, from the Drive Leer drop-down list, select the drive leer to assign to the volume.
2. 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 not to confuse the volume name with your Drobo device's name.

1. Click the Next buon. The Conrm Format page opens.

Confirm Format drobo Press 'Format' to prepare your new volume for use. Name Format Type Volume Size F: Drobo NTFS 64 TB Important! Drobo Volumes are not compatible with dynamic disk and BitLocker. Using these technologies with Drobo Volumes will cause data loss. Back Format Cancel

1. Click the Format buon. A message appears, informing you that it can take up to ve minutes to format your drives, and that this may require reboong your Drobo device. Aerwards, the Format dialog box opens.

Format drobo Drobo has successfully formatted your volume. You can now begin to use it for storing files. OK

1. Click the OK buon. The volumes page of Drobo 5D3 will appear.

Drobo | Drobo 5D3 Volumes ID Volume Name File System Used Max Capacity 0 Drobo HFS+ - 64 TB Renlease Volume Learn more about the Backup Volume Enable Backup Drobo is healthy and has sufficient capacity. No action is required at this time. You can increase the capacity by adding an additional hard drive to an empty drive bay or by replacing one or more drives with higher capacity ones.

Notes:

Drobo Dashboard automacally 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 Sengs page.

For more informaon see Enabling or Disabling Dual Disk Redundancy

Next in the Setup for Your Drobo 5D3

Where to Go Next
▶ Return to Seng 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:

You will need to be connected to the Internet to perform this acon.

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 opon in the Navigaon menu. This opens the Help and Support page for that Drobo device.

Help and Support Drobo Registration Click on the link below to register your Drobo. Register my Drobo devices Check Drobo online resources! View Drobo User Guide Search Knowledge Base Contact Drobo Support Depending on the problem you want to report, a Diagnostics file may be required by Drobo support. Please select the Drobo to get Diagnostic from: Drobo Get Diags Drobo Dashboard version: 3.1.0 [91099] Use the Help and Support section to access Drobo documentation, contact Drobo support and create diagnostic files for advanced troubleshooting.

1. From the Drobo Registraon area, click on the Register my Drobo devices link to open the Registraon page.

Welcome to the world of Drobo... Please take a couple of minutes to register your Drobo. This will enable us to help you in case you ever need assistance. Note: You have to have a Drobo account first to register. If you do not, please use the link below to create one. Create a new Drobo Account Register new Drobo with my Drobo account. Username Password Forgot username or password Skip this step for now (you can register your Drobo at any time from the Help and Support section.) Next Cancel

1. 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 Registraon page to log into your account.

- If you already have a Drobo account, select the Register new Drobo with my Drobo account opon, and then enter your Drobo username and password. You can click the Forgot username or password link if needed. Connue with step 5.

1. Click the Next buon. The connected Drobo devices, and their serial numbers will appear.

2. Select the Drobo device you would like to register. Enter its purchase date and select the region from where you purchased it.

Register my Drobo devices Select the Drobo(s) listed below you want to register today. Please provide Purchase Date, Region and then click "Register Drobo". Registered Name Serial # Support Entitlements Drobo Drobo 5D3 DRB123201700025 No Entitlements Available Drobo Drobo Mini DRB123801900027 No Entitlements Available Selected Drobo: Drobo Purchase Date Region Americas Register Drobo MM DD YYYY Done Skip this step for now (you can register your Drobo at any time from the Help and Support section.)

Tip:

You can click the Skip this step for now check box at any me.

1. Once done, click the Register Drobo buon.
2. 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.

1. Repeat steps 5 and 6 to register additional Drobo devices.
2. When nished, click the Done buon. You will return to the Help and Support page.

3.8 Migrang a Disk Pack from Another Drobo Device

The Drobo 5D3 supports migrang enre 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.

Note:

A disk pack funcons as a unit. When you migrate a disk pack, you move ALL the drives from one Drobo device to another. Only aer migraon of the disk pack is complete can you add additional drives to the new Drobo device, one at a me, if desired.

If you are migrang 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 migraon. Aer the migraon, you will not be able to use the disk pack in the Drobo 5C, Drobo Gen3, Drobo 5D or Drobo S.

For informaon on migraon of disk pack see Migrang 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 migraon, 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 rmware by "checking for updates" in Drobo Dashboard.

To do this:

- Ensure you have set up your Drobo 5D3 (but without inserng drives) and connected it to your host computer.

- Ensure that your Drobo 5C, Drobo Gen3, Drobo 5D or Drobo S (with its drives) is sll 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 opon on the Navigaon menu.

- In the Soware Updates area of the Tools page, click the Check for Updates opon.

- If needed, follow the same steps to ensure the Drobo 5D3 has the latest rmware.

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 Shung 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 buon.
4. The Drobo 5D3 may take a few minutes to boot up. When nished, 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 soware. The backup volume is compatible with encrypted backup opons. This arcle will show you how to set it up.

Creating a backup volume

These steps will create a xed-size backup volume that will appear as a new disk, separate from your main Drobo volume. Having this dedicated, xed-size backup volume will prevent backup sware from lling your main Drobo volume with daily backups.

Follow these steps:

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 buon.

Drobo | Drobo 5D3 Volumes ID Volume Name File System Used Max Capacity 0 Drobo HFS+ - 64 TB Rename Volume Learn more about the Backup Volume Enable Backup Drobo is healthy and has sufficient capacity. No action is required at this time. You can increase the capacity by adding an additional hard drive to an empty drive bay or by replacing one or more drives with higher capacity ones.

1. Enter a name for your backup volume and the desired size (GB).

drobo Drobo Dashboard All Drobos (1) Status Capacity Volumes Tools Drobo Settings Dashboard Preferences Help and Support Backup Volume drobo We recommend two times the size of your hard drive for the backup volume, which is 466 GB. Backup volume name: MBP_TM Backup volume size (GB): 466 OK Cancel www.drobe.com

1. Click the OK buon.
2. When you see the "Conrm Restart" dialog, take a moment to stop any activity on the Drobo 5D3, because it must restart. When you are ready, click Yes to connue.
3. Wait unl you receive the message that "Volume management changes have been made successfully," then click the OK buon.
4. Now you will see the backup volume you created listed under Volumes. You may now close the Drobo Dashboard.
5. To nish the process, open the sengs for your third-party backup soware, such as Time Machine, and select the backup volume that you created as the desnaon volume.

Time Machine Show All Drobo 17.59 TB MBP_TM 499.57 GB Other Time Capsule Set up a Time Capsule that is not listed here ? Encrypt backups Cancel Use Disk Time Ma OFF ✓ Show Time Machine in menu bar Options... ?

4 Where To Go Next

Aer 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 Pracces for Data Protecon
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
Geng Technical Support

4.1 Using Best Pracces for Protecng Data

Although your Drobo 5D3 provides redundancy and automacally protects your data against a drive failure, it should only be one part of an overall digital asset management strategy.

To beer safeguard your valuable data, we strongly encourage you to review our guide on best pracces, which can be found at myproducts.drobo.com/arcle/AA-01861

Our guide oers strategies to protect data beyond drive failures. Following best pracces will help maximize the safety of your data.

4.2 Keeping Your Soware Up to Date

To ensure opmal performance, we highly recommend that you set your Drobo device to automacally check for soware updates (you may have already done this during the

initial set up). This feature keeps both the Drobo Dashboard and your device's rmware up to date.

You can also install updates from the Start 5D3 page. If you would like to install a rmware update from the Drobo website, see Manually Updang Firmware from the Website.

4.2.1 Checking for Soware Updates

The following steps ensure that Drobo Dashboard and your Drobo device's rmware are up to date.

1. In Drobo Dashboard, select the appropriate Drobo 5D3 device on the All Drobos page.
2. Click the Tools opon on the Navigaon menu to open the Tools page.
3. In the Soware Updates area of the Tools page, click the Check for Updates onpon.

Software Updates Check for Updates looks for the latest software on the Drobo server and prompts you to install it - the recommended option. If you've already downloaded the update package from Drobo website, Manual Update allows you to install it.

1. If a soware update is available, a dialog box opens, asking if you would like to install the update. Click the Yes buon and follow the prompts to install the update.

4.3 Using the Online User Guide

Aer 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 opon on the Navigaon menu. This will lead to the Help and Support. page.

From here, click the View Drobo User Guide link to open the Online User Guide in a web browser.

Help and Support Drobo Registration Click on the link below to register your Drobo. Register my Drobo devices Check Drobo online resources! View Drobo User Guide Search Knowledge Base Contact Drobo Support Depending on the problem you want to report, a Diagnostics file may be required by Drobo support. Please select the Drobo to get Diagnostic from: Drobo Get Diags Drobo Dashboard version: 3.1.0 [91099] Use the Help and Support section to access Drobo documentation, contact Drobo support and create diagnostic files for advanced troubleshooting

4.4 Using Context-Sensitive Help

On the top right corner of the Drobo Dashboard, you will nd the Help buon (?). Click this buon to view the context-sensitive help. The Help window opens in your Internet browser providing informaon parcular to the page from which you clicked for help.

Topics:

Using the Online User Guide
Using Knowledge Base
Geng Support

4.5 Using Knowledge Base

Our searchable knowledge base provides answers to almost any queson related to your Drobo 5D3 that you cannot nd in the Online User Guide.

To access our knowledge base, follow the steps below.

1. From the Drobo Dashboard, click the Help and Support opon on the Navigaon menu. This opens the Help and Support page.

Help and Support Drobo Registration Click on the link below to register your Drobo Register my Drobo devices Check Drobo online resources! View Drobo User Guide Search Knowledge Base Contact Drobo Support Depending on the problem you want to report, a Diagnostics file may be required by Drobo support. Please select the Drobo to get Diagnostic from: Drobo Get Claims Drobo Dashboard version: 3.1.0 [91099] Use the Help and Support section to access Drobo documentation, contact Drobo support and create diagnostic files for advanced troubleshooting.

1. 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.

Note:

You will need to be connected to the Internet to perform this acon.

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 opon in the Navigaon menu. This opens the Help and Support page for that Drobo device.

Help and Support Drobo Registration Click on the link below to register your Drobo. Register my Drobo devices Check Drobo online resources! View Drobo User Guide Search Knowledge Base Contact Drobo Support Depending on the problem you want to report, a Diagnostics file may be required by Drobo support. Please select the Drobo to get Diagnostic from: Drobo Get Diags Drobo Dashboard version: 3.1.0 [91099] Use the Help and Support section to access Drobo documentation, contact Drobo support and create diagnostic files for advanced troubleshooting.

1. From the Drobo Registraon area, click on the Register my Drobo devices link to open the Registraon page.

2. Then, do one of the following:

3. 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 Registraon page to log into your account.

4. If you already have a Drobo account, select the Register new Drobo with my Drobo account opon, and then enter your Drobo username and password. You can click the Forgot username or password link if needed. Connue with step 5.

5. Click the Next buon. 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.

Register my Drobo devices drobo Select the Drobo(s) listed below you want to register today. Please provide Purchase Date, Region and then click "Register Drobo". Registered Name Serial # Support Entitlements Drobo Drobo 5D3 DRB123201700025 No Entitlements Available Drobo Drobo Mini DRB123801900027 No Entitlements Available Selected Drobo: Drobo Purchase Date Region Americas Register Drobo MM DD YYYY Done Skip this step for now (you can register your Drobo at any time from the Help and Support section.)

Tip:

You can click the Skip this step for now check box at any me.

1. Once done, click the Register Drobo buon.
2. 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.

1. Repeat steps 5 and 6 to register additional Drobo devices.
2. When nished, click the Done buon. You will return to the Help and Support page.

4.7 Geng Support

To get support, rst be sure to register your product at www.drobo.com/registraon, if you have not already done so. You can then go to www.drobo.com/support for details on how to contact support.

You can also nd 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 opon on the Navigaon 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 diagnoses le.

Help and Support Drobo Registration Click on the link below to register your Drobo. Register my Drobo devices Check Drobo online resources! View Drobo User Guide Search Knowledge Base Contact Drobo Support Depending on the problem you want to report, a Diagnostics file may be required by Drobo support. Please select the Drobo to get Diagnostic from: Drobo Get Diags Drobo Dashboard version: 3.1.0 [91099] Use the Help and Support section to access Drobo documentation, contact Drobo support and create diagnostic files for advanced troubleshooting.

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.

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
Formang Your Drobo 5D3
Safely Shung Down Your Drobo 5D3
Reseng Your Drobo 5D3 (erasing all data on the drives)
Blinking Lights to Test Connecvity
Enabling or Disabling the System Tray

5.1 Using Drobo Dashboard

Drobo Dashboard is the soware companion of your Drobo 5D3, enabling you to easily set up, manage and use your Drobo device.

5.1.1 Keeping Your Soware Up to Date

To ensure opmal performance, we highly recommend that you set your Drobo device to automacally check for soware updates (you may have already done this during the initial set up). This feature keeps both the Drobo Dashboard and your device's rmware up to date.

You can also install updates from the Start 5D3 page. If you would like to install a rmware update from the Drobo website, see Manually Updang Firmware from the Website.

Next steps:

▶ Checking for Soware Updates

5.1.1.1 Checking for Soware Updates

The following steps ensure that Drobo Dashboard and your Drobo device's rmware are up to date.

1. In Drobo Dashboard, select the appropriate Drobo 5D3 device on the All Drobos page.
2. Click the Tools opon on the Navigaon menu to open the Tools page.
3. In the Soware Updates area of the Tools page, click the Check for Updates onpon.

Software Updates Check for Updates looks for the latest software on the Drobo server and prompts you to install it - the recommended option. If you've already downloaded the update package from Drobo website, Manual Update allows you to install it. Check for Updates Manual Update

1. If a soware update is available, a dialog box opens, asking if you would like to install the update. Click the Yes buon and follow the prompts to install the update.

5.1.2 Manually Updang Firmware from Drobo Website

To manually update the rmware 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 opon on the Navigaon menu for the selected Drobo device to open the Tools page.
3. From the Soware Updates area, click the Manual Update opon.

Software Updates Check for Updates looks for the latest software on the Drobo server and prompts you to install it - the recommended option. If you've already downloaded the update package from Drobo website, Manual Update allows you to install it. Check for Updates Manual Update

1. A warning message opens, asking you to complete or stop any data transfers.

Update - Drobo Please complete and stop any data transfers. Drobo will shut down and restart after the new firmware is installed. OK Cancel

1. Ensure that the Drobo device is not acvely transferring data (blinking yellow and green), and then click the OK buon. A dialog box opens, asking you to locate the zip le on your computer.
2. Please do so and then click the Open or OK buon.
3. Drobo installs the rmware. When nished, a message opens, asking you to reboot your Drobo device to complete the installaon.
4. Click the Yes buon. Drobo shuts down and restarts aer the new rmware is installed.

5.1.3 Touring Drobo Dashboard

In this topic, the two main areas of Drobo Dashboard are dened for the Drobo 5D3: the All Drobos page and the Navigaon menu.

All Drobos Page

When you rst 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 buons 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 buon 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 buon provides a view of your Drobo devices in table format. Informaon 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 informaon on understanding capacity values, see Checking Storage Usage.

You can click on a buon to change the view. In both views, Drobo devices appear with green glowing lights if they are healthy.

Sort By

The Sort By buons enable you to sort your Drobo devices

in one of the following ways:

- Health – This buon sorts Drobo devices by their health, with Drobo devices in red displayed rst, 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 buon sorts Drobo devices alphabecally by the names you gave them, with Drobo devices which are directly aached listed rst.

• Product – This buon sorts Drobo devices alphabecally by their model numbers or product names, with Drobo devices which are directly aached listed rst.

To select a Drobo device, just click on it once on the All Drobos page. All subsequent commands in Drobo Dashboard (found on the Navigaon menu on the le), 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.

Navigaon Menu

The Navigaon menu appears on the le side of the screen. Opons and commands in this menu apply to the currently selected Drobo device. (You can select a Drobo device on the All Drobos page.)

Menu opons 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 informaon for the selected Drobo device, such as drive informaon, 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 sware updates.
• Drobo Settings – Opens a sub-menu with the opon to modify various types of sengs, such as General, Admin and Network.

Note:

Not all Drobo devices include all of these opons.

- Dashboard Preferences – Opens the Dashboard Preferences page, which enables you to modify Dashboard sengs, such as those for automac sware updates and e-

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

3. Click in the Drobo Name text box and modify the text as desired.

4. When nished, click the OK buon. You will return to the Tools page with the new name displayed on the top.

5.3 Formang Your Drobo 5D3

When you rst set up your Drobo 5D3, you are soon prompted to format the drives in your device. (See Formang Drives for Your Drobo 5D3). You may choose to re-format the drives at anymore thereaer.

Warning:

Any data on the drives will be lost when you re-format. Be sure to move the data to another locaon rst.

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 opon from the Navigaon menu. The Tools page for that Drobo device opens.

Drobo | Drobo 5D3 Tools Drobo Operations Click a button below to send an action to Drobo. Turn Blink Lights ON AI Rename Drobo Format Shutdown Drobo Reset Click below to reset this Drobo. Drobo Reset Software Updates Check for Updates looks for the latest software on the Drobo server and prompts you to install it - the recommended option. If you've already downloaded the update package from Drobo website, Manual Update allows you to install it. Check for Updates Manual Update Drobo is healthy and has sufficient capacity.

1. In the Drobo Operaons area, click the Format opon. A dialog box opens, warning that your data on the drives will be lost and asking if you would like to connue.
2. Click the Yes buon to connue. The Format Type page opens. Depending on your operang system the page displays with dierent opons.

This is the Format Type page for Drobo 5D3 in Windows

Format Type drobo How do you plan to use your Drobo device? (This information is used to determine how to format your volume) NTFS Drobo will be directly attached to a Windows Server 2012, Windows 7 or newer versions of Windows. Next Cancel

This is the Format Type page for Drobo 5D3 for Macintosh

How do you plan to use your Drobo device? (This information is used to determine how to format your drives) HFS+ Drobo will be directly attached to a Mac. Next Cancel

1. Select the appropriate le format for your operang system and click the Next buon. The Volume Name page opens.

Volume Name drobo How would you like Drobo to name your volumes? (You have selected a maximum volume size of 64 TB and you have 346.9 GB available capacity. Therefore, a single volume will be created.) Drive Letter Name F: Drobo Back Next Cancel

1. If applicable, from the Drive Leer drop-down list, select the drive leer to assign to the volume.

2. 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.

1. Click the Next buon. The Conrm Format page opens.

Confirm Format Press 'Format' to prepare your new volume for use. Name Format Type Volume Size F: Drobo NTFS 64 TB Important! Drobo Volumes are not compatible with dynamic disk and BitLocker. Using these technologies with Drobo Volumes will cause data loss. Back Format Cancel

1. Click the Format buon. A message opens, informing you that it can take up to ve minutes to format your drives, and that this may require reboong your Drobo device. Aerwards, the Format dialog box opens.

Format drobo Drobo has successfully formatted your volume. You can now begin to use it for storing files. OK

1. Click the OK buon. Your Drobo device displays on the Tools page in Drobo Dashboard.

5.4 Safely Shung 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 le corrupon and/or data loss.

It is a good idea to shut down your Drobo device before any of the following situaons:

• 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 locaon
• You are going to remove the enre disk pack
• You are going to apply operang system updates

5.4.1 Safely Shung Down Your Drobo 5D3 Using Drobo Dashboard

This is the recommended method for safely shung down your Drobo device.

To safely shutdown your Drobo device:

1. Check that the acvity light on your Drobo device is o, indicang that no data is acvely being transferred to or from your Drobo device.

Note:

If data is acvely being transferred, the acvity light will be blinking green.

1. Also check to ensure the drive bay acon indicator lights are not blinking alternately between yellow and green. This indicates that your Drobo device is busy working to protect your data. Wait unl 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 sll safely shut down your Drobo 5D3.

1. In the Drobo Dashboard, select the Drobo 5D3 that you would like to shut down from the All Drobos page, and click the Tools opon on the Navigaon menu. The Tools page opens.

Drobo | Drobo 5D3 Tools Drobo Operations Click a button below to send an action to Drobo. Turn Blink Lights ON Rename Drobo Format Shutdown Drobo Reset Click below to reset this Drobo. Drobo Reset Software Updates Check for Updates looks for the latest software on the Drobo server and prompts you to install it - the recommended option. If you've already downloaded the update package from Drobo website, Manual Update allows you to install it. Check for Updates Manual Update Drobo is healthy and has sufficient capacity.

1. In the Drobo Operaons area, select the Shutdown opon. A message box opens, asking you to conrm the shutdown.

2. Click the Yes buon.

3. It can take up to two minutes for your Drobo 5D3 to power down. Aerwards, the power light turns o, indicang your Drobo device has shut down.

5.5 Reseng Your Drobo 5D3

You can reset your Drobo device back to its factory defaults.

! Warning:

Reseng 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 Navigaon menu, click the Tools opon. This opens the Tools page for that Drobo device.
3. In the Drobo Reset area, click the Drobo Reset opon. The Conrm Erase dialog page opens.

Confirm Erase Please enter the confirmation word. You have chosen to reset the Drobo named "Drobo" back to its factory defaults. THIS WILL ERASE ALL DATA, SHARES, AND SETTINGS STORED ON THIS DROBO. If you are sure you want to proceed, type "ERASE": Confirm Cancel

1. If you are sure you would like to proceed, in the text box, type ERASE and click the Conrm buon.

2. Your Drobo device gets reset to its factory sengs, 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 Connecvity

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 connecvity you would like to check.

2. Click the Tools opon on the Navigaon menu. The Tools page for that Drobo device opens.

3. In the Drobo Operaons area, click the Turn Blink Lights ON opon.

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.

You can choose to disable the Drobo shortcut in the system tray and later enable it at any me. To enable/disable the system tray:

1. Open the Drobo Dashboard and click the Dashboard Preferences opon on the Navigaon menu. The Dashboard Preferences page opens.

Dashboard Preferences Drobo Discovery By default, Drobo Dashboard automatically discovers all Drobos in the local subnet. If you want to access a device in a different subnet or disable Automatic Discovery, use the "Drobo Discovery Settings". Drobo Discovery Settings Updates Settings By default, Drobo Dashboard automatically checks for software updates. However, you will be prompted to install the update. ✓ Enable automatic check for updates Drobo Dashboard Onscreen Alerts ✓ Show visual alerts ○ On all useful information ○ When a situation is important ○ On critical situations only Drobo Dashboard Email Alerts Send email alerts ○ On all useful information ○ When a situation is important ○ On critical situations only Email Settings Other Settings ✓ Enable System Tray Application Language System language Use the Preferences section to configure how Drobo Dashboard sends you alerts and performs product updates for your Drobos.

1. If the system tray feature is already enabled, then you will see a ck mark in the Enable System Tray Applicaon check box. If the ck is not present, then you can enable the feature by selecng the Enable System Tray Applicaon check box.

2. If you want to disable the system tray feature, then clear the Enable System Tray Applicaon check box.

Note:

If the system tray is disabled, on-screen alerts will not be displayed.

6 Modifying Device Sengs for Your Drobo 5D3

You can modify various sengs 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 protecon, 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 opon will not be available to you if you do not have a sucient 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 Sengs opon on the Navigaon menu, and click General. The General Sengs page opens.

General Settings drobo Configure the following settings to best suit your storage needs. Drobo Name: Drobo Dual Disk Redundancy - Protect this Drobo against up to two simultaneous drive failures. This provides more data protection, but uses more disk space. (By default, this option is off.) Disk Drive Spindown - Drobo spins down the drives after a period of inactivity for power savings and drive longevity. Dim Lights 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 OK Cancel

1. Select the Dual Disk Redundancy check box to enable it, or de-select it to disable Dual Disk Redundancy.

A message box automacally appears, asking you to conrm the change and leng you know that the protected capacity on your Drobo device will decrease (if enabling Dual Disk Redundancy) or increase (if disabling).

Data Protection Are you sure that you would like to change the protection mode? Your data will be protected against two drive failures, but the available storage capacity will be reduced to approximately 74.40 GB. OK Cancel

1. Click the Yes buon in the dialog box to connue.
2. In the General Sengs page, click the OK buon.
3. If you are enabling Dual Disk Redundancy, an "In Progress" status bar may appear on the Status page, leng you know that data protecon is in progress. This may take some me.

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 seng 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 me:

1. In Drobo Dashboard on the All Drobos page, select the appropriate Drobo device.
2. Click the Drobo Sengs opon on the Navigaon menu, and click General. The General Sengs page opens.

General Settings Configure the following settings to best suit your storage needs. Drobo Name: Drobo Dual Disk Redundancy - Protect this Drobo against up to two simultaneous drive failures. This provides more data protection, but uses more disk space. (By default, this option is off.) Disk Drive Spindown - Drobo spins down the drives after a period of inactivity for power savings and drive longevity. Dim Lights 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 OK Cancel

1. Select the Disk Drive Spindown check box to enable it, or de-select it to disable Disk Drive Spindown.
2. Click the OK buon. The seng is changed.

6.3 Dimming the Lights on Your Drobo 5D3

On the Drobo 5D3, you have the opon 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 Sengs opon on the Navigaon menu, and click General. The General Sengs page opens.

General Settings drobo Configure the following settings to best suit your storage needs. Drobo Name: Drobo Dual Disk Redundancy - Protect this Drobo against up to two simultaneous drive failures. This provides more data protection, but uses more disk space. (By default, this option is off.) Disk Drive Spindown - Drobo spins down the drives after a period of inactivity for power savings and drive longevity. Dim Lights 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 OK Cancel

1. 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".

2. Click the OK buon. The seng is changed.

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, somemes 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 secon includes the following topics:

▶ Calculang Capacity to Use
▶ Adding Capacity (or Drives)
Removing Capacity (or Drives)
Inserng an mSATA SSD
Removing an mSATA Card

7.1 Calculang 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 esmang 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

# Drives	Drive Capacities	Usable Protected Capacity
3	3TB + 3TB + 3TB-	5.44 TB
4	3TB + 1.5TB + 4TB + 5TB-	7.71 TB
4	4TB + 4TB + 5TB + 10TB-	11.8 TB

Dual Disk Redundancy

# Drives	Drive Capacities	Usable Protected Capacity
4	3TB + 3TB + 3TB + 3TB-	5.44 TB
5	3TB + 1.5TB + 4TB + 4TB + 5TB-	7.71 TB
5	4TB + 4TB + 5TB + 5TB + 10TB	11.8 TB

Notes:

Actual capacity may vary from the value shown in the above example due to dierent systems used for rang capacity. This has nothing to do with Drobo devices.

Based on your operang 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 calculang 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 me by simply inserng addional drives or replacing smaller drives with larger ones.

7.2 Adding Capacity (or Drives)

When you nd 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 inserng 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 funconing as a unit or "pack."

You can use drives from any manufacturer and with any capacity. For more informaon, see Selecng Drives.

Warning:

Any pre-exisng data on the drives you add will be erased during installaon.

Tip:

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 me, 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 unl the blinking stops.

! Warning:

Removing or adding a drive during this process may result in loss of data

1. Remove the bezel (faceplate) from the front of your Drobo device by pulling it o.

2. If you are replacing a smaller capacity drive with a larger one, rst 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.

Drive Lock Drive Bay Drive Bay Indicator

1. The drive ejects from the drive bay. Carefully remove it.

Note:

The drive light turns a solid red, indicang 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 aer you replace the drive.

1. With one hand, hold the drive so that the label on the top of the drive faces up (and its connectors are posioned at the device and toward the le). Refer to the image below.

2. With your other hand, use your thumb to depress and hold open the drive lock to an empty drive bay.

3. 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.
4. Add or replace additional drives in the same manner, following steps 3 through 6.
5. When nished, 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 informaon.
• Remove only one drive at a me while your Drobo device is powered on, giving your Drobo device the opportunity aerwards to rearrange your data into the safest conguraon across the remaining drives.
• If you would like to remove all drives from your Drobo device, rst 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.

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 unl the blinking stops.

Warning:

Removing a drive during this process may result in loss of data.

1. If you are removing all drives from your Drobo device, rst safely shut it down and unplug it from the power source.

Warning:

Not shung down safely may result in loss of data.

1. Remove the bezel (faceplate) from the front of your Drobo device by pulling it o.
2. 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.
3. The drive ejects from the drive bay. Carefully remove it.
4. Repeat step 4 to remove additional drives.
5. Replace the bezel when nished.

7.4 Inserng 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 informaon on drive requirements, see Selecng Drives.

The mSATA SSD is not part of your Drobo device's disk pack, so you can add or remove it at any me.

Important Notes:

It is important to ground yourself before installing the mSATA SSD in order to discharge stac electricity. To do so, touch a grounded metal object just before installaon.

Warning:

If there is any pre-exisng 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 o and unplugged before the mSATA installaon.
2. Gently turn the Drobo 5D3 on to its side to access the boom 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.

Close-up of a computer RAM card slot with an inset showing a green circuit board and a circular overlay highlighting the chip (no text or symbols visible)

1. Push the mSATA SSD down to lock in place by using the two pins on the mSATA latch.

BIWIN Solid State Drive M6314 128GB P/N:CMI59DS190S-128 S/N:162204801145 CE FE RANS Mode in China

1. When nished, close the Drobo Accelerator Bay door and return the Drobo 5D3 to its normal posion.

Next in the Setup for Your Drobo 5D3:

Inserng Drives

▶ Return to Seng 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 me.

Note:

Your Drobo device must be powered o and unplugged before removing the mSATA card.

It is important to ground yourself before doing this in order to discharge stac electricity. To do so, touch a grounded metal object just before installaon.

Warning:

Any pre-exisng 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 boom of the Drobo 5D3, and open the Drobo Accelerator Bay door.

Drobo 5D3 User Guide

1. Unclip the mSATA card, and remove it. Refer to the image below.

Close-up of a computer RAM module with a circular inset showing a green circuit board and a USB drive (no text or symbols visible)

1. When nished, close the Drobo Accelerator Bay door and return the Drobo 5D3 to its normal posion.

8 Checking Storage Usage and Device Status Informaon

You can check how your storage is being used, the status of your Drobo 5D3 when in particular states, and other important informaon. Your Drobo device's indicator lights also provide important key informaon.

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 Informaon
▶ Checking Drive Informaon
▶ Checking Performance Informaon
Geng Diagnoscs on Your Drobo 5D3
Understanding the Indicator Lights

8.1 Checking Storage Usage

There are dierent 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 nally, 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

device is available for data, used for data protecon, reserved for expansion, and used for overhead administraon.

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 opon on the Navigaon menu. The Capacity page for the Drobo device opens.

1. If the capacity chart is not currently displayed, click the Capacity buon to open the Capacity page.

The capacity is displayed as follows:

• 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 informaon for other connected Drobo devices (if applicable), you can click the up or down arrow key that displays to the le of the Drobo device name, which is in the upper-le 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 informaon 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 opon on the Navigation menu. The Capacity page for that Drobo device opens.

2. Click the Usage

buon. 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 dierence 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 protecon – 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.

Tip:

To view this informaon for other connected Drobo devices (if applicable), you can click the up or down arrow key that displays to the le of the Drobo device name, which is in the upper-le 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 informaon 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 opon on the Navigaon menu. The Status page opens.

Drobo | Drobo 5D3 Status System Information System Information Name Drobo Serial # DRA171302600013 Health Good Firmware 4.0.0 [14.15.90904] Hot Data Cache On Active Interface Thunderbolt 2 TB 2 TB 2 TB 2 TB 2 TB mSATASSD Accelerator active Drobo is healthy and has sufficient capacity. No action is required at this time. You can add capacity by replacing an existing hard drive with a drive of larger capacity.

1. From this screen, you can view the status of dierent aspects of the Drobo 5D3, such as system informaon, drive informaon and performance informaon, by selecng one of the opons in the drop-down list. The informaon you can view on this page includes:

2. Name - The name of the selected Drobo 5D3.

3. Serial # - The serial number for the selected Drobo 5D3.
4. 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.
5. Firmware - The rmware version running on the selected Drobo 5D3.
6. 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.
7. Active Interface - The connectivity interface currently being used.

Tip:

To view this informaon for other connected Drobo devices (if applicable), you can click the up or down arrow key that displays to the le of the Drobo device name, which is in the upper-le 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 opon on the Navigation menu. The Status page opens.

3. Select System Informaon from the drop-down list to view the serial number for the selected Drobo device.

Drobo | Drobo 5D3 Status System Information System Information Name Drobo Serial # DRA171302600013 Health Good Firmware 4.0.0 [14.15.90904] Hot Data Cache On Active Interface USB 2 TB 2 TB 2 TB 2 TB 2 TB mSATA SSD Accelerator active Drobo is healthy and has sufficient capacity. No action is required at this time. You can add capacity by replacing an existing hard drive with a drive of larger capacity.

8.4 Checking Your Drobo 5D3's Firmware Version

You can check for your Drobo 5D3's rmware version on the Status page in Drobo Dashboard.

To view the rmware version of your Drobo device:

1. In Drobo Dashboard on the All Drobos page, select the appropriate Drobo 5D3.

2. Click the Status opon on the Navigaon menu. The Status page opens.

3. Select System Informaon from the drop-down list to view the rmware version for the selected Drobo device.

Drobo | Drobo 503 Status System Information System Information Name Drobo Serial # DRA171302600013 Health Good Firmware 4.0.0 [14.15.90904] Hot Data Cache On Active Interface USB 2 TB 2 TB 2 TB 2 TB 2 TB mSATA SSD Accelerator active i Drobo is healthy and has sufficient capacity. No action is required at this time. You can add capacity by replacing an existing hard drive with a drive of larger capacity.

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.

1. Right-click on the icon. A shortcut menu will appear.
2. Select About Drobo Dashboard from the shortcut menu.

Drobo Dashboard Hide Alerts About Drobo Dashboard... Exit

1. A message box opens, displaying the Drobo Dashboard version number.

About Drobo Dashboard drobo Dashboard Copyright (C) 2017 Drobo, Inc. Version: 3.1.0 [91099] OK

1. Click the OK buon 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

1. Click on the icon and a shortcut menu will appear.
2. Select About Drobo Dashboard from the shortcut menu.

Drobo Dashboard Hide Alerts About Drobo Dashboard... Exit

1. A message box opens, showing the Drobo Dashboard version number.

drobo Dashboard Copyright (C) 2017 Drobo, Inc. Version: 3.1.0 [91099]

1. Click the OK buon to close the message box.

8.6 Checking System Informaon

The System Informaon view provides informaon such as the serial number, rmware version, and health of your Drobo 5D3. If you use SSDs, their posions are idened in the image of the Drobo 5D3.

To check the system informaon of your Drobo 5D3:

1. Open the Drobo Dashboard and select the appropriate Drobo device from the All Drobos page.
2. Click the Status opon from the Navigaon menu. This opens the Status page.

Drobo | Drobo 503 Status System Information System Information Name Drobo Serial # DRA171302600013 Health Good Firmware 4.0.0 [14.15.90904] Hot Data Cache On Active Interface USB 2 TB 2 TB 2 TB 2 TB 2 TB mSATA SSD Accelerator active i Drobo is healthy and has sufficient capacity. No action is required at this time. You can add capacity by replacing an existing hard drive with a drive of larger capacity.

1. If the page is not displaying the system informaon, make sure that you have selected the System Informaon from the drop-down list.

The informaon 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 rmware 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.
• Acve Interface - The connectivity interface currently being used.

8.7 Checking Drive Informaon

To check the drive informaon of your Drobo deviceL

1. In Drobo Dashboard on the All Drobos page, select the appropriate Drobo 5D3.
2. Click the Status opon on the Navigaon menu. The Status page opens.
3. Select Drive Informaon from the drop-down list at the top.
4. Select the disk drive whose informaon you need by clicking the associated drive bay in the image of the Drobo device.

Notes:

You can also traverse the dierent 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 informaon 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 rmware version for the selected drive.
• Health - The health status of the drive, based on the errors idened 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.

• Crical (red) - Indicates that the drive is full and you need to add capacity now.

• Good (green) - Indicates that the drive is healthy and no acon 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 – Opons 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 opon on the Navigation menu. The Status page opens.
3. Select the Performance opon from the Status drop-down list to view the following informaon:
4. IOPS – The average IOPS value for the enre disk pack.
5. Read Throughput – The average read throughput value for the enre disk pack, measured in MB/s.
6. Write Throughput – The average write throughput value for the enre disk pack, measured in MB/s.

Drobo | Drobo 5D3 Status Performance Performance IOPS 0 Read Throughput 0 MB/s Write Throughput 0 MB/s Hot Data Cache On 2 TB 2 TB 2 TB 2 TB 2 TB mSATA SSD Accelerator active i Drobo is healthy and has sufficient capacity. No action is required at this time. You can add capacity by replacing an existing hard drive with a drive of larger capacity.

8.9 Geng Diagnoscs on Your Drobo 5D3

You can view and print an encrypted diagnosc le about your Drobo 5D3.

1. In Drobo Dashboard, click the Help & Support opon on the Navigaon menu. The Help and Support page opens.
2. Select the appropriate Drobo device from the drop-down list at the boom of the screen and then click the Get Diags buon.

Help and Support Drobo Registration Click on the link below to register your Drobo. Register my Drobo devices Check Drobo online resources! View Drobo User Guide Search Knowledge Base Contact Drobo Support Depending on the problem you want to report: a Diagnostics file may be required by Drobo support Please select the Drobo to get Diagnostic from: Drobo Get Diags Drobo Dashboard version: 3.1.0 [91099] Use the Help and Support section to access Drobo documentation, contact Drobo support and create diagnostic files for advanced troubleshooting

1. In the Problem Descripon text box type in a descripon of your issue, if you have support incident number please include it and then click Send buon.

Send Diagnostics drobo Your Drobo diagnostics file [DRA163202000004_20170306_165230.zip] has been successfully saved to your desktop. Do you wish to send this file to support now? Serial # Email Problem description (max 200 characters) Send Don't Send This will not create a support ticket automatically. Please contact Drobo support for more details. Contact Drobo Support

The Upload Diags Successful dialog box opens, indicang that the diagnoses has been successfully uploaded to support.

Generang a diagnoses this way does not automacally create support incident, you will need to create a support incident if you require assistance.

Upload Diags Successful drobo Diags has been uploaded successfully to support. This will not create a support ticket automatically. Please contact Drobo support for more details. OK

If you cannot generate a diagnoses le 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 informaon. Refer to the image below.

Drive Bay Action Indicators Power Capacity Gauge Activity

Drive Lights	Green: No acon 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 crically 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.
Acvity Light	Blinking Green: Data is acvely 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.

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 informaon 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 informaonal to crical.

Topics:

Seng 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 Seng 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 sengs.

Drobo provides users with two opons:

• Drobo Email Relay
• Custom Email Server

To congregate the e-mail alerts follow the steps given below

1. In Drobo Dashboard, click the Dashboard Preferences on on the Navigaon menu.

2. Click the E-mail Sengs link in the Drobo Dashboard E-mail Alerts secon.

3. Drobo email sengs can be congured using one of the two opons, Use Drobo Email Relay or Use Custom Email Server.

Drobo Email Settings drobo Mail Server Use Drobo Email Relay Not Configured Use Custom Email Server Not Configured Configure Cancel

Note:

If you had already congured the mail server before and upgraded to the latest Dashboard version now, by default the Use Custom Mail Server opon remains congured as shown in the gure below.

Drobo Email Settings drobo Mail Server Use Drobo Email Relay Not Configured Use Custom Email Server Configured Configure Cancel

Only one of the Mail Servers can be congured at a me.

Drobo Email Relay

To congure Drobo Email relay Sever, follow the steps given below:

1. Select the Use Drobo Email Relay radio buon and click Congure.

2. Enter the e-mail address in the space provided at which you wish to receive the nocaons and click the Send Vericaon Email buon.

Drobo Email Settings drobo Please enter the email address you wish to receive notifications at in the space below. After clicking on "Send Verification Email" Drobo will send an email containing a code for you to enter on the following screen. To Email Address [e-mail] Skip Send Verification Email Cancel (If you already have a key.)

Note:

If you already have a key, click the Skip buon. Then enter the code in the text area and click Validate.

1. A message appears informing that you will receive a test email shortly. Click OK.
2. You will receive an email from Drobo in your mailbox which contains the Validaon code. Enter the code in the text area and click Validate.

Drobo Email Settings drobo Please enter the validation code which was sent to : [e-mail] Back Validate Cancel

1. If successfully congured, the the Drobo Email sengs page will show Drobo Email Relay congured.

Drobo Email Settings drobo Mail Server Use Drobo Email Relay Configured Use Custom Email Server Not Configured Configure Cancel

Note:

Once a key is generated, you can reuse it the next me.

It is not possible to congregate the Drobo Email Relay Server using the same email-id if the validaon code has already been sent to the email-id recently.

Custom Email Server

To congure Custom Email Server, follow the steps given below:

1. Click the radio buon for Use Custom Email Server and click Congure.

Drobo Email Settings drobo Mail Server Use Drobo Email Relay Not Configured Use Custom Email Server Not Configured Configure Cancel

1. In the To E-mail Address text box, enter e-mail addresses, separated by commas, to which you want the alerts sent.

Drobo Email Settings drobo Configure below the email address and server settings for email alerts. To Email Address From Email Address Mail Server Port 25 Authentication Username Password Use SSL Send Test Email OK Cancel

1. In the From E-mail Address text box, enter an e-mail address from which the alerts are sent.

2. In the Mail Server text box, enter the server from which to send the alerts. This can be specied 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 buon.

1. In the Port text box, modify the TCP/IP port through which your server expects SMTP submissions, if needed. The default is 25.

2. If your SMTP server requires authencaon, select the Authencaon check box and enter the following informaon for the "from" e-mail address:

3. In the Username text box, enter the username used to retrieve incoming e-mail.

4. In the Password text box, enter the password used to retrieve incoming e-mail.

5. If your SMTP server uses an encrypted conncon, select the Use SSL check box.

6. Click the OK buon. 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 opons:

• On all useful informaon – All alerts related to the condition of your Drobo devices will be e-mailed. These are Drobo Nocaons and can include, for example, when a new drive is added to or removed from your Drobo device.
• When a situaon 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 situaon 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 crical situaons only – Alerts will be e-mailed only to warn of a crical status with one or more of your Drobo devices that could lead to potential data loss. These are Crical 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 congured, it is possible to switch between either of the Mail Server conguraons, but it is not possible to de-congure it. However, you can

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 situaon is crical.

1. In Drobo Dashboard, click the Dashboard Preferences on the Navigaon 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 selecon of one of the following opons as needed for the level of alerts you want:

- On all useful informaon – All alerts related to the condition of your Drobo devices will be e-mailed. These are Drobo Nocaons 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.

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.

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.

Dashboard Preferences Drobo Discovery By default, Drobo Dashboard automatically discovers all Drobos in the local subnet. If you want to access a device in a different subnet or disable Automatic Discovery, use the "Drobo Discovery Settings". Drobo Discovery Settings Updates Settings By default, Drobo Dashboard automatically checks for software updates. However, you will be prompted to install the update. Enable automatic check for updates Drobo Dashboard Onscreen Alerts Show visual alerts On all useful information When a situation is important On critical situations only Drobo Dashboard Email Alerts Send email alerts On all useful information When a situation is important On critical situations only Email Settings Other Settings Enable System Tray Application Language System language Use the Preferences section to configure how Drobo Dashboard sends you alerts and performs product updates for your Drobos.

1. 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

include, for example, when a new drive is added to or removed from your Drobo device.

- When a situaon 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 situaon 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 crical situaons only – Alerts will display on your screen only to warn of a crical status with one or more of your Drobo devices that could lead to potential data loss. These are Crical 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 me. To do so, follow these steps:

1. From the Drobo Dashboard, click the Dashboard Preferences on the Navigaon menu. The Dashboard Preferences page opens.
2. In the Drobo Dashboard Onscreen Alerts area, ensure the Show visual alerts check box is cleared.