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Drobo freezes 10.7 Lion Server

Drobo is attached to my Mac mini server via Firewire 800. Several other HDDs are connected via Firewire 800 Daisy Chain running without problems. Since the update to 10.7 Lion Server Drobo, which is the Time Machine destination for the server and three clients, freezes the server. When I want to shut down the server I have to disconnect Drobo, before that the server doesn't shut down. In this phase unmount of Drobo isn't possible. I have Drobo Dashboard 2.0.3 installed which shoud be Lion compatible. After reboot Drobo isn't even recoqnized, wether by OSX (not mounted) nor by Drobo Dashboard. Under Snow Leopard Server the same setup works very well. Anyone with a solution probsosal? For now I have several Macs without Time Machine backup, a really unpleasant situation.

Posted on Jul 24, 2011 1:05 PM

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Posted on Jul 24, 2011 9:33 PM

I'm seeing the exact same behavior with a Drobo V2 attached to my Mac Pro via FireWire and I've also upgraded the Drobo Dashboard to 2.0.3.

244 replies

Sep 28, 2011 8:07 AM in response to Luke Noel-Storr

I have used iSCSI since I got the unit in March, 2010. No problems until I updated to the new DroboDashboard (v 2.0.3). Then random and frequent unmounting of all volumes. After a mess of exchanges with Drobo Tech Support, I finally got hold of a tech that advised that I revert back to version 1.8.4 of the DD sofrtware and wait for version 2.1 to upgrade. Once I did that, no worries. It bears mentioning that as part of this exercise, I ended up copying all of my data off of the DroboPro using USB connection (at Drobo IT's suggestion) and copying it back after resetting the unit and reconnecting with iSCSI. Had they told me to simply revert back to the older Dashboard first, I wouldn't have had to copy everything off, or reset.....

Sep 28, 2011 8:20 AM in response to kalantan

Again. Drobo Dashboard version 1.8.4 or lower do NOT fix the problem. Please read my previous statements. The problem does occur less often with 1.8.4, but it is present. Put your Drobo under heavy load (and I mean heavy) and it will drop out even with 1.8.4.


The problem is NOT Drobo Dashboard. The problem is the underlying iSCSI initiator component (which is installed with Drobo Dashboard and invisible to the user - it's a background service managing the iSCSI connection and data transfer). This iSCSI initiator has only slightly changed between Dashboard 1.8.4 and 2.x. It is based on the FreeBSD initiator, which is simply not compatible with Lion. It wasn't with 1.8.4 and it isn't with any version up to and including 2.0.3.


With Drobo Dashboard 2.0.4 beta they completely replaced the iSCSI initiator bundeled with Dashboard with a licensed, commercial product (vendor: ATTO). This one is compatible with Lion.


If you are using any other version than 2.0.4+, you do have the problem. You might not see it on older versions and if you do not put heavy stress on your Drobo volumens (like 100 users accessing the drive at the same time). You will absolutely see it with versions between 2.0 and 2.0.3, no matter how much stress you put on the Drobo.


As for the Firewire issue, I have no ideas about that one. Might be Drobo Dashboard, although I doubt it, because there is no Firewire code in Dashboard. Firewire is built into Mac OS X and Dashboard simply uses that. So this might as well be a bug in the OS.

Sep 28, 2011 8:25 AM in response to cryptochrome

I might add:


You need to understand Drobo Dashboard better. Drobo Dashboard has *nothing* to do with anything that's related to how you transfer data to and from a Drobo. In fact, you can operate any Drobo without Dashboard installed. Drobo Dashboard is a management software for the Drobo hardware. All it does is give you the option to configure the device and pull status information fromt the unit.


The actual *data* connection to the drive is *always* completely separated from Dashboard. It either uses a Mac OS X component (Firewire or USB), or it uses iSCSI, which is not provided by Mac OS X.


Drobo Dashboard itself has never been the culprit of any problems whatsoever. It certainly has no influence on the connection between your computer and the Drobo. The connection is completely handeled by Firewire, USB or iSCSI.


I hope that makes some sense.

Sep 28, 2011 9:39 AM in response to kalantan

Kalatan describes exactly what I went through, but amazingly there is not one word of warning on the Data Robotics site. This is completely incomprehensible to me as it certainly will make others loose time and data as in my case. Technical problems like these are to be expected if not preventable, but what shocks is the way Data Robotics treats this information and their customers. Feeling unease is an understatement. How can I trust that the next implementation of their/thrid party iSCSI will acctually work?

Sep 28, 2011 9:42 AM in response to Dietrich Batista

Dietrich, you are absolutely right. I don't understand them at all. When I talked to their CEO they seemed to feel the same way and promised to update their website accordingly. That was at least 4 weeks ago, if not longer.


And because I've had enough of their communication "strategy" and I haven't signed any NDA, I am going to share the Dashboard beta with everyone. See next post.


That beta works like a charm on my system. No issues at all.

Sep 28, 2011 10:13 AM in response to cryptochrome

Cryptochrome, thank you very much. It's people like you and discussions like these that are more helpful (and often knowledgable) than their own Data Robotics tech support. Adding insult to injury I received 4 (four!!!) e-mails from the vice president, Customer Support, Sonya Andrea, asking to reply to a survey where I added all my experience and complaints on this issue and even refered to this discussion here - all this quite a while ago and NOTHING....Adding your comments to the overall sentiments here I can only suppose that something is going badly wrong at this company...

Sep 28, 2011 11:08 PM in response to Dietrich Batista

How should I put this. When I heard they were using a FreeBSD derived iSCSI initiator, I was stunned. The idea is that when you use open source [code] software as a company, you add your modifications to make the code better back into the community. Share, and share alike.


It instead sounds to me, that they put little if any effort into the code they (for lack of a better word) stole from the community. Then when their missbegotten plan didn't work out as planned, did they:


A. Hire a FreeBSD programmer, to fix it?

B. Hire any other programmer to fix it?

C. Blame their problem on the code they stole, and license a product from another company?


Netatalk had to bend them over a barrel to get them to pay the devs a dime, for over how many years of use of the code they develop? To my eyes this is cut/dry. They tried to blame Apple. When that didn't work, then they tried to blame it on AFP. (netatalk for you non-linux types) Then that was proven wrong, now it's those grubby little people at FreeBSD's fault for their bad iSCSI initiator. I would be real careful dealing with Datarobotics if I were ATTO.


As a customer, they in a real way jepordized my (and other's) backup data. I'm done with them.

Drobo freezes 10.7 Lion Server

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