Drobo freezes 10.7 Lion Server

Thank you for your comments cryptochrome. Are you running Lion or Lion Server?

Dietrich, I am on Lion Server. Had zero problems with the betas, and upgraded to the final today. No problems with that yet. Looks good to me.

I too have a Gen 2 Drobo connected with Firewire 800. I've updated to Firmware 1.4, and also have experienced no problems for the two hours after doing so (early I know, but longer that it lasted before, and I have Time Machine and iTunes hammering the drive). I have not updated Dashboard.

So, despite no mention of it in the release note, and no admission of the problem even existing from Drobo, the 1.4 firmware seems to have fixed the crippling bug with the Firewire connection.

I'm disappointed they've not admitted there was a problem, but I'm glad they seem to have fixed it.

My Drobo actually seems even faster than ever, but that may be because I'd become accustomed to the cripplingly slow speed of the USB 2 connection.

Regaring confusing information on Drobo's website:

On the downloads page:

http://www.drobo.com/support/updates.php

They list 2.0.3 as the latest version for a Drobo second Gen, but the 2.0.4 release notes mention this model (among others).

I contacted drobo support and they said:

====from drobo support====

Yes If you have a 2nd Gen drobo you can update to the newest dashboard.

=====================

So, I think the release notes are more up-to-date than the drobo site.

Arrggghhh!! Seems I spoke too soon, Drobo froze up again on Firewire 800.

I'll try updating Dashboard tomorrow, but doubt that will help.

Luke... It is not the firmware, but the SCSI inititiators installed with Dashboard 2.0.4...

Don't get excited about the new Drobo software, everyone. I have updated to the latest 2.04 dashboard and it worked for 4 hours but then froze up again just as before.

If this happens to you too, please share your details. Maybe some connections work and some don't.

iMac with Mac OS Lion 10.7 (not the 10.7.1 upgrade as it seemed to cause some problems, and not Lion Server).

Firewire 800 connection to two Drobo Pro units.

Newer Drobo Dashboard 2.04

Latest firmwares

Everything seemed to work fine, but then one unit dropped off just as last time I tested before giving up and switching to USB the week Lion came out.

Anyone have similar freezes? Does iSCSI work better than firewire 800 now? (I would use iSCSI, but I only have 1 ethernet slot on my iMac to connect to the two Drobo Pro units).

Matt

All fine here with latest 2.0.4 Dashboard connected via iSCSI. Downloading files and watching movies from Drobo. Will keep advised...

I dusted off my Drobo Gen 2 and upgraded it to 1.4 firmware and Dashboard to 2.0.4. After a period of time, I was unable to write to the Drobo and Dashboard lost visibility to it. I got a -39 error code in the Finder.This is on a 2011 Mac mini over FW 800. Very disappointed.

Matt, you could get a 1Gb switch and connect your Mini and the two Drobo Pros to it and use iSCSI. I have a Drobo Pro attached via iSCSI to an old Mac Mini with a Gb port and it's very fast. My Drobo is far away hidden in a safe place. You'll be surprised. Take a chance. I hope this helps.

Add me to list of unhappy owners of Drobo bricks. Mine is a Drobo (2nd Gen) connected to Lion (not server) via FW800. Same symptoms as other FW users.

Unhappy interaction with Drobo tech support. I'm sure they knew of the issue, but after some painful troubleshooting (including reset/reformat !), they agreed to swap my drive for a new one if I paid ~$200 for an out-of-warranty extension to DroboCare. I opted to buy a new one instead. It won't surprise anyone on this thread, but that didn't help, so I returned the unit.

2.0.4 Dashboard has not solved problem. Just noticed this morning that there is a firmware update too (1.4). Now installed. Will give it another go and see.

You guys really need to stop mixing things up. There are two entirely different product lines from Drobo, and two entireley different problems.

The DroboPro and and the i models use USB, FireWire and (the important part) iSCSI. Those models have had a problem with iSCSI since the Lion release. For these models Drobo have now released Dashboard 2.0.4. That release's sole purpose was to fix the iSCSI issue. If you don't own any of the iSCSI capable models, Dashboard 2.0.4 will not fix anything for you. In fact, Dashboard 2.0.4 will not fix anything that's firewire related, no matter what model (release notes help understanding what has been fixed).

The other Drobo models (FS, S etc.) use USB, Firewire and some eSATA, but none of these use iSCSI. Those models have a problem with Firewire. Drobo have released a new firmware version, but apparently it doesn't fix the firewire issue.

Do not mix up the firewire problem with the iSCSI problem. Dashboard 2.0.4 is for the iSCSI issue and nothing else.

By the way: As it seems, a lot of other vendors who have firewire products on the market seem to have problems since the release of Lion. Just check the forums. Looks like the problem might be more of an Apple problem than a Drobo problem.