Drobo Migration
Migrating Your Data Between Drobo Products

Migrating your data from Drobo to Drobo FS:

To move your data from another model to Drobo FS, connect both computers simultaneously and copy the files you'd like to share.

Moving your data from any model Drobo to a Drobo FS:

1. Connect Drobo FS to your network and ensure it has sufficient free capacity to accommodate the additional data from your Drobo.
2. Copy ALL files from Drobo to Drobo FS.
3. Verify ALL files are in place and fully accessibly on Drobo FS
4. If you would then like to add the drives from the Drobo to the Drobo FS, remove the drives from Drobo and place them one at a time in the free data bays in Drobo FS.
   
   Note that this will ERASE ALL DATA on these drives. This step cannot be undone. If you aren't sure that you've successfullycopied all data onto Drobo FS, do not complete this step.

Migrating your data from Drobo to DroboPro:

IMPORTANT! Disk packs created or updated on Drobo Gen 2 running firmware version 1.4.0 to DroboPro firmware version 1.2.1 and earlier is not currently supported.

Ensure you have the latest Drobo Dashboard and firmware on both Drobo and DroboPro before moving disk packs. Migrating drives to a DroboPro is a one-way operation. Note that once you move drives from a Drobo to a DroboPro that you will not be able to use them in the Drobo.

The following migration options are NOT supported:

• Drobo S to any Drobo other than Drobo S, that is, only Drobo S to Drobo S is supported
• DroboPro to any Drobo other than DroboPro, that is, only DroboPro to DroboPro is supported

2nd Generation Drobo (FireWire 800)

Moving your data from a 2nd Generation (FireWire 800) Drobo to a DroboPro is simple¹:

1. Put both your Drobo and DroboPro into standby using Drobo Dashboard or your operating system and then power each array off.
2. Remove ALL disks from Drobo and insert ALL disks into DroboPro.
3. Power DroboPro back on

1st Generation Drobo (USB-only)

Moving your data from a 1st Generation (USB-only) Drobo to a DroboPro:

1. Install the version of Drobo Dashboard software that came with your new DroboPro (or later).
2. Connect DroboPro to your computer and ensure it has sufficient free capacity to accommodate the additional data from Drobo.
3. Copy ALL files from Drobo to DroboPro.
4. Verify ALL files are in place and fully accessibly on DroboPro
5. If you would then like to add these diska to DroboPro, remove themfrom Drobo and place them one at a time in the free data bays in DroboPro.
6. Note that this will ERASE ALL DATA on these drives.
   This step cannot be undone. If you are unsure if you have successfully copied all data onto DroboPro, do not complete this step.

NOTE: If your Drobo was formatted using Drobo firmware v1.03 or earlier, you will be unable to directly swap your drives from Drobo into DroboPro. This applies to most but not all 1st Generation (USB-only) Drobos. When you insert the disks into DroboPro a warning dialog will inform you of this, pointing you to this webpage. This process is necessary to upgrade you to the latest software that ensures maximum expandability in the future.

¹ 1st Generation (USB-only) Drobos formatted using Drobo firmware v1.10 or later may also follow these instructions. You can determine which upgrade path is necessary by inserting your whole Drobo disk pack in DroboPro. If you receive an error message, please follow the steps for a 1st Generation (USB-only) Drobo.

Migrating your data from Drobo to DroboElite:

In general, you cannot migrate data by moving hard drives from the Drobo to the DroboElite. Instead, you will need to copy the data from the Drobo to the DroboElite.

1. Install the version of Drobo Dashboard software that came with your new DroboElite (or later).
2. Connect your Drobo to your computer via the USB/FireWire connection¹.
3. Connect your computer and your DroboElite to a network switch.
4. Configure the iSCSI setup on your DroboElite so your computer is on the same subnet as the DroboElite.
5. Ensure your computer and DroboElite are connected via iSCSI
6. Verify your DroboElite has sufficient free capacity to accommodate the additional data from Drobo.
7. Once connected, simply copy your files from Drobo to DroboElite.
8. Verify ALL files are in place and fully accessibly on DroboElite.
9. If you would then like to add the drives from the Drobo to the DroboElite, remove the drives from Drobo and place them one at a time in the free data bays in DroboElite.
   
   Note that this will ERASE ALL DATA on these drives. This step cannot be undone. If you are unsure if you
   have successfully copied all data onto DroboElite, do not complete this step.

¹ FireWire connection is available on 2nd generation Drobo only.

Migrating your data from DroboPro to DroboElite:

In general, you cannot migrate data by moving hard drives from the DroboPro to the DroboElite. You will need to copy the data from the DroboPro to the DroboElite.

1. Install the version of Drobo Dashboard software that came with your new DroboElite (or later).
2. Connect your DroboPro to your computer via the USB or FireWire connection.
3. Connect your computer and your DroboElite to a network switch.
4. Configure the iSCSI setup on your DroboElite so your computer is on the same subnet as the DroboElite.
5. Ensure your computer and DroboElite are connected via iSCSI
6. Verify your DroboElite has sufficient free capacity to accommodate the additional data from Drobo.
7. Once connected, simply copy your files from DroboPro to DroboElite.
8. Verify ALL files are in place and fully accessibly on DroboElite.
9. If you would then like to add the drives from the DroboPro to the DroboElite, remove the drives from DroboPro and place them one at a time in the free data bays in DroboElite.
   
   Note that this will ERASE ALL DATA on these drives. This step cannot be undone. If you are unsure if you have successfully copied all data onto DroboElite, do not complete this step.

Migrating your data from a Drobo, Drobo S or DroboPro to DroboPro FS:

In general, you cannot migrate data by moving hard drives from the Drobo, Drobo S, or DroboPro to the DroboPro FS. The reason is that the file system layouts are slightly different on the DroboPro FS as compared to other Drobo storage systems. You will need to copy the data from the Drobo, Drobo S, or DroboPro to the DroboPro FS.

1. Install the version of Drobo Dashboard software that came with your new DroboPro FS (or later).
2. Connect your Drobo, Drobo S, or DroboPro to your computer via the USB or FireWire connection.
3. Connect your computer and your DroboPro FS to a network switch.
4. Configure the network setup on your DroboPro FS so your computer is on the same subnet as the DroboPro FS.
5. Ensure your computer and DroboPro FS are connected and you have the Public share on the DroboPro FS mounted on your computer.
6. Verify your DroboPro FS has sufficient free capacity to accommodate the additional data from Drobo, Drobo S, or DroboPro.
7. Once connected, simply copy your files from Drobo, Drobo S, or DroboPro to the DroboPro FS.
8. Verify ALL files are in place and fully accessibly on DroboPro FS.
9. If you would then like to add the drives from the Drobo, Drobo S, or DroboPro to the DroboPro FS, remove the drives from old Drobo system and place them one at a time in the free drive bays in DroboPro FS.
   
   Note that this will ERASE ALL DATA on these drives. This step cannot be undone. If you are unsure if you
   have successfully copied all data onto DroboPro FS, do not complete this step.

Migrating your data from a Drobo FS to Drobo B800fs:

Moving your data from Drobo FS to a Drobo B800fs is simple.

The disk packs are directly transferrable between the Drobo FS and the Drobo B800fs.

1. Ensure that the Drobo B800fs is updated to the latest version of firmware by "checking for updates" in Drobo Dashboard.
2. Power off both the Drobo FS and the Drobo B800fs.
3. Remove ALL disks from Drobo FS and insert ALL disks into Drobo B800fs.
4. Power the Drobo B800fs back on.

Migrating your data from a Drobo FS to Drobo 5N:

Disk Pack Migration Best Practices

Option 1: Populate Drobo 5N with new drives and copy data from a Drobo FS over the network

Advantages:

• Read/Write performance fastest – Read and write performance increased due to new drive and format optimizations.
• Zero down time – Drobo FS shares are still available for use while copying data to the new Drobo 5N.
• Redundancy – Existing data remains on the Drobo FS.

Disadvantage:

• Cost – Additional drives to purchase for the Drobo 5N.
• File Transfer Time – Depending on network connection and amount of data transferred, this can take hours.
• Setup – Requires creating newusers, shares and mounting them on each host on the network.

Directions

1. Insert new drives into the Drobo 5Nwith capacity greater than or equal to existing Drobo FS.
2. Ensure that the latest version of Drobo Dashboard is installed on a host computer. (See here for latest version: http://www.drobo.com/support/updates.php )
3. Ensure that both the Drobo FS and Drobo 5N are updated to the latest version of firmware by "checking for updates" in Drobo Dashboard.
4. Connect the Drobo 5N to network and power it on.
5. Copy ALL files from the Drobo FS to the Drobo 5N over the network.
6. Verify ALL files are in place and fully accessible on the Drobo 5N.

Option 2: Migrate Drobo FS disk pack to Drobo 5N

Note: A disk packrefers to all drivesinstalled in a Drobo. Any drive inserted into an existing disk packwill be erased before being added to the disk pack.

Note: Disk pack migration involves moving ALL drivesin the disk packfrom one Drobo to another.

WARNING! Do not migrate drives when either Drobo device is powered on. Do not mix drives from different disk packs. This can result in data loss.

Advantages:

• Cost – No need to purchase additional drives
• Ease of setup – Maintains all shares, permissions, and passwords from the Drobo FS
• Fastest transfer of data to the Drobo 5N – As fast as powering down the Drobo FS, migrating the disk pack to the Drobo 5N and powering it on.

Disadvantages:

• Read/Write performance – Read and Write performance about 75% compared to a Drobo 5N with a new disk pack.
• Down time – Requires powering off the Drobo FS in order to migrate the disk pack.

Directions

1. Ensure that the latest version of Drobo Dashboard is installed on a host computer. (See here for latest version: http://www.drobo.com/support/updates.php )
2. Ensure that both the Drobo FS and Drobo 5N are updated to the latest version of firmware by "checking for updates" in Drobo Dashboard.
3. Safely power down both the Drobo FS and Drobo 5N.
4. Remove ALL drivesfrom Drobo FS and insert ALL drivesinto the Drobo 5N.
5. Power Drobo 5N back on. Within a few minutes,shares, data and userswill be visible on Drobo Dashboard. Do not reset or unplug your Drobo during this process.