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How to Set Up Drobo for Retrospect Backup

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Drobo

Drobo is so simple that anyone can use it, yet powerful enough for business. Drobo connects to your computer or network and provides redundant data protection without the complexities of traditional RAID. Better yet, Retrospect has out-of-the-box compatibility with Drobo.

Drobo Setup

Drobos support expandable storage. You can add new drives or upsize drives (replacing smaller ones with larger ones) on the fly, and the Drobo automatically supports the larger capacity. Drobos do this using a technology called thin provisioning. When you mount a Drobo share, the OS sees the maximum amount of storage that the Drobo is capable of, rather than the amount that is available.

Retrospect allows you to easily configure the amount of storage you use on the backup destination, and you can change it at any time. Use the following steps to limit the backup storage that Retrospect uses on your Drobo.

  1. In the Drobo Dashboard, select your Drobo and then "Shares".

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  2. Under "Share Settings", select "Add".

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  3. In "Add Share", type in a share name, like "Retrospect", then select "Enable Time Machine support on this share". Specify a maximum storage size for your backups.

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  4. In "Share Settings", select writeable for everyone or a different set of credentials and permissions. Then click "OK".

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  5. You will see your new "Retrospect" share appear in your list of shares.

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Retrospect Setup: Add Drobo as a Destination

Adding Drobo to Retrospect as a destination is easy. Follow our quick video tutorials for step-by-step guidance:

Retrospect for Windows: Setting up a NAS as a Backup Destination

Retrospect for Mac: Setting up a NAS as a Backup Destination

Note that you can add Drobos by name (the one that appears in the Drobo Dashboard) or by IP address:

smb://Drobo5N2/Public
smb://192.168.0.5/Public

 

Retrospect Setup: Add Drobo as a Source

Adding Drobo to Retrospect as a source is easy. Follow our quick video tutorials for step-by-step guidance:

Retrospect for Windows: Setting up a NAS as a Backup Source

Retrospect for Mac: Setting up a NAS as a Backup Source

Note that you can add Drobos by name (the one that appears in the Drobo Dashboard) or by IP address:

smb://Drobo5N2/Public
smb://192.168.0.5/Public

 

Last Update: July 19, 2019