How do I safely shut down my Drobo device?

This article applies to all Drobo products. 

We at Drobo cannot emphasize strongly enough how important it is to shut down your Drobo storage device safely. If any of your applications (including the Drobo storage device's own data-management tasks) are in the midst of accessing or writing data and your Drobo device is abruptly or unexpectedly halted, your critical data is at risk. Unsafe Drobo shutdowns, for example not ejecting or unmounting the Drobo Volume prior to using the toggle switch, may cause file corruption and/or data loss. Although Drobo storage devices all have built-in protection for the occasional power outage, standard operations should include safe data handling.

This is the recommended method for safely shutting down your Drobo. More information is provided in our User Guides. 

1. Make sure that the activity light on your Drobo is off, indicating that no data is actively being transferred to or from your Drobo. 

2. Also check to ensure the drive bay lights are not blinking alternately between yellow and green. This indicates that your Drobo is busy working to protect your data. Wait until these lights are a solid green.  

3. In the Drobo Dashboard, select the Drobo you would like to shutdown from the All Drobos page, and click the Tools option on the Navigation menu. The Tools page opens.

4. In the Drobo Operations area, select the Shutdown option. A message box opens asking you to confirm the Shutdown. 

5. Click the Yes button.

6. It can take up to two minutes for your Drobo to power down. Afterwards, the power light turns off, indicating your Drobo has shutdown. 

NOTE:

• If your computer is either turned off or not functional, the power light on your Drobo device will be orange. This means that it is safe to press the power toggle on the back of the Drobo device to turn the power off.
• If your computer does not recognize Drobo (it is not mounted), check the power light of Drobo. If it is orange, it is in standby mode and it is safe to disconnect the data cable and unplug power. If the light is green, the safest way to shut it down is to first turn your computer off, wait for the power light to turn orange, and then disconnect the data cable and unplug power. In the unlikely event that turning your computer off does not result in Drobo's power light turning orange, check to make sure the activity light is not flashing, listen to make sure the drives are silent, and then disconnect the data cable.

Turning Your Drobo Device Back On

These steps apply to all Drobo products.

 

1. With the power off, make sure the drives are properly seated (pushed in firmly, making contact with the backplane), especially if the Drobo was moved.
2. Connect the data cables. (For a 1st or 2nd generation Drobo, connect either the USB or FireWire cable, but not both).
3. For 1st or 2nd generation Drobos, plug in the power cord (and for some Drobo models, also press the power toggle button).
   
   For all other Drobo products, plug in the power cord and press the power toggle button on the back of the Drobo device.