Frequently Asked Question
Your Guide to macOS High Sierra and Drobo
Last Updated 7 years ago
http://www.drobo.com/guide-to-high-sierra-drobo/
Recently, Apple released macOS 10.13 – High Sierra. Please follow our guide below to ensure you are ready to upgrade with peace of mind.
Can I upgrade my Mac to macOS High Sierra?
macOS High Sierra provides reliability, additional features and new security
enhancements. Click here to discover more about the benefits of using macOS High Sierra.
View Apple’s compatibility page to ensure your Mac meets the system requirements.
• OS X 10.8 or later
• 2GB of memory
• 14.3GB of available storage to perform upgrade*
*After completion of the upgrade, macOS High Sierra requires approximately 1.5GB more storage space than macOS Sierra 10.12.6.
What should I do before I upgrade?
Before you upgrade the operating system to High Sierra (OS 10.13), you should do a Time Machine backup, either to an external drive or your Drobo (How to do a Time Machine backup with Drobo). Thus, providing additional security for your Drobo.
To confirm your backup is complete on Time Machine, open “System Preferences”, then click on “Time Machine” from the fourth row, to confirm the last backup time.
Will my Drobo work with macOS High Sierra?
Yes, Drobo and Drobo Dashboard are compatible with macOS High Sierra.We will continue to provide any additional enhancements as we see fit.
What is new in macOS High Sierra?
There are many benefits to using macOS High Sierra, both with security and features. However, what is most important to Drobo customers is the Apple File System (APFS).
APFS is a new file system for iOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS. It is optimized for Flash/SSD storage and features strong encryption, copy-on-write metadata, space sharing, cloning for files and directories, snapshots, fast directory sizing, atomic safe-save primitives and improved file system fundamentals.
APFS replaces HFS+ as the default file system for iOS 10.3 and later, and macOS High Sierra and later.
Note: Apple isn’t using APFS on spinning media
Will my Drobo be converted to APFS?
No, your Drobo will stay as an HFS+ volume.
Will my Drobo work with APFS?
We are currently validating and testing APFS. NO APFS volumes should be created on the
Drobo itself, however, the Drobo will be able to read the APFS volumes on the Mac.
Note: You should only use Drobo Dashboard for creating and formatting volumes on Drobo.
What Drobo’s will be compatible with APFS/macOS High Sierra?
DAS/NAS: GEN3, 5C, 5D, 5Dt, 5D3, 5N, 5N2, and B810n (w/ the following ports: Thunderbolt 3, USB C and USB A)
Should I still Install macOS High Sierra without support for APFS?
If you do install macOS High Sierra, your Drobo will work as expected. The only thing you have to avoid is encryption on your Drobo volume, since the used free space won’t be reclaimed and the volume will fill up in the same way it does if encryption is used.
Note: This does not include Time Machine since it does not currently work with APFS volumes.
How do I install High Sierra?
Start by shutting down your Drobo via the Drobo Dashboard. To shutdown, select the Drobo that is on, then select “Tools”, and click “Shutdown”.
Disconnect your drobo
Now that your Drobo is off and discontected, open the “Mac App Store” and on the top banner, click “High Sierra”, then choose “Download”. Once downloaded, let the installer handle the rest.
Once your Mac has restarted and you are back on your desktop, power up your Drobo and you’re set.
Still have questions or concerns regarding APFS?
Please either check out Apple’s FAQ Here or Ask Our Support Team Here.
Keep Calm and Drobo On
Recently, Apple released macOS 10.13 – High Sierra. Please follow our guide below to ensure you are ready to upgrade with peace of mind.
Can I upgrade my Mac to macOS High Sierra?
macOS High Sierra provides reliability, additional features and new security
enhancements. Click here to discover more about the benefits of using macOS High Sierra.
View Apple’s compatibility page to ensure your Mac meets the system requirements.
• OS X 10.8 or later
• 2GB of memory
• 14.3GB of available storage to perform upgrade*
*After completion of the upgrade, macOS High Sierra requires approximately 1.5GB more storage space than macOS Sierra 10.12.6.
What should I do before I upgrade?
Before you upgrade the operating system to High Sierra (OS 10.13), you should do a Time Machine backup, either to an external drive or your Drobo (How to do a Time Machine backup with Drobo). Thus, providing additional security for your Drobo.
To confirm your backup is complete on Time Machine, open “System Preferences”, then click on “Time Machine” from the fourth row, to confirm the last backup time.
Will my Drobo work with macOS High Sierra?
Yes, Drobo and Drobo Dashboard are compatible with macOS High Sierra.We will continue to provide any additional enhancements as we see fit.
What is new in macOS High Sierra?
There are many benefits to using macOS High Sierra, both with security and features. However, what is most important to Drobo customers is the Apple File System (APFS).
APFS is a new file system for iOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS. It is optimized for Flash/SSD storage and features strong encryption, copy-on-write metadata, space sharing, cloning for files and directories, snapshots, fast directory sizing, atomic safe-save primitives and improved file system fundamentals.
APFS replaces HFS+ as the default file system for iOS 10.3 and later, and macOS High Sierra and later.
Note: Apple isn’t using APFS on spinning media
Will my Drobo be converted to APFS?
No, your Drobo will stay as an HFS+ volume.
Will my Drobo work with APFS?
We are currently validating and testing APFS. NO APFS volumes should be created on the
Drobo itself, however, the Drobo will be able to read the APFS volumes on the Mac.
Note: You should only use Drobo Dashboard for creating and formatting volumes on Drobo.
What Drobo’s will be compatible with APFS/macOS High Sierra?
DAS/NAS: GEN3, 5C, 5D, 5Dt, 5D3, 5N, 5N2, and B810n (w/ the following ports: Thunderbolt 3, USB C and USB A)
Should I still Install macOS High Sierra without support for APFS?
If you do install macOS High Sierra, your Drobo will work as expected. The only thing you have to avoid is encryption on your Drobo volume, since the used free space won’t be reclaimed and the volume will fill up in the same way it does if encryption is used.Note: This does not include Time Machine since it does not currently work with APFS volumes.
How do I install High Sierra?
Start by shutting down your Drobo via the Drobo Dashboard. To shutdown, select the Drobo that is on, then select “Tools”, and click “Shutdown”.
Disconnect your drobo
Now that your Drobo is off and discontected, open the “Mac App Store” and on the top banner, click “High Sierra”, then choose “Download”. Once downloaded, let the installer handle the rest.
Once your Mac has restarted and you are back on your desktop, power up your Drobo and you’re set.
Still have questions or concerns regarding APFS?
Please either check out Apple’s FAQ Here or Ask Our Support Team Here.
Keep Calm and Drobo On