Drobo Mini - Connectivity Interfaces Supported for the Drobo Mini

Drobo Mini Getting Started Guide 5
Connectivity Interfaces Supported for the Drobo Mini
Your Drobo Mini connects directly to your computer using one of the following connectivity ports.
We recommend that you use the fastest connection you have available on your computer.
Notes:
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You can only use one connection at a time.
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If you would like to use the USB 3.0 interface and it is not available on your computer, you
can purchase and install an add-on adapter card. (This is a circuit board that fits into an
expansion slot in your computer and provides the interface you want.)
Thunderbolt
Developed by Intel with collaboration from Apple, Thunderbolt is a flexible, high-performance
interface that provides a high-speed connection to peripheral devices from a computer. It has the
ability to combine data, video, audio and power all in a single connection, concurrently. Each
Thunderbolt connector can provide two full-duplex channels, with each channel providing 10
Gbps of bi-directional bandwidth, meaning it can transmit and receive data at the same time.
The Drobo Mini has two Thunderbolt ports, enabling you to take advantage of Thunderbolt's
daisy-chaining capabilities. With Thunderbolt, you can daisy-chain up to six peripheral devices
and one display from a single computer. Note that because Thunderbolt has dual-protocol
support (with DisplayPort and PCI Express), you can connect your computer to Thunderbolt
devices or DisplayPort products. You can also connect non-Thunderbolt devices at the end of a
daisy-chain by using Thunderbolt technology adapters.
Here are three options for connecting your Drobo device using its Thunderbolt interface.