I just plugged it into my router and it shows up as a network drive getting 1.5MB/s
connected directly to the PC its much faster… like 25MB/s
is there any way to speed it up over the network?
I can’t fathom anything that would cause a 5N to run so slowly short of an 802.11b wireless network. But to diagnose things, you’ll have to give us a LOT more information, especially including router model, how the computer is connected to the network, what kind of network (Ethernet, WiFi, if wireless what type and band, if wired what type of cabling/switches), what kind of computer it is, OS, etc.
Just to confirm, you have a Drobo 5N and plugged the network from it into one of your router’s network ports, right?
Because if you have a Drobo 5D and plugged the USB into your router’s USB port for it to share, that can be very slow depending on your router.
I’m a new user. Where is the info about how fast the transfer speed is?
Drobo doesn’t report transfer speeds.
Are you on a Mac or PC?
On the Mac, I use iStat Menus by Bjango.
http://bjango.com/mac/istatmenus/
Drobo doesn’t report transfer speeds.
Are you on a Mac or PC?
On the Mac, I use iStat Menus by Bjango.
http://bjango.com/mac/istatmenus/
Transfer speed is something you can observe. “It takes 1 minute to copy this 1GB file. 1024MB/60 = 17MB/second.”
Some programs like rsync can also report speeds, and then of course there are benchmark programs.
I measure speed as “Too Slow,” “Could Be Faster,” “Fast Enough,” or “Ooh Wow.” My DroboPro is Fast Enough MB/sec. 
As a general rule, it’s best to use an actual stopwatch or wall clock, then do the math yourself, as what you see on-screen is sometimes average, sometimes instantaneous, and often times ridiculous. 