Drobo

Connection to B800i refused

#1

Hi,

I have a serious problem with drobo B800i.
it was configured to work with an arm PC running Linux (connected with open-iscsi), but due to severe hardware crash of the PC, I need to connect to B800i with a new system (Linux VM for the moment).

The problem is that when I try to connect to drobo B800i from the new system, I get a “connection refused” error message.

sudo iscsiadm --mode discoverydb --type sendtargets --portal 192.168.1.60 --discover
iscsiadm: cannot make connection to 192.168.1.60: Connection refused
iscsiadm: cannot make connection to 192.168.1.60: Connection refused
iscsiadm: cannot make connection to 192.168.1.60: Connection refused
iscsiadm: cannot make connection to 192.168.1.60: Connection refused
iscsiadm: cannot make connection to 192.168.1.60: Connection refused
iscsiadm: cannot make connection to 192.168.1.60: Connection refused
iscsiadm: connection login retries (reopen_max) 5 exceeded

I wonder if Target has not a still opened connection from the old crashed system and then refuses any new connection.

Note: if I remove all disks from B800i, I can connect successfully.
As soon as I put disks back, the connection is refused.

Any tips ?

Thx !

#2

Okay,

So finally, I managed to repair my B800i myself. DROBO customer service didn’t even care answering my request. I already knew that by leaving iSCSI initiator support for the B800i they were also leaving their past customers support, but with this new incident, my doubts are confirmed, DROBO does not care about its customers once the warranty has end, or if their customers problems are linked to DROBO decision to leave a software once supported (and sold).

Yes I bought a B800i (sold as professional line of products) with ISCSI initiator included. It was a nightmare to get it working on MACOS, and one day, DROBO simply decided to stop to include free iscsi initiator and also stop including it in future Drobo Dashboard updates.

In short, I will therefore indicate the solution here, hoping that one day it may help someone who would find themselves in the same situation.

I’d like to point out that the B800i is a very good machine, well designed, and reliable.

It can be easily disassembled with the right tools, and that’s what I had to do to repair my B800i myself.

Solution to my problem:

  • Completely disassemble the B800i, extract the disk rack in order to be able to access the SATA mainboard.

  • Remove all dust with compressed air and a vacuum cleaner.

  • Once all the dust has been removed, spray generously the 2 boards with electronic contacts cleaner (I used W40 special electronic contacts cleaner).

  • Remove the button battery, disconnect the backup battery, then put them back in place.

  • Wipe off the contactors here and there, by rubbing with a micro-fiber cloth,

  • Allow to dry well, and reassemble the B800i.

And There you go !

In my case, one of the drive LEDs no longer lights up green (only red).

So I think I will have to start over by focusing on the connection area associated with this Led.

I own my B800i for about 10 years now (1st generation) and used it with macOS environment.

I try Windows after impossibility to use it on MacOS because of Drobo stopping iSCSI initiator distribution. But it’s painful to handle.

I turned to a small form factor linux server. B800i works fine with open-iscsi library. It is well documented on the web, you should find answers to your questions.