Drobo vs. Stand-alone backup server

I have a dedicated backup server that I currently use to backup all the computers on my network. It's convenient because I already have the hardware and it's just sitting there.

I am not currently using RAID, but I was planning to buy two of the same drives and use a RAID 1 in the future. The more I have thought about it though, I was wondering if it's worth it to invest in a Drobo instead.

I think I have outlined the Pros/Cons of having a separate server, but I was interested what everyone else thought.

Pros:
+ Computer can be used for other things
+ Hardware (not hard drives) can be replaced if it breaks
+ Less money (because I have the hardware minus drives)

Cons:
- Uses more power
- Have to maintain Linux
- Using software RAID, which means if computer dies backs up are gone until computer is back up
- Hard drives are hot swappable, making upgrading it or moving backups offsite easy
- Constant health check visible

Has anyone moved from a dedicated backup server to a Drobo and have thoughts?

I have a Drobo and love it, but I only switched from a USB external. The nice thing for you is in theory you could use the hard drives you have now, if you can get the critical data off. But you are looking at a $500 Drobo and a $200 Droboshare, if you want it on a network. Plus I would expect the potential of data speeds to slow down a touch.

You will like the Drobo Dashboard application, it really is a good little tool for checking the condition of your data. And I love how you don't have to be consistant with your drive sizes. I have 2 500GB drives and 2 160GB drives, which gives me over 760GB of protected storage.

And opening up the box reminds me of opening up a Mac...............