It’s been two years since Drobo filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and stopped providing support for its NAS hardware. Now, Plex says it will end Drobo compatibility following the Plex Media Server 1.41.7 release in Q2 2025.
Existing Drobo setups may continue running Plex Media Server, but Plex will not provide updates for Drobo NAS boxes. In other words, your Drobo-based media server will continue working for some time, but it will slowly lose functionality as Plex, TMDB, and associated services make server-side changes that require newer versions of PMS. Running an outdated version of Plex Media Server also presents some security risks, particularly if you leave remote access enabled.
Related
Plex Is Killing the One Social Feature I Actually Care About
Watch Together is the one thing that encouraged me to use Plex’s social media features. But it’s being discontinued.
Drobo Filed Chapter 7 in 2023
Drobo enjoyed some serious popularity in the early 2010s, primarily because of its ease of use. While most NAS devices were defined by traditional, inflexible RAID redundancy, Drobo boxes utilized a proprietary system called BeyondRAID that allowed users to mix and match drive sizes. The software itself wasn’t super competent or capable, but Drobo was arguably the most straightforward network-attached storage solution.
Unfortunately, cloud storage services made Drobo somewhat redundant—people who just wanted to conveniently stow away their files were better off with Dropbox. The company also suffered from years of supply shortages, meaning that it missed out on a ton of potential customers. Brands that offered more capable and complicated products, such as Synology, managed to survive by focusing on the enthusiast or business markets.
Today, several commercial NAS brands (including Synology) offer the ability to mix-and-match drives. Operating systems like Unraid, which you can run on any NAS or desktop computer, also support this functionality. And if you want an “easy” NAS solution that mimics a cloud storage service (but lacks any advanced functionality, like Plex streaming), there’s the BeeStation.
Next Steps for Drobo Users
If you’re still running Plex Media Server on a Drobo NAS—uh, stop doing that. Drobo’s software hasn’t been supported in years and almost certainly presents some security risk.
It’s time to set up Plex on a new machine. You can migrate your Plex Media Server installation to the new machine if you’re willing to put in a bit of effort, but if I were in your shoes, I’d just take the loss and start from scratch. Grab a NAS from a brand that you trust and get to work. Alternatively, run Plex on a mini PC, desktop, or laptop and use your Drobo box to store media (keep the Drobo limited to your LAN, do not expose it to the internet).
I should take this opportunity to clarify that you cannot run third-party operating systems on Drobo hardware. Drobo boxes are insanely over-engineered and run twooperating systems concurrently—a simple Linux OS, and the proprietary BeyondRAID. No one has put in the work to reverse-engineer the BeyondRAID system for modification. The good news is that Drobo hardware has retained some resale value. You might be able to make a few hundred bucks by selling your old Drobo NAS on eBay.
The current version of Plex Media Server will continue working on Drobo for some time. It’ll slowly lose functionality as Plex, TMDB, and other services implement server-side changes that are incompatible with older versions of Plex Media Server. Again, I strongly suggest that all Drobo users switch to a different media server solution regardless of how well their current setup is working.
Synology DiskStation DS423+
The Synology DiskStation DS423+ not only works with Mac, but it offers four bays for expansion and supports both software and hardware-accelerated transcoding.
Source: Plex
Source link
