Drobo is gone, and if you are still running one, the clock is ticking. Drobo ended support and product sales on 27 January 2023, and by May 2023 Drobo and its parent company StorCentric had converted their 2022 Chapter 11 bankruptcies to Chapter 7 liquidation. That ended support, firmware updates, and the supply chain for replacement units. The question is not whether to replace a Drobo. It is which device replaces what made Drobo useful for Mac-based creative workflows specifically: Thunderbolt support, BeyondRAID mixed drive management, and a UI that did not require IT knowledge to operate.
In short: For Mac editors who used Drobo for its Thunderbolt connection, QNAP is the replacement. QNAP and UGREEN both sell NAS units with Thunderbolt ports in Australia, and QNAP's Thunderbolt models are stocked by several AU retailers. For editors who valued BeyondRAID's mixed-drive flexibility over Thunderbolt, Synology's SHR is the closest equivalent. In either case: copy all data off your Drobo before it fails. Drobo drives cannot be read in any other NAS.
If your Drobo is still running: Back up everything now, before the hardware fails. Drobo spreads data across its drives with its own proprietary BeyondRAID layout, so a QNAP, Synology or any other NAS cannot read a Drobo disk pack. If the Drobo unit fails before you have copied the data off, recovery is significantly more difficult and expensive. Do not wait until a drive failure forces the issue.
What Drobo Users Valued, and Why It Matters for the Replacement
Understanding what made Drobo work for creative professionals is the starting point for choosing a replacement. Generic "best NAS" lists miss this completely. They compare specs rather than workflow fit.
Drobo's appeal was built on three things. First, Thunderbolt. Several Drobo models (5D, 5D3, 8D) connected to a Mac directly over Thunderbolt. Second, BeyondRAID. Drobo's proprietary RAID system allowed users to mix drives of different capacities in the same unit and expand storage simply by replacing smaller drives with larger ones. No RAID reconfiguration, no data migration, no IT knowledge required. Third, the UI. Drobo's dashboard was genuinely simple. It showed you how full the unit was, what drives were installed, and whether any were failing. Non-technical creative professionals could manage it without assistance.
The replacement does not need to match Drobo perfectly. It needs to match what you actually used Drobo for. For most editors, that was fast Thunderbolt access and simple drive management. For a smaller group, it was the mixed-capacity flexibility of BeyondRAID.
Before You Buy Anything: Migrate Your Drobo Data First
This is the most time-sensitive step. If your Drobo is still operational, the priority is to copy all data off the unit before the hardware fails, not to choose a replacement.
Connect the Drobo to your Mac via Thunderbolt or USB and copy everything to your editing workstation's local storage, an external drive, or a temporary location. This is a slow process. Copy time depends on the amount of data, drive performance, file mix, source and destination storage, and the connection used, and may take many hours for large libraries. Start this before you do anything else.
What does not work: You cannot remove the drives from your Drobo and put them in a QNAP or Synology. Drobo spreads data across the drives with its own proprietary BeyondRAID layout. The Drobo disk pack cannot be transplanted into another NAS and read natively; recovering it outside a working Drobo requires specialist BeyondRAID-compatible recovery tools or services. If your Drobo unit has already failed but the drives are intact, data recovery from Drobo drives requires specialist assistance. Contact a professional data recovery service rather than attempting it yourself.
The Primary Replacement: QNAP for Mac Thunderbolt Workflows
For Mac-based editors who used Drobo primarily for its Thunderbolt connection, QNAP is a current option for Mac editors who specifically need a Thunderbolt-equipped NAS. QNAP's TVS-h674T (6 bays, $4,599 at Computer Alliance) and TVS-h874T (8 bays, about $6,499) each have two Thunderbolt 4 ports, connect to a Mac through Thunderbolt Networking at up to 20 Gbps by QNAP's figures, and need macOS 13.5 or later. QNAP is not the only brand with Thunderbolt: the UGREEN iDX6011 32GB (6 bays, $3,759.99 at UGREEN AU) also has two Thunderbolt 4 ports. The Synology DS925+ has no Thunderbolt port; it connects over two 2.5GbE ports.
QNAP's Thunderbolt models are listed at Australian retailers including Computer Alliance and Computer & Parts Land, and Scorptec and I-Tech also list the TVS-h874T; stock varies by model.
For editors coming from Drobo, the relevant QNAP models are those with M.2 NVMe slots (for SSD caching), Thunderbolt ports, and a bay count matching your previous Drobo capacity. QNAP's management interface (QTS) is more capable than Drobo's dashboard but also more complex, which is the trade-off that Drobo users find most significant when transitioning. Budget for a session with a local IT support person familiar with creative studio setups to get the initial configuration right; the ongoing management is straightforward once it is configured.
What you gain over Drobo: NVMe SSD caching on supported QNAP models, a richer feature set for remote access and client sharing, and active firmware development with ongoing security updates. Some Drobo models, including the 5D and 5D3, also supported mSATA hot-data caching, so SSD caching itself is not new to Drobo users.
The BeyondRAID Equivalent: Synology SHR
If BeyondRAID's mixed-drive-size flexibility was what mattered most in your Drobo setup, rather than Thunderbolt specifically, then Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR) is the closest modern equivalent.
SHR allows you to mix drives of different capacities in the same array and expand by simply adding or replacing drives, without complex RAID reconfiguration. It works similarly to BeyondRAID in practical terms: SHR supports expansion with larger drives, but capacity growth follows specific rules: equal-sized SHR-1 arrays generally require at least two larger drive replacements, while mixed-size arrays have minimum-size and replacement-order requirements. Synology's DiskStation Manager (DSM) is a mature, well-regarded management interface and is generally considered easier to operate than QNAP's QTS for users without IT backgrounds.
The limitation for former Drobo users: the Synology DS925+ has no Thunderbolt port and connects over two 2.5GbE ports. If you are on Mac and need high bandwidth for high-bitrate RAW editing, 2.5GbE is more bandwidth-constrained than a QNAP Thunderbolt network connection (Thunderbolt Networking, up to 20 Gbps per QNAP); real throughput depends on the NAS, drives, RAID configuration and workload. For editors who primarily used Drobo as network storage (accessed from multiple machines) rather than direct Thunderbolt attach, this may not be a meaningful constraint. For single-editor setups that need high bandwidth for multi-stream ProRes or RAW workflows, Thunderbolt matters.
NAS vs DAS: Which One Do You Actually Need?
A question worth asking before choosing a replacement: did you use Drobo as a NAS (network-attached, accessible to multiple devices) or as a DAS (direct-attach storage, connected to a single Mac via Thunderbolt and used as a local drive)?
Many Drobo users were using it as de facto DAS, plugged directly into one Mac rather than shared across a network. In that use case, a modern DAS device (a Thunderbolt RAID enclosure without network capability) is a simpler and sometimes cheaper replacement than a full NAS. OWC's ThunderBay 4, for example, is a 4-bay Thunderbolt RAID enclosure for a single Mac. A DAS has no network layer to set up, but only the Mac it is plugged into can use it.
If you want network access for sharing footage across multiple Macs, remote access, or the option to connect a second editor, then a NAS is the right path, and QNAP for Thunderbolt-primary users or Synology for network-primary users are the choices to evaluate. If you are a solo editor who just needs fast reliable local storage for one Mac and never needed network access, evaluate whether a DAS suits your workflow before defaulting to a full NAS.
Migrating Your Workflow: What Changes and What Does Not
For editors migrating from Drobo to QNAP: the editing software workflow does not change. On a QNAP Thunderbolt NAS, the Mac connects through Thunderbolt Networking and mounts a network share such as SMB; this is not the same block-storage workflow as a conventional Thunderbolt DAS, and cable or adapter requirements depend on the Mac and Drobo models being replaced. The main practical differences are the management interface (QTS rather than the Drobo Dashboard) and the initial setup, which is more involved than Drobo's plug-and-play experience.
Drobo drives cannot be moved into a QNAP or Synology with their existing data intact. Once your data is copied off and verified, healthy drives that are on the new NAS's compatibility list can be reused after a full erase. Otherwise buy NAS-rated drives (IronWolf or WD Red Pro). Do not use consumer desktop drives (WD Blue, Seagate Barracuda) in a NAS. Use drives that meet the target NAS model's compatibility and workload requirements. NAS-rated drives are designed for always-on, multi-bay workloads, while some desktop drives have lower workload and power-on-hour ratings. The NAS drive compatibility guide covers which drives to buy and which to avoid.
For data retention and archive footage previously held on Drobo: once copied off and verified, these can be transferred to the new NAS or retained on the external drives used during migration. The migration is an opportunity to establish a proper tiered storage architecture, with active projects on the NAS and cold archive on external drives stored offsite, rather than replicating the same single-tier Drobo setup on newer hardware.
Related reading: our NAS buyer's guide.
Our RAID Calculator shows usable capacity for modern NAS alternatives to Drobo across RAID 5, RAID 6, and SHR, and our NAS Sizing Wizard works out the bay count and drive sizes your storage needs.
Picked a NAS for your Mac workflow? Our expert build review checks your full configuration, including Time Machine over SMB, before you spend. $149 AUD, delivered within 3 business days.
See also: our complete Synology NAS Australia guide.
See also: our complete QNAP NAS Australia guide.
Can I reuse my Drobo drives in a QNAP or Synology?
Not with their data on them. Drobo spreads data across its drives with its own proprietary BeyondRAID layout, so no other NAS platform can read a Drobo disk pack. The drives must be erased and reformatted before use in a QNAP or Synology, which means all data on them is lost. Copy all data off your Drobo while the unit is still operational before purchasing a replacement. Once your data is copied off and verified, healthy drives that are on the new NAS's compatibility list can be reused after a full erase. Otherwise buy NAS-rated drives (IronWolf or WD Red Pro).
Is QNAP a good replacement for Drobo on Mac?
Yes, for Mac editors who want a Thunderbolt-connected NAS. QNAP supports Thunderbolt on select models, such as the TVS-h674T and TVS-h874T, which connect through Thunderbolt Networking and mount as a network share rather than a direct-attach drive. QNAP provides NVMe SSD caching on supported models (some Drobo models also supported mSATA hot-data caching), and it is available from AU retailers. The interface (QTS) is more complex than Drobo's dashboard, which is the main adjustment for editors used to Drobo's simplicity. Budget for initial setup assistance if you are not comfortable with NAS configuration. Once configured, day-to-day operation is straightforward.
My Drobo has already failed and I cannot access the data. What should I do?
Do not attempt DIY recovery. Recovering data from a failed Drobo needs specialised tools because of its proprietary BeyondRAID layout. Australian data recovery services that list Drobo recovery include Payam Data Recovery and Ontrack AU. Do not assume the drives are intact; a failed Drobo can involve the chassis or controller, one or more drives, BeyondRAID metadata, or a combination of faults. BeyondRAID spreads data across the drives in a way that needs Drobo's controller logic to reconstruct. A qualified recovery specialist can often retrieve data even from units where the controller has failed. Recovery costs vary widely by failure type and complexity, so get a case-specific assessment and quote before proceeding. Prioritise this before purchasing replacement hardware.
Does Synology support Thunderbolt?
Not on the DS925+, which Synology lists with two 2.5GbE ports and no Thunderbolt port. One UHD ProRes 422 HQ stream at 25p runs at about 737 Mb/s by Apple's figures, and ProRes 4444 at about 1,106 Mb/s, so a single stream fits on 2.5GbE. Several simultaneous streams, or UHD 60p ProRes 4444 at about 2,652 Mb/s, can exceed 2.5GbE, which is where 10GbE or a Thunderbolt connection helps. If you need Thunderbolt, QNAP and UGREEN both sell NAS units with Thunderbolt ports in Australia; QNAP's connect through Thunderbolt Networking (up to 20 Gbps per QNAP). If you used your Drobo as direct-attach storage, a Thunderbolt DAS is the closer match. If you only need network access (multiple editors over Ethernet, or a single editor happy with 2.5GbE or 10GbE speeds), Synology's SHR and DSM are well-regarded options.
How does QNAP RAID compare to Drobo's BeyondRAID for mixed drive sizes?
QNAP uses standard RAID levels (RAID 1, 5, 6, 10) which generally require drives of the same capacity for optimal configuration. Unlike BeyondRAID, you cannot easily mix a 4TB and an 8TB drive in the same RAID 5 array without capacity wastage (the larger drive's extra capacity is unusable in most configurations). If mixed-drive-size flexibility is important to you, Synology's SHR is the closer match to BeyondRAID. It handles mixed capacities more gracefully.
If you're still deciding on a brand, our Synology vs QNAP comparison guide breaks down which platform suits different use cases in Australia.
Where can I buy QNAP in Australia?
For the Thunderbolt models named in this guide, Computer Alliance and Computer & Parts Land list both the TVS-h674T and the TVS-h874T, and Scorptec and I-Tech also list the TVS-h874T. Stock availability varies by model. Thunderbolt-equipped units are less commonly stocked than standard network-only units and may require ordering. Your first step for a faulty product is usually the retailer that sold it. The ACCC explains your rights under the Australian Consumer Law at accc.gov.au.
Choosing drives for your new NAS? The NAS drive compatibility guide covers which drives work for video editing workflows and which ones to avoid.