So Drobo has pushed out the following notice to users:
"Dear Valued Drobo Customer,
Thank you for entrusting Drobo with your critical data. We have found that the upcoming macOS Ventura update is currently incompatible with Drobo. We cannot guarantee compatibility with future OS updates. Therefore, if you are planning on upgrading your macOS we highly recommend backing up data that resides on your Drobo to mitigate any unknown impacts of incompatibility. Furthermore, the Drobo should be shut down prior to performing the OS update. Before any major computer update, have a backup plan in place. Experts agree having 3 copies of your data is optimal, 2 copies onsite on different media types and one off-site copy. For further reading please visit
https://www.drobo.com/homeoffice/"
This is not good news I understand for those of us who have Drobos, but at this point there's not much we can do with the product.
I think as far as solutions go, other than maintaining a Monterey-only access device to the Drobo for future access, going on forward your best bet would be to migrate your important Drobo data to a different RAID/NAS/DAS setup. One of the alternatives I've been using alongside Drobo over the years has been RAID drives from Areca.
View attachment 2048404
I have used Areca drives for well over a decade and they are a solid reputable brand - I've rarely experienced issues with their drives. Their latest range includes 4, 6, 8 & 12 bay Thunderbolt 3/USB 3.1 units which are both Mac and PC compatible. While the upgrade of the drives are not going to be like Drobo's easy pull-out-and-replace method, the drives do upgrade like any dedicated RAID system via an internal web-based interface. So long as the drives are the same make and model drive between them, the upgrade is fairly fuss-free. Aside from notifying users with an audible beep when a drive fails (to remind the user to replace the drive) Areca drives also have hotspare functionality in case that is also required.