DRBD distributed replicated block device
DRBD (Distributed Replicated Block Device) mirrors block devices in real time between two or more Linux servers over the network, effectively acting as RAID-1 across machines. It is widely used as the storage layer for high-availability clusters and failover databases, and has been maintained by LINBIT since the early 2000s.
recommendation
It should stay because DRBD is not legacy hardware support but a live, actively developed replication subsystem. LINBIT is still shipping DRBD 9.x releases and posting substantial upstream rework as recently as 2026, and no in-tree alternative covers the same synchronous block-replication role for HA clusters and software-defined storage.
repository signals
sources
- lore.kernel.org
Recent upstream patch touching 13 DRBD files in April 2026 shows active maintenance rather than abandonment.
- lore.kernel.org
Large March 2026 DRBD core rework for DRBD 9 transport and multi-peer support indicates ongoing feature work.
- linbit.com
Vendor describes DRBD as actively developed replicated block storage software, implemented as a kernel driver and used for HA/software-defined storage.
- linbit.com
Vendor download page lists current DRBD 9.x releases in 2026, indicating ongoing shipping and real-world supported deployments.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
This is a real kernel block driver, but it is software-defined replication rather than hardware-specific silicon; therefore hardware-obsolescence signals do not apply and `hardware_still_sold_new_in_2025` is false with no meaningful 'last widely available year'. `lore_file_timeline` on `drivers/block/drbd/drbd_main.c` returned the two lore URLs above, showing fresh 2026 upstream work including substantial refactoring. Web `search_query` returned the LINBIT product and download pages, showing DRBD is still marketed, released, and deployed for HA/cloud clusters. A local `git log --since=5 years ago -- drivers/block/drbd | rg -i 'remove|deprecat|obsolete'` found no removal-themed history. No in-tree replacement driver covers the same replicated-block-device use case, so removal/deprecation is not justified.