[PLUG] Underlying hardware in USB keys vs. CF Cards

Word Wizard Word.Wizard at comcast.net
Fri May 18 23:49:59 UTC 2012


On 05/18/2012 03:57 PM, Brian Martin wrote:
> I'm considering a FreeNAS installation for a client.  FreeNAS is *really*
> built around the idea of separating it's software from the data, to the
> point that it needs a dedicated "disk" for itself.  The FreeNAS folks were
> really thinking of this as being a USB key, since they only need 2G.  I
> don't really like the idea of using a USB key for this, because:
>
> 1) it sticks out of the machine somewhere where it can get
> bumped/broken/etc.  (Yes, I could arrange to have it on an internal or a new
> USB add-on card that has an internal slot, but that seems like a bother).
> 2) I'm generally not thrilled about a production machine's life and death
> hanging on the reliability of a USB key.
>
> What I would really like to use is a CD-ROM, but the media needs to be
> read-write, so that's out.  There will be a small but steady amount of
> writing to the media for logs, temp files, etc., so it's not static by any
> means.
>
> I'm considering using an CF card instead of a USB key, but I am wondering if
> the underlying hardware is really any different.  Is it just a USB key in a
> different package?  Do any of you folks have thoughts about reliability of
> these various media choices or others I haven't considered?
>
>                      -Brian
>
>
>
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Have you considered buying an old used smaller internal hard drive and a 
Vantec USB-to-IDE/SATA adapter?  Good used smaller drives are really 
cheap and the Vantec adapter is only a bit over $25. Instead of a USB 
drive sticking out of your machine, all you have is just another USB 
cable connected to the hard drive which you can place anywhere, top of 
the box,  behind/beside it, etc. Plus you can swap out the drive for 
another if it goes belly-up or if you a have a need for another 
USB-linked storage solution without scrubbing out the FreeNAS installation.




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