Adventures in TrueNAS SCALE on QNAP Hardware

[Zoltar]

Okay. It's not SATA DOM, it's USB DOM, it's a port like the ones found on ATX PC boards:

Now I understand thank you. The orders are wholesalers, 10, 50. It's complicated.

 

[NugentS]

I tried exactly what you are looking at. Bought, at significant expense, what I thought was a suitable USB DOM - can't remember where from. It worked but was so slow to boot (I had to leave it overnight) that I gave up on the DOM (Maybe faulty, maybe wrong type - who knows)

I ended up using a M.2 to USB adapter - stuck into a rear USB port. Its worked ever since.

Incidently the glue holding the DOM in place had turned brittle with age and was no longer holding the original DOM in place - which made things a bit easier

 

[Zoltar]

I think I could get it. Would this be compatible?: swissbit U-450 model
Would pSLC be compatible too? I see that it has more IOPS and there is more availability

 

[Zoltar]

I tried exactly what you are looking at. Bought, at significant expense, what I thought was a suitable USB DOM - can't remember where from. It worked but was so slow to boot (I had to leave it overnight) that I gave up on the DOM (Maybe faulty, maybe wrong type - who knows)

I ended up using a M.2 to USB adapter - stuck into a rear USB port. Its worked ever since.

Incidently the glue holding the DOM in place had turned brittle with age and was no longer holding the original DOM in place - which made things a bit easier

Thanks for the reply. I haven't disassembled the casing yet. If I disassemble it, it's to see exactly what USBDOM it has, but first I want to be clear about everything, so that what you mentioned doesn't happen to me. Don't remember the specs you bought?

 

[Ericloewe]

Swissbit is reputable, but expensive. I expect them to work fine.

 

[elvisimprsntr]

I think I could get it. Would this be compatible?: swissbit U-450 model
Would pSLC be compatible too? I see that it has more IOPS and there is more availability

As long as the electrical and mechanical specifications are compatible with the OEM eUSB DOM, any flash technology "should" work. You will pay a premium for SLC, but if you go with some other technology there is a higher risk the flash will fail orders of magnitude faster.

Blog on flash technology differences:

Difference between SLC, MLC, TLC and 3D NAND in USB flash drives, SSDs and memory cards

With the growth of the gaming industry, NAND technology looks to develop further in order to help satisfy consumers' ever-increasing storage needs. Here we explain the key differences between the types of NAND.

www.kingston.com

 

[Zoltar]

As long as the electrical and mechanical specifications are compatible with the OEM eUSB DOM, any flash technology "should" work. You will pay a premium for SLC, but if you go with some other technology there is a higher risk the flash will fail orders of magnitude faster.

Blog on flash technology differences:

Difference between SLC, MLC, TLC and 3D NAND in USB flash drives, SSDs and memory cards

With the growth of the gaming industry, NAND technology looks to develop further in order to help satisfy consumers' ever-increasing storage needs. Here we explain the key differences between the types of NAND.

www.kingston.com

USB 2.0 SLC=200 € and USB 3.1 3D NAND pSLC=50 €
In the datasheet spec says it is backwards compatible. Has anyone used a more modern module?

 

[Ericloewe]

USB mass storage is USB mass storage. Unless they're whitelisting their specific part number, which doesn't seem to be case, any reputable module is fine.

 

[Zoltar]

Swissbit is reputable, but expensive. I expect them to work fine.

yes they look good, in Alibaba I have seen modules that do not give me any trust.

 

[NugentS]

Thanks for the reply. I haven't disassembled the casing yet. If I disassemble it, it's to see exactly what USBDOM it has, but first I want to be clear about everything, so that what you mentioned doesn't happen to me. Don't remember the specs you bought?

P/N: DEUH1-16G172BC1SC From Innodisk

Wow my house filing system actually worked!!

 

[Ericloewe]

Wow my house filing system actually worked!!

Oooh, the filing system! Well ooh la di da, Mr. Fancy. We plebes call it a junk drawer.

 

[Zoltar]

P/N: DEUH1-16G172BC1SC From Innodisk

Wow my house filing system actually worked!!

innodisk and it doesn't work??? She was looking at the new model 2ME2 and she thought it would work.
I think I'm going to disassemble the chassis to gather the maximum of the specifications on the board. Could it be the mA?

no, I got confused, the model I was looking at is the SLC, yours is MLC

 

[Astraea]

I have been running TrueNAS on multiple QNAPs for a while now (2+ years) and originally used Core and have since switched to Scale and while i was originally using a USB flash drive (I knew going in this was going to be a gamble on wear-out) and they continue to run they are starting to throw errors and so I have started testing using a USB to SATA adaptor from Star Tech and using some cheap 120GB Kingston SSDs to boot from and all signs are pointing that they are going to work much better. So while USB flash drives would work for testing to see if it is something that you want to do with your QNAP I would if I did things over again would go with a USB to SATA or you could possibly do M.2 from the start and use a SSD or M.2 drive for booting TrueNAS.

The only hi-cups I have found are around the fan and the LCD if the unit has one. For the LCD I have found a script that will allow the LSC to show during the boot sequence and then turn off which is preferred for me so I have not tried to make it do anything more than that. With regards to the fan(s) I found that before I removed the QNAP OS I had to set the fans to high and then in the BIOS make sure they were also set to full speed all the time as I never got any type of PWM control working.

 

[Zoltar]

Thank you very much for the information. I had already read the problem with the LCD, and the issue of the link aggregation too, but not the fan. The one about the aggregation worried me because my model has 4 Gbe, and I have them all in a single aggregate with vlans, but what you say about the fan is also important because it has never bothered me having it on my desk, but the few times it goes off loud makes quite a noise.
Also thanks for the recommendation of SSDs or M.2. I don't know if M.2 is viable for my model because it doesn't have PCI expansion slots, or is it referring to M.2 SATA? I do not know if there are adapters of this type, I know the PCI, where would they be connected? in the slot of the HDDs or externaly in usb?
What I was thinking is that they already told me that the enclosure would not work but it has a built-in SATA 3G controller, and through jumpers it can be configured to work separately. Could I use the two slots that I currently have empty on the TR-004 and make it boot OS with two SSD in RAID 10?
Although right now I don't have any budget, and buying the USB DOM seems to me the cheapest. I have found a store in my city that even sends it for free and the 3D NAND pSLC costs 53 euros. I'm new to this, but I think the performance issue may be due to the fact that TrueNAS does not use the built-in hardware controller? I understand that if that is the problem, it can be solved with a faster flash drive (R/W) and with more IOPS, right? I'm seeing 3D NAND speed up performance x4, there are even new usb 2.0 models that mount 3D NAND.
You who understand, do you think I'm very wrong?

 

[Zoltar]

I have already found the adapter: "M.2 SATA SSD to USB 3.0 External" I did not know, thanks is another option.

 

[NugentS]

Oooh, the filing system! Well ooh la di da, Mr. Fancy. We plebes call it a junk drawer.

I have many many junk drawers