Is it better to stay away from USB external storage?

[consideringTrueNAS]

Hi, I read that there should not be a RAID controller between disks and the motherboard as ZFS needs to have direct access from the CPU to the disk drives. Similarly, external USB drives should not be used. Are these true? I am considering to get a mini computer and connect it to a multi-bay DAS enclosure via USB. Is this a bad idea? I may use HDD, 2.5" SATA SSD or a combination of both.

 

[Samuel Tai]

Is this a bad idea?

Most definitely a bad idea. USB chipsets aren't engineered to deal with the continuous load ZFS will impose.

 

[consideringTrueNAS]

Thank you. So the best way would be to get/build a desktop with all the storage inside? If I don't run the NAS 24/7 and just turn it on when I need to do backup or file sharing among different devices in local network, do I need to use NAS class SSD? Will I be fine with those Samsung 970 Evo Plus NVMe SSD, Crucial MX500 2.5" SATA, Samsung 870 Evo 2.5" SATA?

 

[Samuel Tai]

For such intermittent use, would you really need a NAS? A multi-disk USB DAS you move around from system to system may be more appropriate, and would be simpler and cheaper to deal with.

If you're still set on a NAS using a multi-disk USB DAS, you should look into a simpler NAS distro based on ext4 and LVM, like OpenMediaVault.

 

[consideringTrueNAS]

Yes, I have considered that option. One issue is that I want to share files among Windows, Linux, MacOS and iOS. Somebody suggested formatting the drives to exFAT but then another person mentioned that exFAT is not reliable for data. Is this true? Some people suggested using NAS as it uses semba which is compatible with different OS.

I have not bought a multi-disk USB DAS yet so I am flexible in terms of what to use for the time being. It seems that TrueNAS and OpenMediaVault are the two best NAS OS at the moment.

If I build a TrueNAS system, what is the fastest way to connect to another computer? Via direct 10Gbps ethernet connection?

I read that TrueNAS has snapshot feature. Is there a function like Time Machine on Mac system?

I am an academic so I need a reliable and secure system to store research data.

 

[Samuel Tai]

another person mentioned that exFAT is not reliable for data. Is this true?

Microsoft only recently open-sourced exFAT. Previously, the only way to have exFAT support outside of Windows was to use FUSE modules for very basic exFAT support on Linux and FreeBSD, which may be the cause of that reputation.

Some people suggested using NAS as it uses semba which is compatible with different OS.

If I build a TrueNAS system, what is the fastest way to connect to another computer? Via direct 10Gbps ethernet connection?

Samba emulates Windows file sharing via SMB. A TrueNAS system supports creating Windows-type shares using Samba. You can connect a TrueNAS system via 1G or 10G to a switch or router, for access from your other systems over the network.

I read that TrueNAS has snapshot feature. Is there a function like Time Machine on Mac system?

TrueNAS snapshots entire filesystem directory trees. Time Machine snapshots individual files.

I am an academic so I need a reliable and secure system to store research data.

You may want to look at cloud storage, like OneDrive, so as not to have to worry about sysadmining a server.

 

[consideringTrueNAS]

So TrueNAS is even better than Time Machine? Does it allow me to recover individual files as well?

Yes, I have also used cloud storage before but confidential files related to R&D cannot be uploaded to third party.

I have read more and more recent ransomeware attacks on NAS especially QNAP NAS. I don't plan to allow access to the NAS system outside my home network. Am I correct that if I don't allow outside access to the NAS but only allow automatic update of TrueNAS system and 3rd party software installed via TrueNAS, then it will be safe? Are all those security settings set to the highest security by default?

 

[Samuel Tai]

If you're that concerned about security, you may want to use something like these instead of a NAS:

USB 3.0 encrypted 2.5 SATA HDD Enclosure - External Drive Enclosures | Hard Drive Accessories | StarTech.com

USB 3.0 encrypted SATA III hard drive enclosure - 2.5in HDD / SSD enclosure with password protection - AES 256-bit encryption for secure portability

www.startech.com

Encrypted Biometric Enclosure 2.5in SATA - External Drive Enclosures | Hard Drive Accessories | StarTech.com

Encrypted Hard Drive Enclosure - Fingerprint Access - 2.5” SATA SSD / HDD Enclosure - For USB-C & USB-A Devices - USB 3.0 - External SSD Enclosure

www.startech.com