Running Windows 10 on NVME SSD via USB 3.2 for VM with Nvidia Quadro P1000

[JeanCFS]

Hello everyone! Just a few weeks ago, I transitioned from OpenMediaVault to Truenas Scale.

I'm using an HPE Microserver Gen10 Plus with the following specifications:

- Xeon 2246G processor with 6 cores and 12 threads.
- 32 GB of ECC RAM.
- Disk setup includes 4 bays in a RaidZ2 configuration with 4 x 4TB disks, used for my data pool.
- I'm using 2 USB-mSata drives in a mirror arrangement for Truenas boot.
- I have 1 PCIE slot in which I've connected an Nvidia Quadro P1000 for transcoding.

I have a question in mind: I want to create a virtual machine (VM) with Windows 10 to perform certain tasks using the Nvidia Quadro P1000. However, I no longer have available PCIE slots or SATA connections to reliably add additional disks. I'm curious to know if anyone has experience running Windows 10 on an NVME SSD connected to a USB 3.2 port. I'd like to understand if this approach is reliable or if anyone has encountered any issues or situations to share.

Does anyone foresee any potential complications with this plan? I'd like to avoid purchasing the external enclosure and SSD before being certain that everything will work as expected. I appreciate if anyone could share their experiences or insights.

 

[Arwen]

In general, USB attached storage for data pools, (not boot pool), is discouraged;

Why you should avoid USB attached drives for data pool disks

This subject has been coming up quite often in the last year or 2. Perhaps because of TrueNAS SCALE has brought forth some attention to TrueNAS in general and ZFS in specific. Please note that this is about USB attached storage for ZFS data...

www.truenas.com

It may work, and work fine. Then again, if it starts giving you trouble, we may not be able to help much because it is such a rare thing.

That said, USB attached storage for data import or temporarily attached for backups does work fine. Problems can develop due to misc. things, like heat in the external USB chassis. Or lack of SMART ability for predictive failure checks.

 

[JeanCFS]

I appreciate sharing the article link, it clarified many of my doubts. I'm pondering whether my only option would be to dismantle my RAIDZ2, establish a RAIDZ1, and utilize the available SATA III slot for a SATA III SSD to run my VMs. Could running a Windows 10 VM on RaidZ2 potentially result in significantly slow performance? I plan to perform the installation tomorrow to test this setup.

I'm also considering sacrificing my RAIDZ2 in favor of a RAIDZ1 to gain an SATA III SSD slot for running VMs.
Does anyone suggest a different alternative?