USB External Storage - NOOB

[Pingu2]

I am building my first FreeNAS box. I have a ROG STRIX
B450-I GAMING MB with 32GB memory (plan to run Plex server also).

I understand that USB is discouraged, but I would like to have a 4 x 10GB disk 3.5 SATA enclosure to run an array as external RAID storage connected via USB 3.1 - 2 Gen.

Could I make the following work with FreeNAS:

Mediasonic USB 3.1 4 Bay 3.5” SATA Hard Drive Enclosure :
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078YQHWYW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ( USB 3.1 GEN 2 Type A-Male to Type-C Female Adapter 10Gbps required)

..........or should I stay with MB connections or HBA's for drive connections.

Any comments or suggestions much appreciated.

 

[ThreeDee]

just for the record .. your whole system would be discouraged here ..

Butt!!

..I'd go with an HBA over USB any day .. I run an IBM M1015 cross flashed to an LSI SAS9220-8i IT mode .. they can be had for about $25 on ebay and will give you up to 8 extra connections SAS or SATA .. cables are cheap too

 

[Pingu2]

Thanks for the info - big help here!

 

[Spearfoot]

..........or should I stay with MB connections or HBA's for drive connections.

Yes, absolutely!

USB drives? "Just Say No"

 

[rvassar]

There's also no reason you can't have an external SAS/SATA enclosure. You just need to have the proper solution for cabling, etc... It's not common in retail, but quite common in enterprise hardware. I can't make any specific recommendations, but try searching your favorite retail site for "external SAS/SATA JBOD enclosure" or some variant thereof.