WARNING: usb drives might fail when frantically used

[diversity]

I'd like to warn everyone here that I might have found something important to know for everyone.

it finally happend. one great soldier lost. how to save the data?

My main (I guess the NIC's) finally died. The disks are still fine I am sure and the zfs pool 99.99% sure as well. I have new hardware waiting to have TrueNAS 12 core release to be installed. How do I go about this as I can't screw this up. As my main had a 3 x 3TB mirror I guess I have 3...

www.truenas.com

 

[HoneyBadger]

Yes, USB drives for boot media have been discouraged for some time (since the shift to a ZFS based boot, I believe) due to their limited endurance. This probably should be made more clear during the download and install process.

Glad to see your data was unharmed though.

 

[diversity]

May I please refute that? E en the current 12 core installer suggests to the contrary.

Also, the usecase of having an off site node with someone that does not know the difference between usb stick and ssd can hardly asked to swap one around.

Could one pls show me the official statement that usb flash is a no go and also shead light on the 12 core installer not seemingly agreeing?

 

[diversity]

Glad to see your data was unharmed though.

Thx

 

[HoneyBadger]

Could one pls show me the official statement that usb flash is a no go and also shead light on the 12 core installer not seemingly agreeing?

From the VP of engineering:

Frankly even CORE shouldn't be on USB anymore, its just asking for issues.

The installer message is correct, says that we prefer flash for boot-devices vs spinning media. Flash != USB thumb-drive.

As for the guide, yea we should re-word that to indicate more strongly that USB thumb-drives shouldn't be used. We'll have to clarify carefully, since USB itself isn't the issue, its the general quality of your typical thumb-drive you get for dirt-cheap.

As I understand it, the guide/documentation and installer are being reworked to help clarify the difference between "minimum requirement" and "recommended" media.

 

[diversity]

From the VP of engineering:





As I understand it, the guide/documentation and installer are being reworked to help clarify the difference between "minimum requirement" and "recommended" media.

Thank you for spelling it out. Maximum respect.

On a more general note though, why on earth destroy the usecase of having offsite grandma swaping a usb stick? Now it means she needs tools and a steady hand?

 

[jgreco]

On a more general note though, why on earth destroy the usecase of having offsite grandma swaping a usb stick? Now it means she needs tools and a steady hand?

No one has "destroy[ed] the usecase". You can still do it if you want. However, you will be practicing quite often, because it turns out that the vast majority of USB thumb drives suck. Without the wear leveling intelligence that an SSD has, a USB thumb drive tends to wear out very quickly, sometimes in just a few weeks.

So this isn't something nefarious where the developers have intentionally "destroy[ed] the usecase." It's just that most USB thumb drives are not up to the task, and it is so difficult to identify the "good ones" that no one bothers anymore.

 

[cobrakiller58]

Could one pls show me the official statement that usb flash is a no go and also shead light on the 12 core installer not seemingly agreeing?

Getting Started

This configuration guide provides step-by-step tutorials for installing and setting up TrueNAS CORE.

www.truenas.com

Using a USB stick as a boot device is not recommended, because the build quality or device lifetime varies too much to reliably use as the operating system device.

 

[diversity]

No one has "destroy[ed] the usecase". You can still do it if you want. However, you will be practicing quite often, because it turns out that the vast majority of USB thumb drives suck. Without the wear leveling intelligence that an SSD has, a USB thumb drive tends to wear out very quickly, sometimes in just a few weeks.

So this isn't something nefarious where the developers have intentionally "destroy[ed] the usecase." It's just that most USB thumb drives are not up to the task, and it is so difficult to identify the "good ones" that no one bothers anymore.

understood. then all I wish for are good usb flash drives. do we as a community have any leverage over any manufacturer to start making good stuff?