Has anyone built a RAID out of USB drives? I'm considering it but I'd
rather hear from others who may have done the same thing first. I can
see several possible problems. Last time I was working with USG
devices, if I unplugged the drives and did not plug them in using the
same order /dev/sda could become /dev/sdb, so I could see that as an
issue, for starters.

If anyone has experience with this, I'd like to hear about it and if
it's a good or bad idea.

Thanks!

Hal


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On 08/18/07 19:39, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> Has anyone built a RAID out of USB drives? I'm considering it but I'd
> rather hear from others who may have done the same thing first. I can
> see several possible problems. Last time I was working with USG
> devices, if I unplugged the drives and did not plug them in using the
> same order /dev/sda could become /dev/sdb, so I could see that as an
> issue, for starters.
>
> If anyone has experience with this, I'd like to hear about it and if
> it's a good or bad idea.

What's the problem that you are trying to solve?

- --
Ron Johnson, Jr.
Jefferson LA USA

Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day.
Hit him with a fish, and he goes away for good!

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On 08/18/07 19:39, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> Has anyone built a RAID out of USB drives? I'm considering it but I'd
> rather hear from others who may have done the same thing first. I can
> see several possible problems. Last time I was working with USG
> devices, if I unplugged the drives and did not plug them in using the
> same order /dev/sda could become /dev/sdb, so I could see that as an
> issue, for starters.
>
> If anyone has experience with this, I'd like to hear about it and if
> it's a good or bad idea.

What's the problem that you are trying to solve?

- --
Ron Johnson, Jr.
Jefferson LA USA

Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day.
Hit him with a fish, and he goes away for good!

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On Saturday 18 August 2007, Ron Johnson wrote:
> On 08/18/07 19:39, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> > Has anyone built a RAID out of USB drives? I'm considering it but
> > I'd rather hear from others who may have done the same thing first.
> > I can see several possible problems. Last time I was working with
> > USG devices, if I unplugged the drives and did not plug them in
> > using the same order /dev/sda could become /dev/sdb, so I could see
> > that as an issue, for starters.
> >
> > If anyone has experience with this, I'd like to hear about it and
> > if it's a good or bad idea.
>
> What's the problem that you are trying to solve?

At this point I'm exploring several possibilities. If USB RAID is not
practical or workable, then I'll just drop the possibility and stick
with sata or pata drives.

Hal


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On Saturday 18 August 2007, Ron Johnson wrote:
> On 08/18/07 19:39, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> > Has anyone built a RAID out of USB drives? I'm considering it but
> > I'd rather hear from others who may have done the same thing first.
> > I can see several possible problems. Last time I was working with
> > USG devices, if I unplugged the drives and did not plug them in
> > using the same order /dev/sda could become /dev/sdb, so I could see
> > that as an issue, for starters.
> >
> > If anyone has experience with this, I'd like to hear about it and
> > if it's a good or bad idea.
>
> What's the problem that you are trying to solve?

At this point I'm exploring several possibilities. If USB RAID is not
practical or workable, then I'll just drop the possibility and stick
with sata or pata drives.

Hal


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On 08/18/07 20:35, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> On Saturday 18 August 2007, Ron Johnson wrote:
>> On 08/18/07 19:39, Hal Vaughan wrote:
>>> Has anyone built a RAID out of USB drives? I'm considering it but
>>> I'd rather hear from others who may have done the same thing first.
>>> I can see several possible problems. Last time I was working with
>>> USG devices, if I unplugged the drives and did not plug them in
>>> using the same order /dev/sda could become /dev/sdb, so I could see
>>> that as an issue, for starters.
>>>
>>> If anyone has experience with this, I'd like to hear about it and
>>> if it's a good or bad idea.
>> What's the problem that you are trying to solve?
>
> At this point I'm exploring several possibilities.

Possible whats? Drinking games? Strip clubs?

Yes, I'm being snide, but that's because you didn't answer my question.

Are you trying to solve a portability problem using high-capacity
external drives, or a speed problem with USB thumb drives?

> If USB RAID is not
> practical or workable, then I'll just drop the possibility and stick
> with sata or pata drives.

Many companies sell multi-drive USB & firewire enclosures, and lots
do RAID-5. Get one with 5 slots, stuff 750GB drives in it, and get
3TB of easily transportable storage in the size of a large shoebox.

- --
Ron Johnson, Jr.
Jefferson LA USA

Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day.
Hit him with a fish, and he goes away for good!

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On Saturday 18 August 2007, Ron Johnson wrote:
> On 08/18/07 20:35, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> > On Saturday 18 August 2007, Ron Johnson wrote:
> >> On 08/18/07 19:39, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> >>> Has anyone built a RAID out of USB drives? I'm considering it
> >>> but I'd rather hear from others who may have done the same thing
> >>> first. I can see several possible problems. Last time I was
> >>> working with USG devices, if I unplugged the drives and did not
> >>> plug them in using the same order /dev/sda could become /dev/sdb,
> >>> so I could see that as an issue, for starters.
> >>>
> >>> If anyone has experience with this, I'd like to hear about it and
> >>> if it's a good or bad idea.
> >>
> >> What's the problem that you are trying to solve?
> >
> > At this point I'm exploring several possibilities.
>
> Possible whats? Drinking games? Strip clubs?

Are there any lists you're on where you haven't brought up naked women
out of context? :-?

Possibilities of using USB drives instead of internal drives for a RAID.
It would provide something close to hotplug and also

> Yes, I'm being snide, but that's because you didn't answer my
> question.
>
> Are you trying to solve a portability problem using high-capacity
> external drives, or a speed problem with USB thumb drives?

There's several reasons I'm looking into it. I suspect one issue with
the box I've been using could be circulation, which I could solve with
separate drive enclosures. It would make drive swapping easier and it
could also make it portable. I don't know what else, which is why I
asked the question. If people say, "Yeah, I've tried it and it doesn't
work," then I drop the idea. If people tell me, "I've tried it and
found it was a benefit because of a, b, and c, then I know it's worth
looking into and perhaps worth using.

That's why the original question: Has anyone tried this and what kind of
experience did they have? I find when I'm looking at a new
possibility, focusing on only my ideas can often close off discussion
about other possibilities or benefits I hadn't thought of.

> > If USB RAID is
> > not practical or workable, then I'll just drop the possibility and
> > stick with sata or pata drives.
>
> Many companies sell multi-drive USB & firewire enclosures, and lots
> do RAID-5. Get one with 5 slots, stuff 750GB drives in it, and get
> 3TB of easily transportable storage in the size of a large shoebox.

That's an idea I might find useful! Thanks!

Hal


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On Saturday 18 August 2007, Ron Johnson wrote:
> On 08/18/07 20:35, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> > On Saturday 18 August 2007, Ron Johnson wrote:
> >> On 08/18/07 19:39, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> >>> Has anyone built a RAID out of USB drives? I'm considering it
> >>> but I'd rather hear from others who may have done the same thing
> >>> first. I can see several possible problems. Last time I was
> >>> working with USG devices, if I unplugged the drives and did not
> >>> plug them in using the same order /dev/sda could become /dev/sdb,
> >>> so I could see that as an issue, for starters.
> >>>
> >>> If anyone has experience with this, I'd like to hear about it and
> >>> if it's a good or bad idea.
> >>
> >> What's the problem that you are trying to solve?
> >
> > At this point I'm exploring several possibilities.
>
> Possible whats? Drinking games? Strip clubs?

Are there any lists you're on where you haven't brought up naked women
out of context? :-?

Possibilities of using USB drives instead of internal drives for a RAID.
It would provide something close to hotplug and also

> Yes, I'm being snide, but that's because you didn't answer my
> question.
>
> Are you trying to solve a portability problem using high-capacity
> external drives, or a speed problem with USB thumb drives?

There's several reasons I'm looking into it. I suspect one issue with
the box I've been using could be circulation, which I could solve with
separate drive enclosures. It would make drive swapping easier and it
could also make it portable. I don't know what else, which is why I
asked the question. If people say, "Yeah, I've tried it and it doesn't
work," then I drop the idea. If people tell me, "I've tried it and
found it was a benefit because of a, b, and c, then I know it's worth
looking into and perhaps worth using.

That's why the original question: Has anyone tried this and what kind of
experience did they have? I find when I'm looking at a new
possibility, focusing on only my ideas can often close off discussion
about other possibilities or benefits I hadn't thought of.

> > If USB RAID is
> > not practical or workable, then I'll just drop the possibility and
> > stick with sata or pata drives.
>
> Many companies sell multi-drive USB & firewire enclosures, and lots
> do RAID-5. Get one with 5 slots, stuff 750GB drives in it, and get
> 3TB of easily transportable storage in the size of a large shoebox.

That's an idea I might find useful! Thanks!

Hal


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On 08/18/07 23:59, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> On Saturday 18 August 2007, Ron Johnson wrote:
>> On 08/18/07 20:35, Hal Vaughan wrote:
>>> On Saturday 18 August 2007, Ron Johnson wrote:
>>>> On 08/18/07 19:39, Hal Vaughan wrote:
>>>>> Has anyone built a RAID out of USB drives? I'm considering it
>>>>> but I'd rather hear from others who may have done the same thing
>>>>> first. I can see several possible problems. Last time I was
>>>>> working with USG devices, if I unplugged the drives and did not
>>>>> plug them in using the same order /dev/sda could become /dev/sdb,
>>>>> so I could see that as an issue, for starters.
>>>>>
>>>>> If anyone has experience with this, I'd like to hear about it and
>>>>> if it's a good or bad idea.
>>>> What's the problem that you are trying to solve?
>>> At this point I'm exploring several possibilities.
>> Possible whats? Drinking games? Strip clubs?
>
> Are there any lists you're on where you haven't brought up naked women
> out of context? :-?

For a libertarian, you sure have forgotten that there's more in this
world than just women taking their clothes off for me.

Shame on you. Now go see Molly Yard for a multicultural sensitivity
training class!

> Possibilities of using USB drives instead of internal drives for a RAID.
> It would provide something close to hotplug and also
>
>> Yes, I'm being snide, but that's because you didn't answer my
>> question.
>>
>> Are you trying to solve a portability problem using high-capacity
>> external drives, or a speed problem with USB thumb drives?
>
> There's several reasons I'm looking into it. I suspect one issue with
> the box I've been using could be circulation, which I could solve with
> separate drive enclosures. It would make drive swapping easier and it
> could also make it portable. I don't know what else, which is why I
> asked the question. If people say, "Yeah, I've tried it and it doesn't
> work," then I drop the idea. If people tell me, "I've tried it and
> found it was a benefit because of a, b, and c, then I know it's worth
> looking into and perhaps worth using.

You need a case that's purpose-designed to be a server. They are
engineered for air flow, blah blah.

But they are also expensive. A home-server might be adequate for
your needs.

http://www.directron.com/stct01uw.html

[snip]

- --
Ron Johnson, Jr.
Jefferson LA USA

Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day.
Hit him with a fish, and he goes away for good!

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On 08/18/07 23:59, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> On Saturday 18 August 2007, Ron Johnson wrote:
>> On 08/18/07 20:35, Hal Vaughan wrote:
>>> On Saturday 18 August 2007, Ron Johnson wrote:
>>>> On 08/18/07 19:39, Hal Vaughan wrote:
>>>>> Has anyone built a RAID out of USB drives? I'm considering it
>>>>> but I'd rather hear from others who may have done the same thing
>>>>> first. I can see several possible problems. Last time I was
>>>>> working with USG devices, if I unplugged the drives and did not
>>>>> plug them in using the same order /dev/sda could become /dev/sdb,
>>>>> so I could see that as an issue, for starters.
>>>>>
>>>>> If anyone has experience with this, I'd like to hear about it and
>>>>> if it's a good or bad idea.
>>>> What's the problem that you are trying to solve?
>>> At this point I'm exploring several possibilities.
>> Possible whats? Drinking games? Strip clubs?
>
> Are there any lists you're on where you haven't brought up naked women
> out of context? :-?

For a libertarian, you sure have forgotten that there's more in this
world than just women taking their clothes off for me.

Shame on you. Now go see Molly Yard for a multicultural sensitivity
training class!

> Possibilities of using USB drives instead of internal drives for a RAID.
> It would provide something close to hotplug and also
>
>> Yes, I'm being snide, but that's because you didn't answer my
>> question.
>>
>> Are you trying to solve a portability problem using high-capacity
>> external drives, or a speed problem with USB thumb drives?
>
> There's several reasons I'm looking into it. I suspect one issue with
> the box I've been using could be circulation, which I could solve with
> separate drive enclosures. It would make drive swapping easier and it
> could also make it portable. I don't know what else, which is why I
> asked the question. If people say, "Yeah, I've tried it and it doesn't
> work," then I drop the idea. If people tell me, "I've tried it and
> found it was a benefit because of a, b, and c, then I know it's worth
> looking into and perhaps worth using.

You need a case that's purpose-designed to be a server. They are
engineered for air flow, blah blah.

But they are also expensive. A home-server might be adequate for
your needs.

http://www.directron.com/stct01uw.html

[snip]

- --
Ron Johnson, Jr.
Jefferson LA USA

Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day.
Hit him with a fish, and he goes away for good!

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On Sunday 19 August 2007, Ron Johnson wrote:
> On 08/18/07 23:59, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> > On Saturday 18 August 2007, Ron Johnson wrote:
> >> On 08/18/07 20:35, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> >>> On Saturday 18 August 2007, Ron Johnson wrote:
> >>>> On 08/18/07 19:39, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> >>>>> Has anyone built a RAID out of USB drives? I'm considering it
> >>>>> but I'd rather hear from others who may have done the same
> >>>>> thing first. I can see several possible problems. Last time I
> >>>>> was working with USG devices, if I unplugged the drives and did
> >>>>> not plug them in using the same order /dev/sda could become
> >>>>> /dev/sdb, so I could see that as an issue, for starters.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> If anyone has experience with this, I'd like to hear about it
> >>>>> and if it's a good or bad idea.
> >>>>
> >>>> What's the problem that you are trying to solve?
> >>>
> >>> At this point I'm exploring several possibilities.
> >>
> >> Possible whats? Drinking games? Strip clubs?
> >
> > Are there any lists you're on where you haven't brought up naked
> > women out of context? :-?
>
> For a libertarian, you sure have forgotten that there's more in this
> world than just women taking their clothes off for me.
>
> Shame on you. Now go see Molly Yard for a multicultural sensitivity
> training class!

I'm not the one talking about strip clubs.

And you know damned well I'm a bleeding heart liberal, not a
libertarian!

> > Possibilities of using USB drives instead of internal drives for a
> > RAID. It would provide something close to hotplug and also
> >
> >> Yes, I'm being snide, but that's because you didn't answer my
> >> question.
> >>
> >> Are you trying to solve a portability problem using high-capacity
> >> external drives, or a speed problem with USB thumb drives?
> >
> > There's several reasons I'm looking into it. I suspect one issue
> > with the box I've been using could be circulation, which I could
> > solve with separate drive enclosures. It would make drive swapping
> > easier and it could also make it portable. I don't know what else,
> > which is why I asked the question. If people say, "Yeah, I've
> > tried it and it doesn't work," then I drop the idea. If people
> > tell me, "I've tried it and found it was a benefit because of a, b,
> > and c, then I know it's worth looking into and perhaps worth using.
>
> You need a case that's purpose-designed to be a server. They are
> engineered for air flow, blah blah.

That's what I was thinking.

> But they are also expensive.

Oh, yes. Most single drive USB enclosures are $20 or so, but the 4
drive USB enclosures I found were $400 or more!

> A home-server might be adequate for
> your needs.
>
> http://www.directron.com/stct01uw.html

That just might work. I might set it up to handle all my storage and
use it as nothing but a file server.

I'm still exploring other possibilities, but thanks!

Hal


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On Sun, Aug 19, 2007 at 12:59:22AM -0400, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> On Saturday 18 August 2007, Ron Johnson wrote:
> > On 08/18/07 20:35, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> > > On Saturday 18 August 2007, Ron Johnson wrote:
> > >> On 08/18/07 19:39, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> > >>> Has anyone built a RAID out of USB drives? I'm considering it
> > >>> but I'd rather hear from others who may have done the same thing
> > >>> first. I can see several possible problems. Last time I was
> > >>> working with USG devices, if I unplugged the drives and did not
> > >>> plug them in using the same order /dev/sda could become /dev/sdb,
> > >>> so I could see that as an issue, for starters.
> > >>>
> > >>> If anyone has experience with this, I'd like to hear about it and
> > >>> if it's a good or bad idea.
> > >>
> > >> What's the problem that you are trying to solve?
> > >
> > > At this point I'm exploring several possibilities.
> >
>
> Possibilities of using USB drives instead of internal drives for a RAID.
> It would provide something close to hotplug and also
>
> > Are you trying to solve a portability problem using high-capacity
> > external drives, or a speed problem with USB thumb drives?
>
> There's several reasons I'm looking into it. I suspect one issue with
> the box I've been using could be circulation, which I could solve with
> separate drive enclosures. It would make drive swapping easier and it
> could also make it portable. I don't know what else, which is why I
> asked the question. If people say, "Yeah, I've tried it and it doesn't
> work," then I drop the idea. If people tell me, "I've tried it and
> found it was a benefit because of a, b, and c, then I know it's worth
> looking into and perhaps worth using.
>
> That's why the original question: Has anyone tried this and what kind of
> experience did they have? I find when I'm looking at a new
> possibility, focusing on only my ideas can often close off discussion
> about other possibilities or benefits I hadn't thought of.
>
> > > If USB RAID is
> > > not practical or workable, then I'll just drop the possibility and
> > > stick with sata or pata drives.
> >
> > Many companies sell multi-drive USB & firewire enclosures, and lots
> > do RAID-5. Get one with 5 slots, stuff 750GB drives in it, and get
> > 3TB of easily transportable storage in the size of a large shoebox.
>
> That's an idea I might find useful! Thanks!

Check out addonics.

The other issue is throughput. If you put multiple drives (3TB!?) that
have to interface via a single USB then it won't be fast.

Is portability an issue? Get a big computer case with 5.15" bays. Add
drive-bay adapters with integral fans. Turn it into a file server;
decide what speed ethernet you need and from that decide how much
processing power you need and put in a decent MB to match. Assuming
that you're using SATA drives, any MB with lots of SATA ports probably
will have enough oomph. Depending on your needs, you may find a
cheap/free MB/CPU/ram combo even if it is in a dinky case. You may find
a cheap box on eBay that will work, perhaps an old server. In summary,
start with the case and work inward.

As for my personal experience, I've never used a USB hard drive. People
give me their old computers and I turn them into firewalls, X-terminals,
or fileservers, adding fans ad lib. As for portability, my big
mult-drive Athlon64 came with casters

Doug.


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