Can USB 3.0 headers be used?

[Fraoch]

I understand USB 3.0 support is disabled in current builds of FreeNAS.

However can FreeNAS use a USB 3.0 header on a motherboard, albeit at USB 2.0 speeds? Or is the USB 3.0 header unusable to the OS?

I'm considering a case with USB 3.0 ports only and I'm having a hard time finding a USB 3.0 to USB 2.0 internal header adapter cable.

Thanks.

 

[cyberjock]

Depends on the USB chipset. Some will work at 2.0 speeds, some won't work at all.

As nobody really uses USB3 here my best advice is 'try it and find out'.

 

[Ericloewe]

With default settings, on a Supermicro X10SLM+-F (I assume this will apply to any Lynx Point motherboard's PCH USB 3.0 ports), the USB 3.0 ports are usable as USB 2.0.

 

[Fraoch]

With default settings, on a Supermicro X10SLM+-F (I assume this will apply to any Lynx Point motherboard's PCH USB 3.0 ports), the USB 3.0 ports are usable as USB 2.0.

Awesome, that's the motherboard I have.

Thanks!

 

[DaPlumber]

Yeah, USB 3.0 works about as well as it does anywhere else UNLESS you have a Haswell CPU (Intel 4th gen core i3) which I think is your SM MB.

To quote the release notes:
"USB 3.0 support is disabled by default as it currently is not compatible
with some hardware, including Haswell (Lynx point) chipsets. To enable
USB 3.0 support, create a Tunable named xhci_load, set its value to YES,
and reboot the system."

If you want to read the mildly amusing back and forth between cyberjock and myself on the suitability of USB, see the thread here: https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/d720201-based-usb3-0-works-under-freenas-9-2-1-5.21344/

tl;dr cyberjock is correct: Try really, really hard to not use USB disks with FreeNAS because WOE unto you sooner or later.

 

[Fraoch]

Thanks for the response, but cyberjock was right on the money when he stated:

nobody really uses USB3

Indeed, having set things up, I didn't need USB at all, of any sort. I even installed FreeNAS using a virtual CD through IMPI (which was very cool and worked flawlessly).

Looks like the only thing I'll need USB for is connecting to my UPS, and USB 2.0 is fine for that.

 

[DaPlumber]

Yeah, aside from the UPS SneakerNet transfers with a USB3.0 SSD is my only use case these days. I'm the impatient sort and don't have 10Gbase-T. Yet.

 

[Fraoch]

I still have to get my mind into "server" mode. On a consumer motherboard, USB 3.0 is important to me because I need to do backups via a USB hard drive.

Not so on FreeNAS. Data security is so important that backing things up to a USB drive would be less secure than keeping it in a parity-protected ZFS pool on a board with ECC RAM. Thanks for the link to your thread, it shows just how insecure USB backups can be.

So I still have to adjust my way of thinking!

 

[rogerh]

As far as the original request for an adapter cable:

View: http://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Female-Motherboard-Adapter-Converter/dp/B00KQHFDFE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412933789&sr=8-1&keywords=Neewer+USB3.0+19+Pin+to+Front+Panel+towards+to+USB2.0+to+Motherboard+9+Pin+Cable


seems quite nicely made, and works.

 

[cyberjock]

That cable does the opposite of what the OP wants... I think.

The cable linked above converts USB2 on the motherboard to take a USB3 connector, which would also mean USB3 on the front of the chassis, but only at USB2 speeds.

I think he has USB3 on the motherboard and want to use the USB2 on the chassis. If this is the case he'll need a different cable. They are available on Amazon with a quick search.

 

[Fraoch]

My original question was regarding USB 3.0 only on the case, requiring an adapter cable to a USB 2.0 header on the motherboard because I didn't know the USB 3.0 header would work at all, even at USB 2.0 speeds.

However I ended up getting a different case that has USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, so it's not really needed. Plus I haven't had to use USB now that I have FreeNAS up and running.

Thanks everyone.