USB not recommended? SSD are for boot/operating system?

[HoneyBadger]

Let's rewind for a second... TrueNAS is actively complaining about disks attached via USB now? I missed that development. Not that I have a problem with it, if you think SATA DOMs are expensive, wait till you see the prices on industrial USB flash drives.

We've been discouraging "USB flash sticks" specifically for a while in the installer.

The majority of this is about endurance and reliability of the underlying device, not as much the USB interface itself (although a lack of SMART and weird quirks with USB bulk storage protocol do factor in here) - but if all you have is a USB port, you're far better off with a USB-to-SSD adapter of your choice than you are a generic $5 thumbdrive.

 

[kiriak]

I can see no reason for using a spinning disk for a boot pool even if one has some spare on hand.

On the other hand USB thumbdrives can be very convenient like in my case, a home user and limited space.
I didn't want any more cables and the 2 mirrored usb sticks with the size of my fingernail fitted perfectly and
they go fine for 2 years now on a TrueNAS Core system with all the updates and booting every weekend (if this is of any significance).

I'm thankful that the installer permits the installation on a stick even if it discourages it.

Of course in this case, one have to be aware of the consequences of loosing the boot pool and be ready to overcome this.

 

[Davvo]

I can see no reason for using a spinning disk for a boot pool even if one has some spare on hand.

The system dataset is one of the reasons; others are space, price, power consumption, noise, reliability. The list is not comprehensive.

EDIT: I misread the quoted message as "I see no reason for NOT using a spinnink disk..."

 

[danb35]

The system dataset is one of the reasons; others are space, price, power consumption, noise, reliability.

The system dataset ordinarily lives on the first data pool you create, though it can of course be moved elsewhere, including back to the boot pool. As to the rest (other than price, assuming you have a spare spinner on hand), how do you see them favoring a spinner as a boot device?

 

[Davvo]

how do you see them favoring a spinner as a boot device?

My post is against a spinner as a boot device. Just realized I misread the quoted post.

 

[kiriak]

even if one has a spinner on hand probably the increased electricity consumption do not justify it's use against a cheap SSD