USB thumb drives for bootable flash FreeBSD installation...

[Warren Block]

On Mon, 17 Oct 2011, Jason Usher wrote:

> I'm going to run FreeBSD off of a flash drive on some older mac mini systems.
>
> Before I begin, though, I'd like some advice on the best USB thumb drives for this.
>
> These systems will be deployed and left in place, hopefully for YEARS 
> in a remote, inaccessible location.  So, I'd like to make sure I get 
> the most durable, fault-tolerant USB thumb drives possible.

Put them on the inside so they don't get snapped off.  Or get a 
low-profile drive and shield it somehow.  There are internal IDE/SATA to 
CF/SD adapters also.

> I'm not going to swap on them, or do lots of log writing, etc., but 
> still ... I really don't want to fly across the world just because 
> this one component died.
>
> Are they all the same, or are there some USB flash choices that are 
> more durable and fault tolerant than others ?

I don't know which are actually more durable rather than just being 
marketed that way, but I'd consider making a mirror of two different 
brands and models to try to improve the odds against media or mechanical 
failure.