FreeBSD live USB stick
David Christensen
dpchrist at holgerdanske.com
Sat Apr 25 20:52:17 UTC 2020
On 2020-04-25 11:21, Ralf Mardorf via freebsd-questions wrote:
> On Sat, 2020-04-25 at 11:01 -0700, David Christensen wrote:
>> On 2020-04-25 08:03, Ralf Mardorf via freebsd-questions wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I want to have FreeBSD on a 32 GB USB 3.0 stick. Since I'm an openbox
>>> user NomadBSD [1] looks promising to me. Any opinions or hints?
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>> Ralf
>>>
>>> [1] https://nomadbsd.org/handbook/handbook.html#intro
>>
>> I have installed FreeBSD onto SanDisk Ultra Fit 16 GB USB 3.0 flash
>> drives. I like these for their compact form factor, which reduces the
>> chance of mechanical damage to the drive and/or port/ motherboard.
>> However, they run hot, they are not a good choice for high-endurance
>> applications (I cooked a 128 GB model using it for Time Machine backups
>> in a MacBook Pro), and write performance is an obvious limitation when
>> running a graphical desktop. I have experienced problems with both
>> FreeBSD and Linux when using these drives in USB 3.0 ports, but not with
>> USB 2.0 ports.
>
> Thank you for the pointer.
>
> I noticed that a Toshiba 32 GB USB 2 stick gets hot when either
> connected to my Roland GR-55 guitar synth or to a hub connected with my
> Linux PC, just by being connected and at worst by sharing a few bytes of
> data. For the live FreeBSD I ordered a Toshiba USB 3 stick. I never
> noticed that my aged 8GB and smaller USB sticks get hot, by just being
> connected or sharing a few bytes of data. I still could cancel the order
> and purchase another aged USB stick.
>
> Fortunately the openbox Window manager is not that bloated as almost all
> desktop environments.
>
> However, I didn't had head in mind. I hope the temperature would not
> become a show stopper.
>
> Until now I only used Linux live DVDs, if I needed a live media. I
> thought it would be a good idea to migrate to either a BSD or Linux on
> an USB stick.
After the 128 GB Ultra Fit failed, I shopped around for high-endurance
USB flash drives. These are hard to find, especially in larger capacties.
I did find one OEM that makes industrial flash devices in various
capacities and form factors, including USB:
https://www.cactus-tech.com/products/industrial-grade/usb-flash-drive/
Unfortunately, Cactus Technologies is an OEM and does not sell into
retail channels. I contacted them, and they offered to sell me two 16
GB drives (USB 2.0?) for $39 plus shipping with a lead time of 5 weeks
ARO (if not in stock).
STFW 'industrial usb flash' there are a few other manufacturers and/or
distributors.
The MacBook Pro has an SD Card slot. SanDisk high-endurance microSD
cards are readily available, so I went with that:
https://shop.westerndigital.com/products/memory-cards/sandisk-high-endurance-uhs-i-microsd#SDSQQNR-032G-AN6IA
SanDisk also makes a "max endurance" model:
https://shop.westerndigital.com/products/memory-cards/sandisk-max-endurance-uhs-i-microsd#SDSQQVR-032G-AN6IA
STFW I see that some people put these into USB adapters and use them as
live drives. If you run embedded systems with SD/ microSD slots
(Rasperry Pi, etc.), this might be a better way to go.
David
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