[RndTbl] USB3 to Ethernet, to make NAS

[John Lange]

For several years I ran a Pi3B+ with a USB drive and stock Linux + SAMBA
for sharing as a NAS device that saved video from a security camera and it
worked great. If I was setting this up today I'd go with a Raspberry Pi4
for better USB & network speed and open source NAS software for easier
management.

The only negative is the Pi (all versions) don't have steller network
performance compared to a commercial NAS, but it should still be more than
adequate for home use.

There are tons of "how-to" and documentation on how to do this, but here is
a youtube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyMpI8csWis

My final comment is, no matter what else, just make sure that everything
isn't stored on a single drive. That is a guarantee that you will
lose everything eventually.

Here is a mistake I made: I personally was backing up everything from a
home PC to an external USB drive including large tar.gz archives of some
old systems I had. Then one day the PC hard drive failed and I replaced it.
I was too lazy to copy everything back over from the USB drive to the PC
and sure enough a year or so later the USB drive also failed... Fortunately
it didn't die completely, just errored on certain files which included one
of the big tar.gz files which wasn't anything I really cared about but
lesson learned.

For pictures I backup the originals onto another drive, but I also
replicate a lower quality version to the cloud which is free and unlimited
so worse case I'll always have a copy.

John

On Tue, Jan 24, 2023 at 5:25 PM Vijay Sankar <vsankar at foretell.ca> wrote:

> The usb gigabit adapters are just USB-2. Not USB-3. They are old, and
> probably not of any relevance to your situation as Adam and Chris clearly
> articulated. But you’re welcome to have them if it is of any use.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jan 24, 2023, at 07:13, Hartmut W Sager <hwsager at marityme.net> wrote:
>
> 
> Now my detailed response.  I initially asked:
>
> Can someone here recommend some specific USB3 to Ethernet hardware
> adapters, to make a reliable NAS drive.  I want this architecture because
> the external USB3 drive will frequently need to be disconnected from NAS
> usage and connected locally to another computer via USB (for certain data
> updates).
>
>
> When I initially received several "interesting" responses, I already
> realized I had better consult with Bill Reid before I stick my foot any
> further into my mouth.  :)  Thank you, *Bill*, for the detailed phone
> discussion we had on Monday evening.
>
> When I referred to "USB3 to Ethernet hardware adapters", I completely
> forgot that this could so easily refer to those USB adapters that simply
> provide an Ethernet port (or an additional Ethernet port) where needed on
> a computer/laptop/whatever.  *Adam*, I'm sure you at least, and maybe
> others, got confused by this.  (I love your "orthogonal" comment, though I
> never did mention a NIC in my query.)
>
> *No, I meant* an intelligent device/box/adapter that would have some NAS
> server logic in it.  *Chris Audet*, you got me 100% right.
>
> *Applicable tagline:*  I know what I meant to say; I said this instead.
> :)
>
> Adam> Also, I'm afraid I have to point out that "USB to Ethernet adapter"
> and "reliable" don't belong in the same sentence to begin with.
>
>
> LOL.  Good one!  And I agree.
>
> Vijay> I have some USB-2 Gigabit Ethernet adapters you can try if you
> like. I found it to be quite reliable for the following use cases — I used
> two of them on a ThinkPad as a firewall (Shaw gigabit and MTS). It worked
> quite well to create an HA VPN. I also have used it to test virtual
> Ethernet performance (vether on OpenBSD).
>
>
> Thank you, *Vijay*.  I'll keep these in mind, though they are USB2 (or
> did you mean USB3 *to* Gigabit Ethernet?).
>
> Chris Audet> I'm going to make the following assumptions:
> * You're trying to do this using a USB portable hard drive like these
> * You want to use the USB hard drive as a NAS most of the time
> * You want the flexibility to connect the hard drive directly to a
> computer sometimes
> * Your USB portable drive isn't using USB-C
>
>
> *Chris*, you nailed it 100% on all 4 assumptions!
>
> Chris Audet> Some recommended solutions:
> * Many home wifi routers include a USB port which can be used to make USB
> storage available on the network.  For example, Mikrotik hEX.  If your
> router has this feature, this would be a quick solution
>
>
> Both I and the person (Lynn) that I'm doing this for have the *Shaw
> Hitron CGNM-2250* cable modem/router combo, and, upon me looking closely
> several months ago, it does have two such USB ports (blue inserts, so maybe
> even USB3).  However, even a *cusadmin login* into the modem has nothing
> in the menus for these ports.  Web research did reveal that those ports can
> accept NAS, but configuring requires a secret URL into that part of the
> Hitron, and there are a few digits in the URL that vary across these
> modems, depending on carrier (Shaw), firmware version, etc, and the phase
> of the moon.
>
> I'd rather not pursue this possibility (even if it's USB3), in case the
> modem ever fails and Shaw can't give the same model anymore.  They already
> don't like issuing this model, preferring their new consumer "Mars lander"
> contraption.
>
> > * If you have an existing home server or PC that's always powered on,
> plugging in your USB drive and configuring the drive to be shared over the
> network might be OK as well
>
>
> I had considered, and still am considering, that solution.  My computers
> are always on, but Lynn's computer is not (so far).  This does remain an
> attractive solution though.
>
> > * If you don't have existing hardware that can be used, then you could
> consider buying a single board computer or refurb PC to convert it into a
> NAS or use an off the shelf NAS unit
>
>
> An SBC is attractive, except that the learning curve doesn't work for me
> at this time.  A refurb PC is too bulky for me and Lynn (we both have very
> small residential premises).  Off-the-shelf NAS doesn't (?) give USB
> access, and we already put good money into this high-end external USB3
> unit.  It's a Seagate high-MTBF 3.5-inch 8TB drive in a 5.25-inch case
> (with AC power adapter of course).
>
> > Cursed solution:
>
>
> LOL!
>
> Trevor> It cannot be done.  There has to be a "smart" device, ..... Ah,
> Chris found .....
>
>
> Thanks *Trevor*, for your very detailed reply.  You too got fooled by my
> poor terminology in my very first sentence.  And in any case, even after
> "Chris found", USB2 is a deal-breaker.
>
> Trevor> I will warn that external USB HDDs are (usually) the worst quality
> garbage drives the companies can produce.  Especially Seagate.  They often
> explicitly state FOR BRIEF USE ONLY, i.e. not always-on in a NAS.  They
> aren't lying.  The motors/bearings are designed to fail after a tiny number
> of hours.  WD might be slightly better.
>
>
> Oh I know, and I totally agree.  I often give this "junk HDD" lecture to
> others.  And WD is no better - those two companies must have used RAID to
> synchronize their junk in real time.
>
> Adam> ..... the use of snapshots or daily/hourly backups, in either case
> stored on a second non-mobile drive.
>
>
> It's a thought, but nah, see further down.  This isn't really a
> snapshots/backups scenario.
>
> Adam> I hadn't thought of the drive quality and fragility issue, but I can
> confirm Trevor's right.  And even if you buy the best HDD money can buy and
> are using (e.g.) a USB-SATA adapter with it, all that moving around WILL
> reduce the drive's lifespan.
>
>
> *Adam*, agreed - see my comment to Trevor above.  But, we do have a
> high-end drive, and the movement won't be all too frequent, and will be
> done with care in small premises (i.e., not big movements).  And depending
> on exact location details, we might even be able to just plug/unplug and
> move the USB3-type-A connect at the other end.
>
> (Ironic aside:  No 5.25-inch or 3.5-inch HDD (of the high-MTBF kind) in
> daily use has ever failed me over the decades, while *every* 2.5-inch HDD
> I've ever had in daily use has failed me.)
>
> Adam> Hartmut, can you elaborate on why you think you need to connect this
> drive to a PC directly, in the first place?  There may be a better solution
> for your problem.
>
>
> *Adam*, I'll give an initial answer here now, but this might be fruitful
> to expand on in further forum posts in this thread.
>
> This 8TB drive shall contain Lynn's life collection of photos, music, and
> a few other things, adding up to about 5TB at this time, which seems to
> rule out reasonably-priced cloud storage and access (like the Dropbox I
> subscribe to).  The music and photos need to be accessible to her wireless
> Android devices (plural) and her computer, at least while she is at home,
> and the access from her wireless Android devices would also be desirable
> while out-and-about.
>
> The whole collection is still in need of much re-organizing, which needs
> to be done on an ongoing basis, as time permits, from her desktop computer,
> and once in a while even at my place from my computers (we currently live
> in the same building).  The re-organizing consists of identifying and
> deleting duplicates across the whole directory tree, and also lots of
> grafting, pruning, merging, splitting, and renaming of folders.
>
> Whew!  I hope that sums it up.
>
> Again, in true MUUG tradition, I appreciate all the thoughtful input I've
> received.
>
> Hartmut
>
> On Mon 23 Jan 2023 at 23:14:19 -06:00, Hartmut W Sager <
> hwsager at marityme.net> wrote:
>
> > Hartmut, can you elaborate on why you think you need to connect this
> drive to a PC directly, in the first place?  There may be a better solution
> for your problem.
>
> Thank you to all the folks here who responded.  I hope to produce a
> detailed reply during the coming night, so please be patient, and "hold
> your further fire".  :)  As some of you know, my neurology limits how
> quickly and how thoroughly I can respond.
>
> Hartmut
>
>
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-- 
John Lange
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