From owner-freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Sat Apr 25 20:52:17 2020 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@mailman.nyi.freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2610:1c1:1:606c::19:1]) by mailman.nyi.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 756D62C0F26 for ; Sat, 25 Apr 2020 20:52:17 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from dpchrist@holgerdanske.com) Received: from holgerdanske.com (holgerdanske.com [IPv6:2001:470:0:19b::b869:801b]) (using TLSv1.2 with cipher ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 (256/256 bits)) (Client CN "holgerdanske.com", Issuer "holgerdanske.com" (not verified)) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 498jsD1B58z4ZGF for ; Sat, 25 Apr 2020 20:52:15 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from dpchrist@holgerdanske.com) Received: from 99.100.19.101 ([99.100.19.101]) by holgerdanske.com with ESMTPSA (ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:TLSv1.2:Kx=ECDH:Au=RSA:Enc=AESGCM(128):Mac=AEAD) (SMTP-AUTH username dpchrist@holgerdanske.com, mechanism PLAIN) for ; Sat, 25 Apr 2020 13:52:06 -0700 Subject: Re: FreeBSD live USB stick To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org References: <4ccdd6e57db9817c48ff492cb82361ebe820cf86.camel.ref@rocketmail.com> <4ccdd6e57db9817c48ff492cb82361ebe820cf86.camel@rocketmail.com> From: David Christensen Message-ID: <503ac059-c4a5-d618-9b85-e154339e1f36@holgerdanske.com> Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2020 13:52:06 -0700 User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:68.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/68.7.0 MIME-Version: 1.0 In-Reply-To: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed Content-Language: en-US Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Rspamd-Queue-Id: 498jsD1B58z4ZGF X-Spamd-Bar: -- Authentication-Results: mx1.freebsd.org; dkim=none; dmarc=none; spf=none (mx1.freebsd.org: domain of dpchrist@holgerdanske.com has no SPF policy when checking 2001:470:0:19b::b869:801b) smtp.mailfrom=dpchrist@holgerdanske.com X-Spamd-Result: default: False [-2.80 / 15.00]; ARC_NA(0.00)[]; RCVD_VIA_SMTP_AUTH(0.00)[]; NEURAL_HAM_MEDIUM(-0.99)[-0.987,0]; FROM_HAS_DN(0.00)[]; TO_MATCH_ENVRCPT_ALL(0.00)[]; IP_SCORE(-1.71)[ip: (-0.28), ipnet: 2001:470::/32(-4.65), asn: 6939(-3.60), country: US(-0.05)]; MIME_GOOD(-0.10)[text/plain]; TO_DN_NONE(0.00)[]; PREVIOUSLY_DELIVERED(0.00)[freebsd-questions@freebsd.org]; AUTH_NA(1.00)[]; RCPT_COUNT_ONE(0.00)[1]; NEURAL_HAM_LONG(-1.00)[-0.999,0]; DMARC_NA(0.00)[holgerdanske.com]; R_SPF_NA(0.00)[]; FROM_EQ_ENVFROM(0.00)[]; R_DKIM_NA(0.00)[]; MIME_TRACE(0.00)[0:+]; ASN(0.00)[asn:6939, ipnet:2001:470::/32, country:US]; MID_RHS_MATCH_FROM(0.00)[]; RCVD_TLS_ALL(0.00)[]; RCVD_COUNT_TWO(0.00)[2] X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.29 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2020 20:52:17 -0000 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