SATA to USB converters

gpw928

gpw928

I just had one of the Intel DC S3610 SSDs on my ZFS server drop off line. It's got four partitions provisioning a gmirror for swap ("never" used), ZFS mirror for the zroot, plus mirror'd log and special vdevs for a separate tank.

It's got Dell firmware, and has previously suffered (non-fatal) timeouts under stress, so it was time to take it out of service and play with it offline. Maybe it will work with Linux, and maybe I can get "proper" Intel firmware flashed (I tried and failed at least once in the past).

I have a couple of Startech SATA to USB converters lying around, and have to say that they are incredibly handy for random hot-swap tasks involving 2.5" and 3.5" disks. Just plug the wall-wart into a a GPO for power, and the USB cable into your host, and you can partition up the replacement drive and re-silver it without opening the case.

Then, when it's convenient for an outage, you can open the case and switch in the new fully functioning drive, with minimal risk.

I have now used these Startech SATA to USB converters on dozens of occasions, on both FreeBSD and Linux, and they have performed flawlessly.

Not for permanent deployment, because the cables are to vulnerable, but it's a very handy gadget.
 
gpw928 said:
but it's a very handy gadget.
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I have two slightly different ones, mine not only has SATA but also IDE (both 3.5" and the smaller 2.5" IDE form-factor). One is USB2, the other is USB3. Very useful little gadgets indeed.

Edit: I think it's this one, bought it at a local "Mediamarkt" but Amazon seems to ship them too: https://amzn.eu/d/dB5y6uh
 
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