[geeks] Running a computer from a USB flash drive

[Lionel Peterson]

>From: Jonathan Groll <lists at groll.co.za>
>Date: 2008/04/18 Fri AM 01:42:02 CDT
>To: The Geeks List <geeks at sunhelp.org>
>Subject: Re: [geeks] Running a computer from a USB flash drive

>On Thu, Apr 17, 2008 at 11:51:16PM -0400, Shannon Hendrix wrote:
>> Are there any USB flash drives out there designed for "server use", or  
>> at least better than the Joe Consumer stuff you see in Best Buy?  An  
>> "industrial" USB flash drive maybe?
>
>Is it really necessary to worry about industrial grade flash if all it
>will be used for is /boot? This is certainly possible on a linux
>machine, I'm not really sure about solaris.

I don't think the electronics has much variance, aside from speed, I think the real "indusrtial" or "serious use" term might apply to the housing/case the drive comes with  - some have elaborate shells that protect the USB connector, others have funny grips that make them overly large. Personally, I used to "zip tye" them to a random point inside the chassis and preferred something small that couls be tucked in a corner, attached to the MB via a backplate USB adapter with the slot cover removed. Like this(0) but removed from the bracket and attached internally.

Aside - here's a neat little card for folks with USB-only servers (or desktops): a slot adapter that converts internal USB to 2 PS/2 connectors that allow hot-swap(1). At only $13, this is great (if you can afford to lose the expansion slot).

Lionel

(0) http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=381192
(0) or this - http://www.logicsupply.com/products/afap_082usb

(1) http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0278532