# Need to test an external SSD drive



## Butterfly (Jun 17, 2020)

Hi all,
I am in de fun   position to have gotten me an external SSD drive (500Gb) that I'd like to "take in production"...
But, I'd like to test it first.
How would I go about that in FreeBSD?
Thanks a zillion
 Melissa 
Edit - install and use Smartmontools. I took to the Net to find out, instead of just asking...I did my homework...
Link to the info (for those that would like to check my homework  )


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## gpw928 (Jun 17, 2020)

Assuming that your SSD drive is SATA...

There is no easy way to plug in SATA drives externally.  Provided you have power and a spare SATA port available, they can be attached internally without being screwed down (I use velcro).  This is by far the cheapest method.

The best option for an external full speed connection is a SATA to USB 3.1 (10Gbps) - UASP converter.

I use the SATA to USB 3.1 converter mentioned here (plus my motherboard is limited to USB 3.0, so I needed a PCIe USB 3.1 card as well).

External SATA disks attached by the USB 3.1 converter run at the same speed as I get from my internal LSI SAS2008 SAS/SATA controller.

You can also use USB 3.0 converters, but they will be a *lot* slower.


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## msplsh (Jun 18, 2020)

External SSD drive is probably not going to reveal anything smartmontools can read and probably is wired directly into a USB controller.

It would be easier to point you in the right direction if you posted the make and model of the drive, then you can be sure


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## jmos (Jun 18, 2020)

gpw928 said:


> There is no easy way to plug in SATA drives externally


eSATA is designed for this: I'm using eSATA to plugin external SATA SSDs and HDDs; And even for my CD/DVD/BluRay drive/burner I'm using eSATA (otherwise this seldom used drive would always be powered). To plug in such external drives you'll just need a SATA power supply. And even M.2 drives can be attached externally by (e)SATA: There are adapters from M.2 to SATA available (even with a SATA SSD case) - my experience with this is quite positive.
To get eSATA on a desktop computer you'll just need a spare SATA port, and a eSATA frontpanel - or a eSATA PCI card.


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## ralphbsz (Jun 18, 2020)

The other three posters already asked all the relevant questions, and partially answered them.

What interface do you have on the SSD? SATA, M.2, USB?
What interface do you have on your computer? USB probably, what else?
Can you open your computer and add an interface (such as eSATA)? If your computer is a laptop, probably not.
What are you going to use to power the SSD?

Once we know those interfaces, we can start figuring out how this will work. And whether smartmon is likely to work.


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## gpw928 (Jun 19, 2020)

jmos said:


> eSATA is designed for this: I'm using eSATA to plugin external SATA SSDs and HDDs;


I was remiss of me to ignore eSATA.  However, I would not recommend it for new investment.

To quote one wit on Ars Technica from 2014 "eSATA is not dead, but it is coughing a lot and doesn't get out as much as it used to".

USB seems to own the external disk market today.  And USB 3.1 with UASP is genuinely fast.  But as others have observed, does not always play well with the smart tools.


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## Butterfly (Jun 19, 2020)

gpw928 said:


> USB seems to own the external disk market today. And USB 3.1 with UASP is genuinely fast. But as others have observed, does not always play well with the smart tools.


I just put the thing to work today. rsyncing to it. It is a "spinner"...I was wrong in thinking it was an SSD, it's just a spinner. I got it (new?) for E20, witch is a steal. So, for that price, I wanted to see if I could trust the backups to it.
Hence the use of smartmontools...
We'll see...if the disk does'nt fade  
Melissa


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## Butterfly (Jun 19, 2020)

ralphbsz said:


> What interface do you have on the SSD? SATA, M.2, USB?
> What interface do you have on your computer? USB probably, what else?
> Can you open your computer and add an interface (such as eSATA)? If your computer is a laptop, probably not.
> What are you going to use to power the SSD?
> ...


Well, the disk is an USB3.x, it's external, therefore. It is a 2.5" disk that only powers on the one USB connection.
I just wondered if some pre-testing was a clever idea.
I just jumped into it and I'll see what it gives.
There is a folder on it about volume info, but I assume that is for ***dows and not for *Nix.
If all goes well, I may reformat it to EXT3 ot event EXT4...but that too is yet to be determined  
Melissa


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## ralphbsz (Jun 19, 2020)

Got it. I like the word "spinner"; I tend to call them "spinning rust" (which is technically false, today's disks are no longer iron oxide, and platters are no longer red). Getting such a disk for 20 euros is a good deal; my external backup disk is the same kind, and on the best sale I could find, it still cost US$ 60.

Since it is USB, it will be plugged in by USB. Which is not a bad thing; modern USB 3 is perfectly fast and reliable enough for a disk. And you should be able to run smartmon on it; I do all the time.


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## gpw928 (Jun 19, 2020)

If you wish to use smart tools, then you still need to figure out if they work with your USB device.  The link posted by *msplsh* above is relevant.

Or you could just punt on `smartctl -d sat -a /dev/da0` (as root) and see what you get.

EXT3 and EXT4 are Linux native file systems.  For FreeBSD, you probably want UFS format.  See newfs(1).  But read the FreeBSD handbook chapter on Storage first.


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## ralphbsz (Jun 20, 2020)

What gpw928 said (insert meme of "I'll have what she's having" here). Just try the smartctl command. You probably don't even need the "-d da0" option, I don't need it for my USB drive. If smartctl works, and the drive is always attached to your machine, you probably want to configure smartd to regularly check the disk health, and send you e-mails if something starts going wrong. Often, disks are unhealthy before they die (unfortunately not always), so monitoring them gives you time to avoid disasters.


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## Butterfly (Jun 21, 2020)

ralphbsz said:


> so monitoring them gives you time to avoid disasters.


My aproach exactly. I'll fire up the FreeBSD box tonight to check...thanks


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## olli@ (Jun 21, 2020)

gpw928 said:


> There is no easy way to plug in SATA drives externally.


Well, there are external disk cases with eSATA connectors. They're not as common as they used to be, but they still exist. I've got a few of them, and they work well with FreeBSD.


> The best option for an external full speed connection is a SATA to USB 3.1 (10Gbps) - UASP converter.


Unfortunately that's wrong.  FreeBSD does _not_ support UASP. I've got a few external USB SSDs (in particular several Samsung T5) that can do 500 MB/s sequential read/write with Windows using UASP, but are limited to about 120 MB/s with FreeBSD. This is on USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports that support at least 10 Gbit/s.

Best regards
-- Olli


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## gpw928 (Jun 22, 2020)

You are correct on both counts.

I have Antec MX-1 eSATA external enclosures myself (they are being retired in favour of USB), and admitted above that it was remiss if me to ignore them, even if they are approaching obsolescence.

My USB 3.1 10Gbps controllers support UASP.  They worked on Linux, and they work on FreeBSD, but clearly not as fast.  I should have clarified the (lack of) UASP support on FreeBSD.  Though I suspect that there is nothing faster for FreeBSD...


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