tgggd86 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Not sure if this has been mentioned before but searching turned up nothing. I decided to get rid of the flash drive sticking out the back of my server and just bought this cable to directly plug it inside my case via the Motherboards USB pins. Works great! http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-Motherboard-4-Pin-Header-USBMBADAPT/dp/B000IV6S9S Quote Link to comment
johnodon Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Some server boards (like my Tyan) have an external USB port right on the board. Thsi is just awesome! John Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Most of the Supermicro boards have a USB connector on the board. So does the HP Proliant Microserver. I agree it's a nice feature. Quote Link to comment
heffe2001 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 This: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815201028&cm_re=usb_header-_-15-201-028-_-Product or This: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200474&cm_re=usb_header-_-12-200-474-_-Product Will work fine too, without the usb key laying loose in the case (I got the latter one, has 2 ports, and works perfectly in my case). Quote Link to comment
jakebake Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500045 does this board have one on it or I need the adapter Quote Link to comment
dyrewolfe Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500045 does this board have one on it or I need the adapter Not that I can see. It does have 3 headers though so yes, you would need an adapter. Quote Link to comment
Superorb Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I like the Amazon one because you can zip tie it out of the way instead of having something just floating over the board, possibly causing clearance issues with other components. Plus, it's something I'd hit with my clumsy hands. Quote Link to comment
Chuck Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I have the startech. It is good but is a little wide, blocking the USB header next to it. Quote Link to comment
MurrayW Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 When you upgrade to a newer version of unraid, do you need to open up your case and pull your usb drive or can the upgrade be done with the usb drive in place inside the case? Quote Link to comment
Joe L. Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 When you upgrade to a newer version of unraid, do you need to open up your case and pull your usb drive or can the upgrade be done with the usb drive in place inside the case? You can do it entirely from the LAN, since the flash drive is accessible at \\tower\flash No need to open up the case at all if it is mounted internal. Joe L. Quote Link to comment
johnodon Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 When you upgrade to a newer version of unraid, do you need to open up your case and pull your usb drive or can the upgrade be done with the usb drive in place inside the case? I was able to do it by connecting to \\{unraid server name}\flash and replacing the bzimage and bzroot files. One note: This only works if moving from a similar build (i.e. v5.0 b3 --> v5.0 b4). See the upgrade notes here for v5.0 b4: http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php?title=UnRAID_Server_Version_5.0-beta4_Release_Notes Upgrading from Version 5.0-beta3 1.Prepare the flash: either shutdown your server and plug the flash into your PC or Stop the array and perform the following actions referencing the flash share on your network: Copy the files bzimage and bzroot from the zip file to the root of your flash device, overwriting the same-named files already there. 2.Boot your server. Initially, all of your hard drives will appear missing. You can either go to Settings/Disk Devices and manually re-assign all your hard drives, or you can go to Utils/New Slots and execute that utility to change the device assignments for you. Note: if some of your hard drives were not recognized in 5.0-beta3, you must manually assign them. 3.Start the array. All disks should mount and parity should be valid. John Quote Link to comment
lionelhutz Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Between network access to the flash drive and telnet capabilities you really don't ever need to pull the flash or have a keyboard and monitor unless your hardware acts up and quits booting unRAID. Peter Quote Link to comment
Joe L. Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 When you upgrade to a newer version of unraid, do you need to open up your case and pull your usb drive or can the upgrade be done with the usb drive in place inside the case? I was able to do it by connecting to \\{unraid server name}\flash and replacing the bzimage and bzroot files. One note: This only works if moving from a similar build (i.e. v5.0 b3 --> v5.0 b4). See the upgrade notes here for v5.0 b4: http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php?title=UnRAID_Server_Version_5.0-beta4_Release_Notes Upgrading from Version 5.0-beta3 1.Prepare the flash: either shutdown your server and plug the flash into your PC or Stop the array and perform the following actions referencing the flash share on your network: Copy the files bzimage and bzroot from the zip file to the root of your flash device, overwriting the same-named files already there. 2.Boot your server. Initially, all of your hard drives will appear missing. You can either go to Settings/Disk Devices and manually re-assign all your hard drives, or you can go to Utils/New Slots and execute that utility to change the device assignments for you. Note: if some of your hard drives were not recognized in 5.0-beta3, you must manually assign them. 3.Start the array. All disks should mount and parity should be valid. John That statement is not entirely correct. The only time I've ever had to physically remove the drive from the back of my server is if I needed to run syslinux on it. (There was one release where older versions of syslinux could not handle the larger size of the release) Other than that, the USB flash drive has been on the back of my older server for years. I can't remember when I last un-plugged it. You may have to re-assign the disks in the devices page, but that is about it. Even that will apparently be a thing of the past once 5.0beta5 is released. From what we've been told, it has no "devices" page. You assign disks to positions in the array by their model/serial number. unRAID will figure out which devices they are attached to as needed. Quote Link to comment
johnodon Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I only copied that text to illustrate which files need to be upgraded. John Quote Link to comment
rich.bingham Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I'm late to the party on recommendations, but I go with a PCI-slot USB adapter. Remove four screws and you have two cheap USB header adapters. $1.73 vs. $7.09 for the Amazon adapter Quote Link to comment
jakebake Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I'm late to the party on recommendations, but I go with a PCI-slot USB adapter. Remove four screws and you have two cheap USB header adapters. $1.73 vs. $7.09 for the Amazon adapter genius! lol Quote Link to comment
kizer Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I'm late to the party on recommendations, but I go with a PCI-slot USB adapter. Remove four screws and you have two cheap USB header adapters. $1.73 vs. $7.09 for the Amazon adapter I have something that looks exactly like that. I just unscrewed one and the other is laying on a shelf. Somebody made a comment about having their USB drive lay on the bottom. Mine does and honestly I look through the front of my case for a yellow glow. When its glowing I know my USB is live and doing its thing. I'd rather have a cable that is flexable than a hard mounted in the motherboard so I can smack it on accident or break a connector. Anything honestly is better than having a USB stick sticking out the rear. Quote Link to comment
aim60 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Had a wireless keyboard dongle hanging out of the back of my HTPC. Moved the PC, smacked the dongle on a wall, and almost broke it in two. Quote Link to comment
bubbaQ Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I use this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811997037&Tpk=usb%20bunker Quote Link to comment
kizer Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I use this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811997037&Tpk=usb%20bunker Wow that's kinda cool. For me it would be a bit over the top, but man that would be awesome for those machines you don't want anybody plugging into. Quote Link to comment
madburg Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I use this one: NZXT IU01 Internal USB Expansion http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0031ESKJA/ref=pe_53930_17574870_pe_vfe_t1 You can power it off the PSU if you wish, but dont have to. Quote Link to comment
bubbaQ Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Wow that's kinda cool. For me it would be a bit over the top, but man that would be awesome for those machines you don't want anybody plugging into. I am always afraid of snapping off a USB stick (on any box, not just unRAID). I don't like the internal dongles since that makes it a PITA to remove it. I used to take a 5.25 bay USB panel and drill extra holes so I could mount it recessed.... made me feel a a little safer. The NZXT Bunker also has enough room for for software dongles... some of which are upwards of $4K each. Quote Link to comment
jakebake Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I'm late to the party on recommendations, but I go with a PCI-slot USB adapter. Remove four screws and you have two cheap USB header adapters. $1.73 vs. $7.09 for the Amazon adapter this just came in today from monoprice. Works like a charm. Thanks for the suggestion!! Quote Link to comment
DrPrimo Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 This: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815201028&cm_re=usb_header-_-15-201-028-_-Product or This: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200474&cm_re=usb_header-_-12-200-474-_-Product Will work fine too, without the usb key laying loose in the case (I got the latter one, has 2 ports, and works perfectly in my case). Thanks for the links Heffe, I had been planning on the buying the Koutech (the first link), but the ended up with the StarTech (the second link) after seeing it in you post as it seemed to be a better fit as it keeps the flash drive out of the way (perpendicular to the board instead of parallel). I can use the USB headers on either side just fine. Although the Tuff N Tiny I bought is smaller than I thought, it is still nice keep it out of the way. Quote Link to comment
S80_UK Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 For non-US users (since Newegg don't export to Europe for example), an eBay search for "USBMBADA*" turns up quite a few suppliers. Quote Link to comment
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