USB SSD in NTFS, possible? how?

[unraid_user11]

I have a USB SSD that is going to be plugged into my Unraid server all the time for important backups and I want to format it in NTFS so that I can have the ability to instantly plug it into a Windows machine if the Unraid server were to ever go down.

 

1. Is this possible? If so, is there a recommend way to achieve this?
2. Do I add the USB SSD to a newly created cache pool or do I just use it as an Unassigned Disk?

 

Appreciate any advice and guidance ❤️

Edited July 21 by unraid_user11

[unraid_user11]

I did a little research but correct me if I am wrong. My understanding is that adding a USB device to cache pool is not a good idea because of potential disconnects. Would it still be a bad idea if this is the only device on the cache pool? Or is it better to just keep it as a Unassigned Device permanently.

[Kilrah]

You can't format as NTFS in a pool so it'll have to stay unassigned.

[unraid_user11]

Just now, Kilrah said:

You can't format as NTFS in a pool so it'll have to stay unassigned.

Roger that! That makes the choice easy.

[unraid_user11]

For anyone else looking for answers, this is what I did:

1. I used Unassigned Devices plug-in
2. Formatted the USB drive
3. Selected NTFS as the file system
4. Enable automount and share in the settings for the drive
5. Then I simply point backups to /mnt/disks/name_of_usb_ssd

[Kilrah]

Share is only needed if you want it accessible as a network share.

 

Also for backups you typically don't want the drive permanently connected.

[unraid_user11]

Just now, Kilrah said:

Share is only needed if you want it accessible as a network share.

You're right, I did want to access it from the network.

 

1 minute ago, Kilrah said:

Also for backups you typically don't want the drive permanently connected.

Curious, why not? If I do backups daily, how would this work?

[Kilrah]

7 minutes ago, unraid_user11 said:

Curious, why not? If I do backups daily, how would this work?

Lightning strike, ransomware, hacker that deletes everything - if the backup disk is connected it'll probably be affected too.

 

I do the nightly backups to the array, then they get synced to another machine, and to the external drive when it's plugged in via an UD script. It's connected, data is synced, I disconnect it when done.

[unraid_user11]

1 minute ago, Kilrah said:

to the external drive when it's plugged in via an UD script. It's connected, data is synced, I disconnect it when done.

Woah you can disconnect and connect the UD drive via script??? Would you mind sharing said script? Also what software/plugin are you using for nightly backups?

[Kilrah]

Appdata backup plugin for the backups, UD scripts are explained with examples you can tweak to your liking in the first post of the UD support thread.

Edited July 21 by Kilrah

[unraid_user11]

Just now, Kilrah said:

Appdata backup plugin for the backups, UD scripts are explained with examples you can tweak to your liking in the first post os the UD support thread.

Besides backing-up Appdata folder, any advice on how to achieve the equivalent on a share folder? Is rsync the recommended way?

[Kilrah]

Yeah that works. You can also add extra folders or even a script to appdata backup. Or add the share backup only to the UD script... all depends on your situation / needs.

[unraid_user11]

3 minutes ago, Kilrah said:

You can also add extra folders or even a script to appdata backup

I didn't know you could add other folders using Appdata Backup plugin. They would be put in the zip file correct?

[Kilrah]

Never tried it.