nuc5i7ryh external raid

[winded21]

Can the nuc5i7ryh support external hard drive raid array via built in m2 connection or how would I go about expanding to support external drives? I would like a larger raid volume to boot rather than using internal ssd drive.

[n_scott_pearson]

AFAIK, your only option for connecting an external disk subsystem is via USB 3.0. There are quite a few JBOD, RAID and DAS enclosures that offer USB 3.0 connections from QNAP, TerraMaster, WD, MediaSonic, etc.

Your other option is to use a NAS and access its storage across your Gigabit network.

Hope this helps,

...S

[winded21]

Thanks Scott. I thought the internal m.2 or  sata interface would be faster than USB 3 but maybe not. Can the NUC boot over USB 3 RAID?

[n_scott_pearson]

Well, yea, SATA is 6Gb/s versus USB 3.0's 5Gb/s, so yes, SATA can be faster. You would need to turn the SATA connector into an eSATA connector but that's not too difficult.

I am aware that there are cards that allow you to use M.2 connectors for other things, but the NUC BIOSs do not have support for handling these cards. The BIOS expects a WLAN card in the M.2 Type E connector and a SATA or NVMe SSD in the M.2 Type M connector. Anything beyond that is considered unsupported. Now, I am carefully saying just 'unsupported', there is always a chance that they might work; I just haven't tried.

Wait a minute, that's not completely true. It is something that attempts to utilize the PCIe lanes in the connector that is the unknown. I do know that there are cards that will allow you to gain access to the second SATA port that is carried in the the M.2 Type M connector. In fact, I actually have one of these cards and have used it to connect a 3.5" SATA drive outside the chassis. Here is the one that I have: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G2YXLFP. Using this, you could have two SATA ports that you can cable out of the chassis.

...S

[Jose_V_Intel]

Hello winded21,

Due to this product being discontinued, Intel Customer Service no longer supports inquiries for it, I am glad to see that fellow community members have the knowledge and they jumped in and helped. You may also find the Discontinued Products (https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/discontinued-products.html) website helpful to address your request.

Please keep in mind that this thread will no longer be monitored by Intel. Thank you for your understanding.

Best regards,

Jose V.

Intel® Customer Support Technician