Is it possible to connect a USB-C SSD to the Omnia?

Omnia hardware Omnia HW help
#1

Thus far I have been using external spinning disks that would have their own power supply adapter with the Omnia, but now I’m looking at replacing the disk I see that there are many SSDs with a large amount of storage space. However all these external SSDs use USB-C for both power and data, providing just a USB-C cable. Would these with the Omnia work if I get a USB-C to USB-A cable or could there be problems?

Generally what are the recommendations nowadays to add extra storage to an Omnia? I need around 4-6 TB of space. What kind of solutions are people using?

Thanks a lot in advance!

#2

most likely it will work but in usb 2.0 mode only so ~10x slower

#3

No, USB-A on omnia is USB 3.0. So unless you buy a crappy adapter, it will run on 5 Gbps USB 3. Not the 10 or 20 Gbps the drives might use on a USB-C connection, but definitely not USB 2.0 speeds.

The major problem could be power supply to the drives. There is an internal header providing 5V and 12V that is meant to be used for external drives. It seems you can draw at least 4A from the 5V line (Omnia +5V0 output max current). Or, if your drives aren’t too hungry, each of the USB ports should provide 2.5 A. So you should probably check the specs of the drives you’re thinking of and match them against these power options.

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#4

I was reffering to the fact that you need to use a C-to-A adapter that downgrades your connection

#5

Alright, so I should just replace the cable if it ends up using USB 2.0 speeds? I see some drives also ship with both a USB-A and USB-C cable (with the other end always USB-C).

I just don’t know if a USB-C SSD might expect more power than the Omnia will be providing it. I should see if I can find out any information on that.

#6

Not true. Or at least not in most cases.

#7

The answer should be quite simple. If it is a portable enclosed SSD with only a USB-C cable, then the USB port can definitely power it. If the drive has a connector for additional power, then it might be a question. But generally, the 2.5 A Omnia can provide on the USB is quite a lot. The USB 3 standard requires 0.9 A. So if the drive followed the standard, it should be happy. However, at least with magnetic HDDs, it is known that some manufacturers kind of expected the USB port to deliver more power, and that some USB ports actually delivered it.

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#8

Alright, that sounds good! I was actually looking at this drive:

I also saw the Samsung T7 which comes with both wires, but it’s guarantee is somewhat shorter. I’m also seeing a lot of but but lifecycle counter regarding the Kingston’s 5 year one though.

Would either of these drives make sense to use with the Omnia? I’m still curious if there are any recommendations in this regard. I’m hoping that an SSD will be more reliable than the HDDs I’ve been using :slight_smile:

#9

I´m using Samsung T7 with notebooks, PC, Android tablet ans smartphone. No problem. Both cables are part of package (C to C + A to C).
I´ll test Omnia too in next days, hopefully tomorrow.

Michal

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#10

XS2000 is scam. We bought some to my job and the write speeds were maxing around 200 MB/s, nowhere near 2000 MB/s (tested thoroughly by different means and with different filesystems). We returned them for this reason and the reason was accepted.

Generally, I don’t know if substituting HDDs for SSDs is a good step regarding reliability. Probably the best thing you can do is connecting 2 drives and putting them in btrfs raid.

In terms of long-term storage, I would rather trust a proper NVMe drive than those portable ones. There are enclosures that convert NVMe to USB. If you’re lucky, there might even be dual disk enclosures (I know they’re available for SATA drives).

#11

Can you please recommend a proper usb A male to usb C female adapter as all the ones I’ve tested downgrade the connection

#12

Sure thing: FIXED redukce USB-C - USB-A 3.0, OTG, šedá | CZC.cz . I’ve personally tested it to deliver USB 3.0 speeds.

However, with all of the referenced drives, it’s not needed to use a C female. The drives do not have the cables fixed to them, so they have a C female connector. Therefore, to connect such drive to Omnia, a normal A male to C male cable is sufficient.

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#13

Just briefly tested my Samsung T7 Shield 4TB. Definitely USB3 (front USB port). Just shy 110 MB/s transfer rate (copy big file from T7 to PC).
PrintScr_Test T7_on_Turris

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#14

Testing copy to PC won’t do much good. It will be limited by the ethernet/wifi connection (in your case it seems limited by the Gbit ethernet). You should test copy from the drive to another drive connected in the router.

#15

Of course! But I promised [jschwart] to check and prove it. Nothing more - and nothing less. :slight_smile:

Michal

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