Unfortunately, USB drives are not typically designed for the high write endurance required in a video surveillance environment. However, there are a few options that may be suitable for your needs:
Sandisk Extreme Pro: Sandisk Extreme Pro USB drives are known for their high write endurance and reliability. They come in capacities up to 2TB and they have a long warranty period of 3 years.
Kingston DataTraveler: Kingston DataTraveler USB drives are also known for their high write endurance and reliability. They come in capacities up to 2TB and they have a long warranty period of 5 years.
Adata SD600: Adata SD600 USB drives are specifically designed for industrial and surveillance use, they have high write endurance and reliability. They come in capacities up to 1TB and they have a long warranty period of 3 years.
It's worth noting that USB drives, especially consumer-grade ones, are not built to withstand the constant write cycles and high temperatures that are typical in a video surveillance environment. They also have lower TBW (Terabytes Written) ratings than enterprise-grade hard drives, and may have a shorter lifespan. If possible, you should consider using enterprise-grade hard drives or SSDs, with a USB to SATA adapter, which are designed for heavy use and have higher endurance.
To avoid potential issues, it's important to use a USB to SATA adapter from a reputable manufacturer when using a SATA drive with a TetherBox, as some adapters may cause the drive to misreport failures or freeze.
Note: Some adapters/enclosures have a power button and need to be manually switched on after a power cut, we recommend avoiding such enclosures.
A few examples of such drives include:
Western Digital Gold: Western Digital Gold drives are specifically designed for use in data centers and they are known for their high write endurance, reliability and high performance. They come in capacities up to 14TB and they have a long warranty period of 5 years.
Seagate Exos: Seagate Exos drives are also specifically designed for use in data centers and they are known for their high write endurance and reliability. They come in capacities up to 16TB and they have a long warranty period of 5 years.
HGST Ultrastar: HGST Ultrastar drives are specifically designed for use in data centers and they are known for their high write endurance and reliability. They come in capacities up to 14TB and they have a long warranty period of 5 years.
Patriot Elite / ADATA SU800 / Crucial MX500: If you prefer an SSD drive, these are good options. They are suitable for a video surveillance environment as they have high write endurance and high storage capacity. They come in capacities up to 2TB and they have a long warranty period of either 5 years or a comparatively high TBW (Terabytes Written).
It's important to keep in mind that these are just a few examples of reliable drives that are suitable for video surveillance environment, and you should research and compare different options to find the one that best suits your needs.
Using an unsuitable USB drive in a video surveillance environment, such as a consumer-grade drive, can lead to data loss and potential system malfunctions. This is because USB drives work by interrupting the CPU, which can cause the system to hang or wait for further instructions. This is not unique to a TetherBox, but is a core function of USB. In enterprise environments, USB ports are often disabled to prevent malicious or malfunctioning USB devices from causing system failures in mission-critical servers. It's important to use USB drives that are specifically designed for industrial and surveillance use, as they have high write endurance and reliability to handle the constant writing of video footage.
You may also consider network attached storage instead of using USB to avoid the inherit risks of using USB. Some examples of such devices include:
QNAP TVS-872XT: This is a high-performance NAS that is specifically designed for video surveillance. It has 8 drive bays and supports up to 40TB of storage. It also has a built-in 10Gbe port for high-speed data transfer and supports NFS.
Asustor AS6208T: This is a high-performance NAS that has 8 drive bays and supports up to 40TB of storage. It also has a built-in 10Gbe port for high-speed data transfer and supports NFS.
Thecus N2810: This is a high-performance NAS that has 2 drive bays and supports up to 20TB of storage. It also has a built-in Gigabit Ethernet port for high-speed data transfer and supports NFS.
It's important to keep in mind that these are just a few examples of NAS options that may be suitable for video surveillance applications and support NFS, which the TetherBox uses to communicate with the NAS. You should research and compare different options to find the one that best suits your needs.
Regardless of the external storage option you choose, it could be worth exploring the TetherX cloud backup option to ensure your data is securely backed up off-site.