Setup for an external NVME drive which will be used as a device to boot from during emergencies or other situations.
Idea / Concept
During university and personal research, I often needed specific Linux distributions or systems for various tasks. This required creating numerous bootable USB drives, which was quite cumbersome. Later, I discovered Ventoy and used it to create a USB drive with multiple ISOs on it. However, USB thumb drives are often flimsy, and I tend to misplace or break them, so a more robust solution was needed.
I faced the same issue at work, needing specific Linux tools on a Windows machine. This project can also be considered a proof of concept for something I will use at work.
The goal was to have a more robust external drive with better reliability and larger capacity.
User Story
I need to be able to boot into different systems and save files in a different encrypted partition. These systems include Linux systems for network analysis, penetration testing, rescue and test systems, but also Windows installation mediums to restore broken installations. The storage partition doesnt need to be windows compatible, as i mostly use Linux. If i do need to mount it on a Windows machine, i will use WSL. I will also create custom live images to boot from and have a live environment to work from. The drive or case should also feature a write lock.
Setup
Hardware
The following hardware components were used:
| Component | Name | Price |
|---|---|---|
| SSD | Lexar NM790 1TB | 80,97 € |
| Enclosure | Icy Box IB-1817M-C31 | 29,75 € |
| 110,72 € |
Conclusion
The hardware i chose works excellent. There have not been any issues with it. I will update this section as soon as this conclusion changes.
Idea: In the future i would like to try and use a hardware encrypted NVME SSD. Although im not sure if it would break the booting using Ventoy.
Partitions
The following partitions were created and set up:
| Partition | Usage |
|---|---|
| 1 | Storage for ISOs |
| 2 | Storage for files and persistent data |
| 3 | Storage for emergency tools and files |
Conclusion
The described setup works great, i havent had any issues or hit any limits yet.
Software
Partition 1 was setup using Ventoy. By using Ventoy, I only need to copy the ISO file onto the partition to boot from it.
The second partition is an encrypted filesystem.
The third and final partition is designated for emergency tools and files. It holds multiple text files and exes.