WD SLC SD cards out of stock - alternatives

[galfert]

This is a cross site post:
https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=41561.0

Out of all of the supported SLC SD cards the WD SDSDQED model (in various storage capacity sizes) seems to be the best option based on price for any given size and also among the best in speed performance. Unfortunately it seems that the 8 GB and 16 GB sizes are out of stock from both Mouser and Arrow. I don't know of any other places to order these. The backorder indicates several months until inventory is replenished (May 2021).
UPDATE: now Mouser is saying June 2021.

I'm starting this thread so that we can share alternative 2nd best options that users may find. I feel that 16 GB is the optimum size if 1 minute data logging is to be turned on. If you are not doing 1 minute data logging then a smaller size would be okay. Therefore the focus I think is in finding the best 16 GB size.

For now instead of waiting months if you really want the WD, then you could just pay more and get the 32 GB size which is showing plenty of stock. The WD 32 GB size is model SDSDQED-032G-XI.

Another possible option is to get the 16 GB size from Greenliant model GLS93MP016G1-I-BZ801, but that is almost the cost of the WD 32 GB. There is an 8 GB size for the Greenliant also but again we are focusing on 16 GB for fair amount of 1 minute data logging capability. At least these are some alternative options.

By the way both Mouser and Arrow ship world wide. There is no reason to complain that you can't find the SLC SD cards locally. Interestingly I was helping a user in Europe place an order when the WD 16 GB was still in stock and even though it was priced higher it had lower shipping cost than opting for the 8 GB size and the entire order ended up being less for the 16 GB than if they had ordered the 8 GB.

Another solution is to just temporarily use any SD card, although do realize that the Meteobridge will detect if you are not running a supported SLC SD card and it will disable the data logging capability. Therefore if you opt to use any regular SD card you will only be able to upload data and not use any of the extra features that require data logging. With a regular SD card it will basically operate like a Meteobridge on TP-Link hardware.

You can wait or order an alternative. These WD cards have only recently hit the market in late 2020 and their price point per size compared to other SLC brands is impressive, which I feel has proven to have been a popular option and their supply has been depleted because of obvious demand for these.

If anyone locates any other options that they feel is worthy of mention please share. I also want to say that I stand 100% behind the decision to enforce the use of SLC SD cards. There are still several SLC SD card options available. The decision to only support SLC SD cards was made before the existence of these new wonderful WD cards. Therefore the current situation is not at a point of despair. If you come here to gripe, nobody is going to care, so don't.

The complete list of supported SLC SD cards is available from this link:
https://www.meteobridge.com/wiki/index. ... B.2B.2C_4B

[admin]

There really seems to be a shortage. You can check availability of microSD SLC cards at mouser.de with this link: https://www.mouser.de/Embedded-Solution ... ricing%7c0

As I don't want to block anyone using Meteobridge on RPI by no SLC card being available, there is a backdoor to use any SD card.
When you browse to the following link, Meteobridge will accept the inserted microSD card on next reboot.

Code: Select all

http://ip-of-your-meteobridge/cgi-bin/system.cgi?touch%20/root/anysdcard

I strongly recommend to use this as a temporary solution only as my experience is that non-SLC cards will not last long. However, I hope this helps you to get things rolling despite the current card shortages.

[galfert]

Oh wow I never thought that this secret tip (hidden in /root/start.sh) would come out from admin.
Sometimes it pays to poke around

Now I don't have to feel apprehensive for having selectively shared that secret tip with a couple friends. But I strongly advised them to replace the SD card for an SLC type as soon as possible. It is just not worth the risk to continue without an SLC SD card.

[admin]

Oh wow I never thought that this secret tip (hidden in /root/start.sh) would come out from admin.
Sometimes it pays to poke around

Now I don't have to feel apprehensive for having selectively shared that secret tip with a couple friends. But I strongly advised them to replace the SD card for an SLC type as soon as possible. It is just not worth the risk to continue without an SLC SD card.

I assumed that someone inspecting the start script will find it anyway. Thanks for not sharing in public before. All this SLC card enforcement is not meant to frustrate users but to give them a smooth ride. However, when cards run out of supply I feel the need to relax on the general policy.

[Gyvate]

with a MB Pro you have the choice to select an external USB device for the database ... - if that option were available for the RPi, where the USB device could be an external SSD, it could provide a safer transition time.

btw - Mouser have indicated the earliest delivery of the WD 16GB SLC microSD for June 2021.

[galfert]

One key difference though with the Meteobridge PRO is that when you opt to use an external USB for the database the internal USB is SLC for the OS and Meteobridge software. Therefore just putting the database on USB SSD is only addressing half of the problem.

My suggestion is that perhaps USB SSD boot with no SD card be an option. Then everything is on an SSD. Both the Raspberry Pi 3 and 4 support USB booting. The 4 has the capability out of the box, but the 3 needs a one time programmable bit set and then you can USB boot. Simple to do with Raspberry Pi OS image on SD and then you can run other operating systems after this one time setting. Many Raspberry Pi projects have learned the lesson of relying on poor quality SD cards and booting using USB SSD enclosures is becoming very popular. M.2 NVMe SSD drives are faster and reliable.

Details on Pi 3 changes to boot from USB:
https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentati ... des/msd.md

But the big question now is.... Will Meteobridge RPI image boot via USB and will it be supported?

[galfert]

Well I tried a MB RPI image on USB SSD with a spare Raspberry Pi 4 and it seems do something based on the LED lights, but it never pulled a DHCP address even though the Ethernet LEDs are blinking and the Pi power LED seems to indicate that it started. So something started...I just can't get to it. MagicIP address doesn't work. My DHCP server shows no DHCP address given out to its MAC address. I did see the USB SSD enclosure LED blink a good bit during boot. More testing needed.

I tested copying the MB image with both balenaEtcher and the Raspberry Pi Imager software, and neither worked. I think that the MB image does not support booting from USB. Perhaps this could be a feature request.

[Gyvate]

One key difference though with the Meteobridge PRO is that when you opt to use an external USB for the database the internal USB is SLC for the OS and Meteobridge software. Therefore just putting the database on USB SSD is only addressing half of the problem.

......

I'd say 75%-80%, because the majority of I/O operations is on/with the database.
The little log writing activity is almost negligible.
Make a test: list all the files in all directories [ls -l] (there are not sooo many) and copy the output - and then do the same one hour later and two hours later - and then look at the time stamps which files have changed. Very few. Afaik MB loads what it needs into the RAM, so there is little OS or MB disk activity beyond DB read/writes.

During your tests connect the RPi4 HDMI-1 interface to a monitor, then you can see what's all going on.
Also seeing what all happens during start-up when using the SD card is pretty insightful.

[Car54]

For a mere $300

https://www.amazon.com/INNODISK-DC1M-16 ... 044&sr=8-4

[galfert]

For a mere $300

https://www.amazon.com/INNODISK-DC1M-16 ... 044&sr=8-4

I don't see how that is relevant. The link provided is to antiquated and incompatible Compact Flash storage technology. Was that just supposed to be funny? I'm sure that all compact flash were SLC because I don't think they invented multi-level cell technology well into the existence of SD cards. The very first SD cards were all SLC also...but they were costly and small in size because of this.

[galfert]

During your tests connect the RPi4 HDMI-1 interface to a monitor, then you can see what's all going on.
Also seeing what all happens during start-up when using the SD card is pretty insightful.

Okay I'll have to try adding an HDMI monitor. The thought hadn't occurred because all my Raspberry Pi projects run headless (except RetroPie) and I also thought that OpenWRT might not support a monitor being that it was designed as a router OS. At one point I asked Boris if the MB RPI could be expanded to support a small LCD or OLED display like on the MB PRO an he said that OpenWRT doesn't have this support and that it would likely take a lot of effort to make it work. I still think that it would be neat to have a MB RPI with a small LCD display that is perhaps even nicer than what the MB PRO has....but at minimum I thought it would be neat if it supported the exact same functionality as on the MB PRO.