Thanks, I didn’t realize the enterprise DASs could be locked down to certain drive models. That would definitely be a non-starter.

I was recently pulling my hair out because a recent update caused a bug in the Windows recovery media creator that prevented the Windows RE from recognizing USB input devices. The few weeks between the faulty update and the fix just happened to coincide with me needing to use it.

WTF are they doing messing with something as basic as the Recovery Environment? And further, in a way that breaks its utility entirely?

The only thing to watch out for using a laptop that is plugged in 24x7 is the battery. Battery management systems are generally pretty good, but Li-ion batteries can fail catastrophically. As long as you make a point to check on it periodically it’s probably fine.

I’m using an old laptop as a local interface for my network setup, since its in my basement, and I actually pulled the battery out entirely since I have a beefy UPS powering everything. Paranoid, maybe, but a Li-ion battery sitting on top of my equipment rack could do a ton of damage if it were to fail someday.