How to connect HDD to laptop?

Question

Hard disks

I welcome everyone!
I have an old computer with a broken video card. But it has a 1 TB sata HDD.
At first, I thought of making a file server out of it - for backup storage and all sorts of rubbish that does not fit on a laptop. (NAS is still expensive for occasional use).
Since the server may be unstable (and it will turn on periodically), I am considering another option for directly connecting the disk to the laptop using a docking station for the HDD (orico there or AgeStar).
I want to clarify a couple of questions who have come across such docking stations:

1. Can it work as an external HDD? The docking station comes with a CD with drivers. Will it work without them (like a flash drive)?
   
2. Can it be kept on all the time?
   
3. Since it's still USB, then there is a possibility of disconnection. In Windows, this, as I understand it, is just an external drive. But on Linux, you need to mount it in fstab. Will the system boot if the disk is disconnected?
   
4. Please advise any.
   

Thank you.