Gigabit Networking

[Guest]

So I have a question about gigabit networking.. I have a home network and everything on the network has gigabit connectivity, however when I transfer files to my NAS, I get 1.12 Mbps / sec tops. Transferring moves/music takes hours on end. All the cabling is not super long and they all test good. I understand that I won't get exactly 1 GB / sec speeds, but I was hoping for something a little faster than what I got. What could be hindering my network?

 

[gtvr]

What type of PC do you have - windows? Does it say the connection is running 1 1Gb?

I'd simplify my testing - see if you can do PC directly to NAS (without going through the switch), or get another PC to put on the network.

Does reading files from the nas take as long? How about your internet connection - if you have high speed internet, that should be faster than that - what speed do you get there?

 

[seacliff]

Transfer rate are a pain.
As you said, you have a 1GB connection, and going at 1.12Mbps (notice the difference with the B).
b=byte, B=bit
1bit=8Byte, so you need to divide 1GB to get Gb so 1GB/8 = 0.125Gb or 128Mb.

That is a theoric max cap, which is very possible you won't get. Length of cable, way the packets are transfered, speed of the equipment are just a few things that can lower the speed of transfers.

 

[gtvr]

"1bit=8Byte, so you need to divide 1GB to get Gb so 1GB/8 = 0.125Gb or 128Mb. "

You've got that backwards - 1Gb (1 billion bits) = 125MB (125 billion bytes). I'm ignoring the binary vs. decimal billions issue.

 

[seacliff]

"1bit=8Byte, so you need to divide 1GB to get Gb so 1GB/8 = 0.125Gb or 128Mb. "

You've got that backwards - 1Gb (1 billion bits) = 125MB (125 billion bytes). I'm ignoring the binary vs. decimal billions issue.

That's why I hate the english version of that.. I always mix those up At least in french, they're quite different

 

[Guest]

What type of PC do you have - windows? Does it say the connection is running 1 1Gb?

I'd simplify my testing - see if you can do PC directly to NAS (without going through the switch), or get another PC to put on the network.

Does reading files from the nas take as long? How about your internet connection - if you have high speed internet, that should be faster than that - what speed do you get there?

I run a core i5 system, win7 ultimate w/ a gigabit NIC.. It would be tough to go straight from the NAS to the PC because I have wired my home with cat5e. I have an ethernet cable plugged into the wall which goes to the switch, then to the router then to the nas.. all having gigabit connectivity.. reading the nas from my computer takes no time whatsoever... I have the drive mapped and it opens up immediately.. my internet connection is charter 25/5 which i only get 10 down/3 up..but the internet connection i dont think would slow connectivity between my pc and the NAS.

 

[gtvr]

Not that the internet connection was slowing things down, but just trying to see how broad the problem is. For example, if the nas was horribly slow, and the internet was horribly slow, maybe it's the wiring or the switch.

If your internet runs quickly up & down, and you can read quickly from the NAS, but write slowly to the NAS, I'd think it was something to look at the config of the NAS specifically. Maybe talk to the vendor, or look at their support website, and see what could be holding it back.

 

[Brian_tii]

Yeah... I'm with gtvr... I've seen some NAS boxes that didn't perform anywhere near the performance that I'd expect... I think it's just the NAS not living up to expectations for one reason or another. Also remember too that some protocols have more overhead than others. For example if you're transferring it using SCP (secure copy) it can be really processor intensive as all the traffic is encrypted on the wire. Also remember that typically these days Windows SMB filesharing is using encryption as well... and your NAS might not have a very beefy processor to handle it. Maybe try FTP or something without much overhead.

 

[stevegaron]

I run a core i5 system, win7 ultimate w/ a gigabit NIC.. It would be tough to go straight from the NAS to the PC because I have wired my home with cat5e. I have an ethernet cable plugged into the wall which goes to the switch, then to the router then to the nas.. all having gigabit connectivity.. reading the nas from my computer takes no time whatsoever... I have the drive mapped and it opens up immediately.. my internet connection is charter 25/5 which i only get 10 down/3 up..but the internet connection i dont think would slow connectivity between my pc and the NAS.

What speed are you getting when reading from the NAS? What brand and model of NAS is it? Have you tried a crossover cable to eliminate the switch and termination points?

 

[tkrl26]

You could open a share on another PC, try writing to a new share, and see what speeds you get. If you get 3x's the speed I would say its the NAS unit.