I'm new to this posting thing, so I hope I'm doing it right! I recently bought a NAS that has two Ethernet ports, each supporting 2.5 Gbps. I initially connected it directly to my router along with my computer using CAT7 cables, but noticed that my transfer speeds were capped at 1 Gbps. After some investigation, I learned my router limits speeds to 1 Gbps. So, I upgraded to a 2.5 Gbps switch, connecting both devices to it. While my computer shows the connection as 2500 Mbps, the file transfers to the NAS still seem limited to 1 Gbps. Does this mean the router is still affecting my speeds? I thought the switch would allow for higher speeds locally between my NAS and computer. I know the switch won't increase my internet speed, just looking for some insight on local transfer speeds. I appreciate any help!
6 Answers
It's important to know that just having a higher speed network doesn't automatically guarantee faster transfer rates. The NAS isn't inherently fast just because it has 2.5 Gbps ports. To utilize that speed, you might need to set up multiple drives in a way that takes advantage of it. Like, if you're running RAID, you'll need enough disks to really saturate that connection, or switch to SSDs if there are mechanical drives involved.
Yeah, RAID setups can help, but without enough parallel drives, you won't get those speeds.
Just to clarify, a switch won’t magically boost speeds; it’s about the slowest point in your network. But since you’ve recognized your router is capped at 1 Gbps, the main question is, are both your NAS and motherboard actually capable of 2.5 Gbps? The router shouldn’t interfere with traffic between the NAS and PC if they're both plugged into the switch.
Yeah, the mobo and NAS are both rated for 2.5 Gbps. The router really only slows things down in this case.
Got it. So as long as the computer and NAS see each other at high speeds, the router shouldn’t matter.
Make sure to check the LED indicators on your switch's ports. They'll often change color based on the speed connection. If your NAS and computer ports indicate that they're connected at 2.5 Gbps, then it sounds like the switch is functioning correctly, and the router isn't involved in these transfers.
Right! I checked, and my NAS and PC lights showed 2.5 Gbps while the router connection was lower, so it seems good.
Awesome, that's a great sign! It means you should be able to get those higher speeds.
Thanks, everyone! I did more checks based on your replies and it turns out there wasn’t really an issue. My NAS and computer do indeed see 2.5 Gbps connections, and transfers happen directly between them through the switch. The slower speeds were due to the read limitations of the HDD when copying from an SSD to the NAS, which I was able to verify with some different tests. Cheers for the help!
What kind of drives do you have in your NAS? Sometimes, if you're using HDDs, they can limit your speed due to their nature. SSDs would definitely give better transfer rates, especially under load.
I've got one SSD and one HDD. Even with that combo, HDDs usually cap out lower.
So it sounds like your speeds were affected by the HDD, not the network setup.
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To clarify, transfers shouldn't go through the router if everything's set correctly. Just ensure your switch is working properly!
That's a good point! Just one SATA connection usually caps around 600 MB/s. If you're transferring from HDD to HDD, you might hit those limits.