Networking - Slow NAS connection

[sync]

Probably the network interface on your PC is broken. I saw this several times. This is maybe caused by mechanical stress on the port and a connection is broken. Then it can't get the 4 pairs needed for 1Gb/s. 100Mb/s only need 2 pairs. Test it with another network card.

[akkarin]

Have you created the cables yourself? Try different cables if you haven't yet.

Whats the model and brand of the switch you are using?

[sync]

Have you created the cables yourself? Try different cables if you haven't yet.

Don't trust self made ethernet cables!

[free_electron]

never trust the switches in routers.
they are invariably crummy and when one port falls to slow speed the others typically follow.

Get a good mulitport ethernet switch. There is a lot of crap out there, even amongst brand names
Multiport switches are typically built around 5 lane ic's. an 8 port switch connects to 5-lane ic's together so you have 4 lanes of one ic and 4 lanes of the other.

Code: [Select]

   ic 1         ic 2
1234 [5]---|---[5] 4321
1234               5678    < outside ports

So there is a bottleneck ! blasting data from port 1 to 2 simultaneous with from port 5 to 6 has no impact.
send data from 1 to 5 and 2 to 6 and now the connection between the two chips needs to be share between two datastreams ! so your overall dataflow tumbles.

with 16 port siwtches it even gets worse ! they use one chip to feed 4 others. in certain combinations the internal backbone gets overloeaded and your throughput tumbles.

real switches employ a different topology and do not have this internal bakcbone bottleneck. I have a Dlink and a Trendnet at home that do not have this problem. i can pump data over the gigabit links simultaneously without the backbone ever slowing down.

2) The same goes for NAS devices. there is a lot of crap NAS boxes out there that keel over once you start loading them. These are invariably running some linux distro on an underpowered processor.

I have good experiences with the LG NAS boxes as well as the WD Mybook devices (turn off twonky on WD).

Stay away from those NAS boxes that have all kinds of 'servers' . DLNA, itunes, torrent clients and all the other crap. Especially boxes that use Twonkymedia are a disaster. Twonkymedia is one of the most unstable media servers out there. it can go easily in a deadlock trying to build or rebuild it's 'database'. It has a tendency to hog the NAS cpu and make the entire box slow. Disable that shit if it is on your NAS. a NAS should only be serving files through SMB.

3) DO NOT MAKE your own ethernet cables ! too many times it goes wrong. wrong pairs being used , improperly crimped and overall flackyness. you can run your own ethernet cables in the wall and terminate them with the proper wall jack if you use the correct punch down tool and follow the rules. i did this and used a fluke ethernet tester to verify all my loops. i had 3 out of 27 loops that were 'flaky' , cutting and re-setting the wires at the terminal blocks fixed that. on one it was a dead pair (no galvanic contact) , on another a wrongly wired pair (pairs flipped). the third had too much loss. i had left too much slack between pairs.

cutting the end and re-punching them in the contact blocks solved that.

ethernet needs to be done properly for it to work right.

[kripton2035]

never trust the switches in routers.
they are invariably crummy and when one port falls to slow speed the others typically follow.

I dont agree with that in the fact that this is a recent gigabit router...
I would agree if it has been a 100mbit not recent router.

[free_electron]

it may have physical gigait ports but that thoes not mean the router hardware/firmware can actually handle a gigabit datastream. the switch may be able to handle gigabit transfers , but to be able to actualy route a 1 gigabit link between the wan and lan ports requires serious hardware. A true gigabit capable router costs in the 200 to 300$ price range.

[kripton2035]

that's why I asked the OP to use a direct wire from the pc to the nas...

[edavid]

never trust the switches in routers.
they are invariably crummy and when one port falls to slow speed the others typically follow.

How is this possible, when they use the same switch ICs as switches?  I have tested plenty of crappy routers, and have never seen one where the switch didn't work.

Multiport switches are typically built around 5 lane ic's. an 8 port switch connects to 5-lane ic's together so you have 4 lanes of one ic and 4 lanes of the other.

Can you name a current product that is built this way?  It doesn't make sense since an 8 port chip is cheaper than 2 5 port chips.

[edavid]

it may have physical gigait ports but that thoes not mean the router hardware/firmware can actually handle a gigabit datastream. the switch may be able to handle gigabit transfers , but to be able to actualy route a 1 gigabit link between the wan and lan ports requires serious hardware. A true gigabit capable router costs in the 200 to 300$ price range.

Not relevant to the OP since he is just transferring files on his LAN...

[mrflibble]

Multiport switches are typically built around 5 lane ic's. an 8 port switch connects to 5-lane ic's together so you have 4 lanes of one ic and 4 lanes of the other.

Can you name a current product that is built this way?  It doesn't make sense since an 8 port chip is cheaper than 2 5 port chips.

My guess is this was a datapoint from somewhere in the previous decade.

Anyways, router and/or switch backplanes have zilch to do with the OP's problem. With a bit of luck it's just a dodgy cable, which is easy enough to fix: get a decent molded cable. Could be a crappy driver install, but who the hell knows. If you suspect that, you could grab a knoppix or debian/ubuntu/whatever image, and boot from usb stick. Or burned dvd if that's how you roll. Those will detect all mainstream network devices, and if the network card is okay you should now see the happy blinky led for gbit link. If so, then you have reduced it to windoze driver issues. If this also shows 100 mbit link, AND you are sure the cable is okay then you probably have a dodgy realtek. In that case get a decent intel gbit nic (usually free with a packet of cornflakes) and you should be good to go.

[Shock]

Always test large files, around a gig is a good test (remember it may cache).
If you have a modern OS it should show link speed (in hardware and software) of at least the lowest hardware speed present.
Expect about 40 MB/s (megabytes per second) for gigabit connections (adjust upwards for disk speed).

Use the process of elimination.
Make a network share on another PC and try.
Replace the cable and try.
Bypass the router and try.
Update the drivers (the real vendor ones) and network card (or bios) firmware and try (you will be surprised).
If it's not that it's configuration or software.
Fixed.

[David_AVD]

Definitely check the Ethernet cables, especially if you made them yourself.  A broken wire or split pairs will definitely cause speed / reliability issues.