Hi all,I am looking to see if it is possible to connect my MacBook Pro directly to my ReadyNAS Ultra 6 which would allow me to transfer TB's of files quickly rather than going through the network. I would have a larger drive station connected directly to my Mac so basically transferring from NAS to large external Hard Drive via my MacBook Pro. Any help would be greatly appreciated as always. RegardsN

niallryan wrote: I am looking to see if it is possible to connect my MacBook Pro directly to my ReadyNAS Ultra 6 which would allow me to transfer TB's of files quickly rather than going through the network. The only way to connect to the Ultra is using ethernet. It is possible to set up a direct connection to the MacBook using one of the two ethernet ports on the MacBook. But it won't be any faster, so IMO not worth the trouble. What speeds are you seeing for large file transfers? I don't own this model, but I think large-file transfer speeds should be in the 60-70 MB/s range.

StephenB Many thanks for coming back to me. Unfortunately if I was getting even half that I would be over the moon.Currently getting around 5mb/s as the network is a busy network with everyone of the family on the network, hence why I was hoping to take the NAS off the network and have it directly connected to the MBP and transfer to the larger disk. RegardsN

niallryan wrote: Many thanks for coming back to me. Unfortunately if I was getting even half that I would be over the moon. Currently getting around 5mb/s as the network is a busy network with everyone of the family on the network, hence why I was hoping to take the NAS off the network and have it directly connected to the MBP and transfer to the larger disk. Can you explain your network setup? Is the Macbook connected using wifi or ethernet? Is the only device that uses the NAS the MacBook? Other PCs, phones/tablets (perhaps using DLNA)?

StephenB Many thanks again for the reply. My network !! I shall try, lolI have my 4 netgear NAS's in a room at the end of the garden connected to a tp-link gigabit 16-port switch. I access the NAS either on my Mac mini (M2) via ethernet in my office in the house which is connected to another 16 port gigabit switch or I use my MBP laptop using wifi to connect.I use either or to connect to the NAS'sI also have some video, music files on the NAS's to which family would connect using devices to watch these all the time.So there would be traffic on the network as I also have HomeKit running throughout the house with HomePods in every room and apple tv's etc etc (Just giving you a small picture of the usage and setup.) Everything is automated including the security cameras and other sensors.Overall there are 2 x 16 port gigabit switches, 3 x 8-port gigabit switches, 2 x 5-port gigabit switches, 6 hubs and the router and using 1gb fibre broadband. Mostly Cat5 cable but there are now some cat6 cabling slowly installing.Hope this helps. I have also found articles about 'rclone' which may be something I could use to transfer and believe it can be installed on the readynas but unsure where it gets installed.RegardsN

niallryan wrote: I have my 4 netgear NAS's in a room at the end of the garden connected to a tp-link gigabit 16-port switch. I access the NAS either on my Mac mini (M2) via ethernet in my office in the house which is connected to another 16 port gigabit switch or I use my MBP laptop using wifi to connect.Overall there are 2 x 16 port gigabit switches, 3 x 8-port gigabit switches, 2 x 5-port gigabit switches, 6 hubs and the router and using 1gb fibre broadband. Mostly Cat5 cable but there are now some cat6 cabling slowly installing. Let's start with the ethernet. Most modern gigabit switches are non-blocking. That means that the switching backplane inside the switch is sized so it can deliver 1 gpbs full duplex on every port simultaneously. That suggests that the likely bottlenecks are the cat5 cables and the "hubs". Pure cat-5 cable is rated at 100 mbps ("fast ethernet" and not gigabit. A short patch cable might be able to carry 1 gigabit - it depends on how the cable is constructed. Cat-5e can carry gigabit. So my first suggestion is to double-check the cat-5 cables, and see which ones are actually Cat-5e. Expedite replacing the pure cat-5 cables, particularly ones the run in between switches, and on the path between the ReadyNAS systems and the Macbook. Can you give more detail on the "hubs" - manufacturer/model, and why you need them? Ethernet hubs will certainly degrade your network performance, so if that is what they are you should remove them (replacing them with switches if you need the ports). If they are creating a wifi mesh network, then of course that is a different story. In your case the connection between the switches is also gigabit, so the total bandwidth between your switches is limited to 1 gigabit in each direction. That limitation doesn't explain your slow network speeds. But you might get somewhat better performance if you were able to reduce the number of switches. Just something to consider for the future (after you deal with the cat5 and perhaps the hubs). niallryan wrote: Overall there are 2 x 16 port gigabit switches, 3 x 8-port gigabit switches, 2 x 5-port gigabit switches, 6 hubs and the router and using 1gb fibre broadband. Mostly Cat5 cable but there are now some cat6 cabling slowly installing. So the router is the only wifi access point? niallryan wrote: Hope this helps. I have also found articles about 'rclone' which may be something I could use to transfer and believe it can be installed on the readynas but unsure where it gets installed. I don't see how rclone would help your situation. One reason is that I believe MacBooks already have rsync installed, so you could just use that. But the bigger reason is that neither will give you significantly faster transfer speeds.

Can I connect directly my MacBook Pro to NAS

14 Replies

StephenB
Guru
Jul 16, 2024
niallryan wrote:

I am looking to see if it is possible to connect my MacBook Pro directly to my ReadyNAS Ultra 6 which would allow me to transfer TB's of files quickly rather than going through the network.

The only way to connect to the Ultra is using ethernet. It is possible to set up a direct connection to the MacBook using one of the two ethernet ports on the MacBook. But it won't be any faster, so IMO not worth the trouble.

What speeds are you seeing for large file transfers? I don't own this model, but I think large-file transfer speeds should be in the 60-70 MB/s range.
- niallryan
  Guide
  Jul 16, 2024
  StephenB
  
  Many thanks for coming back to me. Unfortunately if I was getting even half that I would be over the moon.
  Currently getting around 5mb/s as the network is a busy network with everyone of the family on the network, hence why I was hoping to take the NAS off the network and have it directly connected to the MBP and transfer to the larger disk.
  
  Regards
  N
  - StephenB
    Guru
    Jul 16, 2024
    niallryan wrote:
    
    Many thanks for coming back to me. Unfortunately if I was getting even half that I would be over the moon.
    
    Currently getting around 5mb/s as the network is a busy network with everyone of the family on the network, hence why I was hoping to take the NAS off the network and have it directly connected to the MBP and transfer to the larger disk.
    
    Can you explain your network setup?
    
    Is the Macbook connected using wifi or ethernet?
    
    Is the only device that uses the NAS the MacBook? Other PCs, phones/tablets (perhaps using DLNA)?
saudade
Luminary
Jul 18, 2024
My apologies for butting in...

Is this a "one time" deal or will you need to do this on a recurring basis?

If the destination is the USB drive, why not connect it to the NAS USB Port and run a backup job (or several) right to the USB? Even if it's only a 2.0 port, it won't incur any network traffic, won't tie up your Macbook and keep a log. Yes, it may take a while but it's another alternative.

Am I missing something here?
- StephenB
  Guru
  Jul 18, 2024
  saudade wrote:
  
  Is this a "one time" deal or will you need to do this on a recurring basis?
  
  If the destination is the USB drive, why not connect it to the NAS USB Port and run a backup job (or several) right to the USB?
  
  Another option (whether one-time or recurring) is to move the NAS to the MacBook location, and connect the NAS and the MacBook to the home network with a gigabit switch. The traffic between the NAS and the MacBook will only go through the switch, so it would avoid whatever congestion points are on the home network.
  
  But if niallryan is seeing 5 mbps large file transfer speeds on his ethernet, then there is something wrong with the ethernet fabric that really should be fixed.
  
  5 mpbs on wifi might just be a range issue, in which case deploying a mesh (or traditional APs) would be needed.
  - niallryan
    Guide
    Jul 19, 2024
    StephenB
    
    Agreed on the bigger picture that I definitely need to check all cabling afaik there is a mixture of Cat5 and Cat6e all over the house. Also the NAS's are all stored in the games room at the end of the garden which is approx. 20 - 30 meters away from the house. I do have an outdoor cable (Cat 6e) running from the router in the house to the 16 port switch in the games room. There is also an outdoor cable running under ground from the games room to the house (this was the original cabling when the games room was being built) and I believe this is Cat5/5e - so I shall investigate to ensure that that cable is not connected to anything on the network otherwise that would be a conflict straight off.
    
    A lot of the cables are cat 5e which are running form switches to hubs and devices where necessary.
    
    The hubs are actual 3rd party hubs for HomeKit eg, a hub for the central heating, 2 hubs for the security cameras, 2 hubs for the hue lighting, a hub for all my lights and sockets (Lightwaverf) - all necessary I'm afraid.
    
    The only hiccup I do have is that the wifi in the games room is not part of the wifi mesh. The games room wifi runs from an Apple AirPort Express which is wired to the switch in the games room. I do plan on getting another Deco to replace that at some stage.
    
    I appreciate all the help being received all round.
    
    Regards
    N
- niallryan
  Guide
  Jul 19, 2024
  saudade
  
  Hi there and no problem in joining in. This would be a one off as I am transferring all data from all 4 x ReadyNAS's to a single Disk Station which has 3 x 24tb hdd's (I may have falling short on the explanation - apologies).
  
  Regards
  N

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Can I connect directly my MacBook Pro to NAS

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