Daisychain the Pro 6

Buying a switch is the way to go.

No way of bridging the 2 ethernet ports at all?

is it possible to use the eSata or USB3 ports to connect two units to the same computer? i got a new one and want to double check the configuration against the older unit. also, it would be handy to have some of the data from one NAS to another without using a local hard drive as a go-between.

sorry to hijack your thread, but isn't the latter why you'd want to network two units together?

cheers,
-charlie

Not sure if a way could be made to hack it to do it, but even if so I wouldn't recommend it. It's not designed for it.

As for trying to use eSATA or USB3, the NAS is not a peripheral. The eSATA and USB3 ports are not for connecting the NAS to your computer.

The second network port can be used for bonding etc.

The reason why i want to daisychain two NASes is because I only have 1 ethernet port available :-)

Well a switch would solve that problem.

Mdgm, that's what I'm trying to avoid. :-)

A pieve of hardware that I don't need
an extra powersocket,
another power vampire,
and absolutely no advantage on the speed: I would still be limited by the 1Gbps uplink.

For an engineer, this is a big no-no

Has a matter of example, the SONOS gear has 2 ethernet ports. One for input...and the other is for the next ethernet. Internal 2-port hub, if you will. Very practical. Of course, a SONOS speaker is not a ReadyNAS Pro 6 ;-)

Ah, but it is actually a piece of hardware that you DO need.... and a switch is cheap, low-energy, and is the universally-recognized means to connect more than two devices together.

Also, you CAN team both NICs together on a Pro 6, so you are mistaken on the speed point too.

I'd also like to point out that your SONOS example given is actually a non-standard ethernet implementation, though I can see the benefit in that instance. Theres not a not of devices out there that have such an implementation.

A-ah! itsjasper.... if you band the two ethernet links, as you're suggesting, and connect them to the same switch, you will still have a 1gbps upload :-) And a mess on the buffers at the switch level ;)

My advice is to ignore the extra ethernet connection on the RN104. The platform isn't capable of generating/consuming more than one 1 gpbs anyway, so bonding isn't worth the trouble.

The pro is another matter, and if you have multiple simultaneous users you could consider using Bonding. Its best to use a switch that supports LACP in that case.

There are several devices that offer ethernet passthrough (many enterprise VOIP phones have it for example). These devices basically integrate a three port small hub (or switch) into them (one port being internal). Those switches/hub are designed to passthrough properly even if the device is turned off.

The NAS doesn't have a switch like that. You could try to turn it into a router, but it is a lot of work, and it would only work when the NAS is up and running. And routing will be slower than switching (perhaps not an issue with the Pro).

It won't really get you what you want, so you will need a switch (or run another cable back to your main router). As far as power sockets go, IMO you should the NAS connected to a UPS anyway, and the UPS would provide a power socket for the switch.