I have a READYNAS 104, it's been working fine for me for my home office, with a pair of twin drives running in RAID. (I've actually just bought a used 106 that I haven't yet set up, as I decided to add a couple more drives, but I'm guessing the functionality is identical?)However, I noticed there were two LAN cables on the back, and wondered if I could better use the connections for faster transfer? If I ran two network cables to my switch, how would I connect my PC. with the same speed? What extra cards etc would I need. Or is there little to be gained? I seem to remember from my research when I first set this up years ago, that USB connection to the PC won't work? Or am I wrong?

b3nb_123 wrote: (I've actually just bought a used 106 that I haven't yet set up No such model, so you should look into that further. 6-bay OS-6 NAS models include the RN316 RN426 RN516 RN526 RN626 There are some 6-bay 4.2.x ReadyNAS also Ultra 6 Ultra 6 Plus Pro 6 These units can be converted to OS-6 (but some other 4.2.x cannot be, so it is good to confirm the model). b3nb_123 wrote: Or is there little to be gained? There is little to be gained in almost all home situations - especially with the RN100 series, which is limited by its CPU and memory - generally not the network. What transfer speeds are you seeing? (Best to look at this during a large file transfer - a couple gigabytes). Typical speed for an RN104 is 60-70 megabytes/second. Your 6-bay NAS should be faster (around 100 megabytes/second). b3nb_123 wrote: I seem to remember from my research when I first set this up years ago, that USB connection to the PC won't work? Or am I wrong? Correct. The USB connection is for a UPS, or for external USB drives (for instance for backup). It won't work if you try to connect it directly to a PC.

Sorry, RN31662D - That was me lazily replacing the 4 for a 6!!!!

b3nb_123 wrote: RN31662D The RN316 bit is what matters. The 62D at the end means that Netgear supplied six 2 TB desktop-class drives with the system. I recommend testing the NAS by installing a spare disk, and use that to make sure all 6 bays are functioning. Power down the NAS, shift the disk to the next bay, then power up, and make sure it boots. While you are at it, update the firmware. https://kb.netgear.com/000065170/ReadyNAS-OS-6-Software-Version-6-10-8 You can directly migrate your disks to the RN316: You do want to match the firmware (easiest to update both NAS to the latest). If the RN104 firmware is old, make sure you install the recommended intermediate firmware as you upgrade. Uninstall any apps on the RN104 before you migrate Power down both NAS, and move the disks (preserving slot order). Reinstall any apps you still want to use. If you have no backup plan in place for your NAS, you could also repurpose the RN104 as a backup NAS, and get new disks for the RN316.

Thanks Stephen, that is a most helpful post 👍As it's a slightly daunting task, I'm going to wait until my workload is sufficient then do all you suggested. So I may go quiet, and then come back to this post next week when I can really tackle it.I hope I can update the firmware on the 104 - for some reason it's had a failure updating the antivirus ever since I've had it!

b3nb_123 wrote: I hope I can update the firmware on the 104 - for some reason it's had a failure updating the antivirus ever since I've had it! That's a sign that your firmware is outdated. Netgear dropped the AV service on the RN100 series some time ago, as that model no longer has enough memory to run the software. Again, be careful to follow the instructions in the link - there likely are a couple of intermediate firmware versions you will need to install before you can jump to 6.10.8.

Fastest Transfer setup - twin LAN cables or USB?

35 Replies

StephenB
Guru
Nov 30, 2022
b3nb_123 wrote:

(I've actually just bought a used 106 that I haven't yet set up

No such model, so you should look into that further.

6-bay OS-6 NAS models include the

RN316

RN426

RN516

RN526

RN626

There are some 6-bay 4.2.x ReadyNAS also

Ultra 6

Ultra 6 Plus

Pro 6

These units can be converted to OS-6 (but some other 4.2.x cannot be, so it is good to confirm the model).

b3nb_123 wrote:

Or is there little to be gained?

There is little to be gained in almost all home situations - especially with the RN100 series, which is limited by its CPU and memory - generally not the network.

What transfer speeds are you seeing? (Best to look at this during a large file transfer - a couple gigabytes).

Typical speed for an RN104 is 60-70 megabytes/second. Your 6-bay NAS should be faster (around 100 megabytes/second).

b3nb_123 wrote:

I seem to remember from my research when I first set this up years ago, that USB connection to the PC won't work? Or am I wrong?

Correct. The USB connection is for a UPS, or for external USB drives (for instance for backup). It won't work if you try to connect it directly to a PC.
- b3nb_123
  Aspirant
  Nov 30, 2022
  Sorry, RN31662D - That was me lazily replacing the 4 for a 6!!!!
  - StephenB
    Guru
    Nov 30, 2022
    b3nb_123 wrote:
    
    RN31662D
    
    The RN316 bit is what matters. The 62D at the end means that Netgear supplied six 2 TB desktop-class drives with the system.
    
    I recommend testing the NAS by installing a spare disk, and use that to make sure all 6 bays are functioning. Power down the NAS, shift the disk to the next bay, then power up, and make sure it boots.
    
    While you are at it, update the firmware.
    
    https://kb.netgear.com/000065170/ReadyNAS-OS-6-Software-Version-6-10-8
    
    You can directly migrate your disks to the RN316:
    
    You do want to match the firmware (easiest to update both NAS to the latest). If the RN104 firmware is old, make sure you install the recommended intermediate firmware as you upgrade.
    
    Uninstall any apps on the RN104 before you migrate
    
    Power down both NAS, and move the disks (preserving slot order).
    
    Reinstall any apps you still want to use.
    
    If you have no backup plan in place for your NAS, you could also repurpose the RN104 as a backup NAS, and get new disks for the RN316.

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Fastest Transfer setup - twin LAN cables or USB?

35 Replies

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