Loaded RN424 with new drives, everything is resynced and ready to be loaded up. Need to copy 10TB from RN528 to RN424. Limited by RN424 1GbE link. Observing an max of about 100MB/s over Windows 11 using Windows Explorer, close to the link capability. Sometimes Win 11 Explorer file copy slows to a crawl, mainly dependent on file size. I’ve read that Windows file copy is inherently slow and shouldn’t be used for large transfers. What’s a better/faster method? I’m not necessarily in any hurry, but if I can shorten the process then I’d like to know how. There are programs out there like FastCopy, et al,… wondering if these are really any faster. Also wondering whether running ReadyNAS backup on the target NAS using RSYNC would be faster.

jimk1963 wrote: Also wondering whether running ReadyNAS backup on the target NAS using RSYNC would be faster. An rsync backup job could be faster, since it isn't piping all the data from RN528->PC, and then PC->RN524. More importantly, it would be more robust (less likely to miss something). FWIW, I always use rsync for large NAS->NAS transfers. I set up rsync backup jobs for each share. I start with the smallest share (just to confirm that I didn't accidentally make a mistake in the settings).

I have a similar schedule with my two backups -- alternate days for each. For maintenance tasks, I simply schedule them for two days in a row, as it will only be on on one of them. That can occasionally cause a skip if the two days include Sunday, but that's OK with me. If I notice it was skipped, I can always kick if off manually. You could avoid that with a scrub by scheduling for three days if your volume is large enough that a scrub normally takes at least that long.

jimk1963 wrote: Found at least one problem - even though Rsync is enabled on the Main NAS under System/Settings, Rsync is not enabled on a per-share basis. Looking at each share's settings individually, only Pictures has Rsync enabled under Network Settings. So that's why I'm only seeing the Pictures folder. Is rsync working for you now? My backup job settings are shown in post 4 here: https://community.netgear.com/t5/New-ReadyNAS-Users-General/Remote-access-ReadyNAS-214/m-p/2352429#M52996

jimk1963 wrote: - Bit Rot Protection - Auto-Defrag Personally I don't think auto-defrag is all that important. But I do schedule defrag every 4 months in the NAS maintenance schedule. I do enable bit rot protection. It does two things - turning on btrfs checksums for the share, and enabling Netgear's added software that attempts to repair files with bad checksums. When you turn it on, the system will store checksums for files added to the share, but it doesn't go back and create checksums for files already in the share.

Days of the week are on the right and hour of the day are on the bottom. You've scheduled snapshots for once every day, at 11pm. Which boxes are blue is completely editable, assuming you've set up custom snapshots, so I'm not sure what your question is.

File copy from RN528 to RN424 - which method is fastest?

41 Replies

StephenB
Guru
Jan 02, 2024
jimk1963 wrote:

Also wondering whether running ReadyNAS backup on the target NAS using RSYNC would be faster.

An rsync backup job could be faster, since it isn't piping all the data from RN528->PC, and then PC->RN524. More importantly, it would be more robust (less likely to miss something).

FWIW, I always use rsync for large NAS->NAS transfers. I set up rsync backup jobs for each share. I start with the smallest share (just to confirm that I didn't accidentally make a mistake in the settings).
- jimk1963
  Luminary
  Jan 02, 2024
  Thanks StephenB .
  
  So the Rsync setup - struggling... again:
  
  - Main NAS is 192.168.1.80, Backup NAS is 192.168.1.82
  - Creating a new backup job from the Backup NAS GUI per our earlier chats
  - First (left-hand side), choose "Remote" (correct?)... otherwise, when I choose "Local", I only see the Backup NAS folders
  - Choose "remote: Rsync Server"
  - Host: type in the Main NAS IP (xxx.xxx.x.80) per our earlier chat (instead of the NAS name) - is this correct? i.e., the Main NAS is the host?
  - Port 873 is auto-populated
  - Share: When I click "Browse" I can only see the Main NAS "Pictures" share - why? Cannot see "Documents" or other shares on the Main NAS. The "Pictures" share is mapped in Windows (X:), so do I have to map every share to a drive letter for it to be visible in this backup tool? Doesn't sound right. When I manually type in "Documents", the "Test Connection" returns an error. When I manually type in "Pictures", the "Test Connection" works. So I'm stuck. I don't know how to convince this archaic tool to add the share I want to backup.
  
  This is what I meant earlier about not liking this tool. It's not intuitive at all. Previously, the only way I could get backups to work at all was by programming them from the Main NAS, where I could see the shares I wanted to backup.
  - jimk1963
    Luminary
    Jan 02, 2024
    SMB3 is enabled on both NAS units as shown below ("Configure per share"). Not sure if this is relevant.
bathan
Initiate
Jan 09, 2024
I recommend using Third-Party File Copy Tools and as you mentioned (Fastcopy) ,also there are file copy tools like Gs Richcopy 360, Goodsync, or Teracopy that offer enhanced features and faster transfer speeds compared to the default Windows file copy. These tools often provide better control over the transfer process, including options for multi-threading, error handling, and network optimizations. You can try using one of these tools to see if it improves the transfer speed.

Another popular option (RSYNC) :

Optimized for Network Transfers: As a command-line tool specifically designed for efficient network file synchronization, it can be significantly faster than Windows Explorer for large transfers.
Benefits:
Transfers only changed file portions, reducing network traffic.
Handles interrupted transfers gracefully.
Offers a high degree of control over the process.
Remember that even with these methods, the 1GbE link will ultimately limit your transfer rate. If you frequently deal with large data transfers and require faster speeds, consider upgrading to 10GbE networking for future-proofing.
- Sandshark
  Sensei
  Jan 09, 2024
  Internally, backup jobs have numbers, not names. AFAIK, they are executed in numerical order. That order is generally the order in which you created them. But removing a job and replacing it with another will put the new one in the old slot.
  - jimk1963
    Luminary
    Jan 09, 2024
    Thanks Sandshark , that's exactly what happened here. The seemingly random execution order is actually in the exact order that I created these jobs. I renamed every job so had forgotten about the original job numbering/naming. Thanks for the reminder!
- StephenB
  Guru
  Jan 09, 2024
  bathan wrote:
  
  I recommend using Third-Party File Copy Tools and as you mentioned (Fastcopy) ,also there are file copy tools like Gs Richcopy 360, Goodsync, or Teracopy that offer enhanced features and faster transfer speeds compared to the default Windows file copy.
  
  FWIW, off-topic for this discussion, since this is about NAS->NAS file transfers and nothing to do with Windows.
  
  I've used the old robocopy tool in Windows quite a bit - while perhaps not the fastest, it is extremely robust. Teracopy has a verification option (and of course a GUI), both of which are handy.

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File copy from RN528 to RN424 - which method is fastest?

41 Replies

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