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Is SMB protocol faster than AFP ?
Hi, I am administering a large media collection and backup of work documents and family photos on an RN204 (2x8TB, 2x12TB) running 6.10.8. I've always used AFP to manage administration of content on ...
Hello Laudz ,
And welcome to the NETGEAR Community! 🙂
AFP is specifically for Apple users, if you are using MAC then using AFP is the better choice.
If you are using Windows then we would recommend you switch to SMB but don't use both at the same time and it is recommendable since both have different execution ways.
AFP would be slow in the Windows system if you are a Windows user you can definitely switch to SMB, if you are using both the system then also SMB is fine.
If you are a MAC user then we would suggest you use continue with AFP.
Also, you can refer to this kb article for better clarification.
https://kb.netgear.com/29765/Recommendation-for-using-AFP-and-SMB-in-the-same-environment
If your issue is resolved please close the thread by clicking "Accept as solution".
Have a lovely day,
Anisha A
Netgear Team
Hello Laudz ,
And welcome to the NETGEAR Community! 🙂
AFP is specifically for Apple users, if you are using MAC then using AFP is the better choice.
If you are using Windows then we would recommend you switch to SMB but don't use both at the same time and it is recommendable since both have different execution ways.
AFP would be slow in the Windows system if you are a Windows user you can definitely switch to SMB, if you are using both the system then also SMB is fine.
If you are a MAC user then we would suggest you use continue with AFP.
Also, you can refer to this kb article for better clarification.
https://kb.netgear.com/29765/Recommendation-for-using-AFP-and-SMB-in-the-same-environment
If your issue is resolved please close the thread by clicking "Accept as solution".
Have a lovely day,
Anisha A
Netgear Team
AnishaA wrote:
AFP would be slow in the Windows system
Laudz: FWIW, AFP can't be used at all with Windows systems.
I'm not a Mac user, so I can't compare performance of AFP with SMB. There is some info here that suggests that AFP would be faster - but for Synology, not ReadyNAS. Also, the author doesn't say what Mac he is using (or the version of MacOS).
As NASCompares says, performance depends on the file size. Speed with large files is much faster than with small ones, and folder browsing is generally slower still.
The best way to figure out what is fastest for you would be to do a similar test with large files. It'd be helpful if you let us know the results you are seeing.
However, your performance might also be limited by your network connection or your disk drives.
- Is your Mac using gigabit ethernet?
- What disks are you using (manufacturer and model)?
- What RAID mode are you using?
thanks for the information StephenB .
My client is a Macbook running MacOs 11.7.6. I connect to an Netgear Orbi 5G Mesh with my access point only being 6 feet away. The rest of the network is Netgear gigabit router and switch back to the RN204 NAS.
My NAS is configured for X-RAID with 2 x Seagate Ironwolf 8TB drives (ST8000VN0022) and 2 x Seagate Ironwolf Pro 12TB drives (ST12000NE0008).
My inadvertent solution came by powering down the NAS as I need to turn the power off in the house to change a light fitting. Transfer speeds and managing large directories in MacOs Finder are once again snappy.
Is this a known problem that you should power cycle your NAS once in a while to ensure peak performance?
Laudz wrote:
Is this a known problem that you should power cycle your NAS once in a while to ensure peak performance?
Not that I've seen. Though if there is a memory leak, then the system will get slower.
You can set up a power schedule to restart the NAS once a week (shutting it down for an hour) - though you do need to pick find an hour when it's ok for the NAS to be off.
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