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Forum Discussion
BJB
Dec 16, 2017Aspirant
RN214 or RN424 for RN104 user
Greetings. I am not a new user but it seems like this is the right place to post this question hopefully. I am a RN104 user that needs expansion and it looks like the RN104 does not support external ...
- Dec 17, 2017
BJB wrote:
I have read just about every post on the current model line so am somewhat up to speed. I have narrowed it down to the RN214 or RN424. Unless something new is coming out I missed?The RN400 series is the newest desktop platform, so you haven't missed anything.
BJB wrote:
Would the RN214 be faster than my RN104?Yes. The RN214 large file transfer speeds (read and write) are > 100 MB/sec.
Your RN104's speeds are about 80 MB/sec read and ~40 MB/sec write.
BJB wrote:
Will the RN214 suffice or should I consider the RN424?If I understand your usage correctly, either will do. If you want more bays, then that would tilt you to the RN400 series. Note that Netgear is beginning to roll out SSD tiering, which will improve small file transfers and directory browsing - right now that requires 2 slots for the SSDs.
Warranty is longer on the x86 NAS. There are some business features (ReadyDR backup, some performance graphs) which are limited to business NAS.
Also, the current family of x86 NAS (400-600 series) all ship with drive trays that support the alternate mount points that are common on large capacity drives. The RN200 series trays didn't include those newer trays at first release, I'm not sure what trays they include now.
BJB wrote:
It looks like they both support up to 10TB drives? What are the preferred drives these days?Personally I use WDC Reds (largest is 8 TB). They are fast enough for my purposes, and I like the cooler temps and lower power usage. Seagate Ironwolfs are equivalent.
Folks who want enterprise-class seem to like WDC Red Pro or gold, Seagate IronWolf Pro. I haven't seen many posts on the Seagate Exos yet, though they were just launched.
StephenB
Dec 17, 2017Guru - Experienced User
BJB wrote:
I have read just about every post on the current model line so am somewhat up to speed. I have narrowed it down to the RN214 or RN424. Unless something new is coming out I missed?
The RN400 series is the newest desktop platform, so you haven't missed anything.
BJB wrote:
Would the RN214 be faster than my RN104?
Yes. The RN214 large file transfer speeds (read and write) are > 100 MB/sec.
Your RN104's speeds are about 80 MB/sec read and ~40 MB/sec write.
BJB wrote:
Will the RN214 suffice or should I consider the RN424?
If I understand your usage correctly, either will do. If you want more bays, then that would tilt you to the RN400 series. Note that Netgear is beginning to roll out SSD tiering, which will improve small file transfers and directory browsing - right now that requires 2 slots for the SSDs.
Warranty is longer on the x86 NAS. There are some business features (ReadyDR backup, some performance graphs) which are limited to business NAS.
Also, the current family of x86 NAS (400-600 series) all ship with drive trays that support the alternate mount points that are common on large capacity drives. The RN200 series trays didn't include those newer trays at first release, I'm not sure what trays they include now.
BJB wrote:
It looks like they both support up to 10TB drives? What are the preferred drives these days?
Personally I use WDC Reds (largest is 8 TB). They are fast enough for my purposes, and I like the cooler temps and lower power usage. Seagate Ironwolfs are equivalent.
Folks who want enterprise-class seem to like WDC Red Pro or gold, Seagate IronWolf Pro. I haven't seen many posts on the Seagate Exos yet, though they were just launched.
BJB
Dec 17, 2017Aspirant
Thanks for all that info! Copying a 20 GB file from a USB3 memory card reader on windows 10 copies at around 30MB/s. Would this increase with either of those choices? I saw your speed spec. increase noted above, just wondered if I would actually see it through the windows, memory card and Ethernet gigabit combination in my example.
It seems like the extra capacity on the RN424 is due to its ability to use an expansion chassis, correct?
I actually thought when I got my RN104 it supported that too. But based on what the age of my new unit might be by the time I fill it up, not sure if that would be the deciding factor. In short, I don't need that extra capacity now. Am I correct they support the same capacity in the 4 bays?
Would be good to know if the RN214 has those new mount trays as I will be using the larger drives.
I probably would not use 2 bays for SSDs just for faster browsing, would want the extra capacity.
Still unsure which way to go...
Thanks,
BJB
It seems like the extra capacity on the RN424 is due to its ability to use an expansion chassis, correct?
I actually thought when I got my RN104 it supported that too. But based on what the age of my new unit might be by the time I fill it up, not sure if that would be the deciding factor. In short, I don't need that extra capacity now. Am I correct they support the same capacity in the 4 bays?
Would be good to know if the RN214 has those new mount trays as I will be using the larger drives.
I probably would not use 2 bays for SSDs just for faster browsing, would want the extra capacity.
Still unsure which way to go...
Thanks,
BJB
- StephenBDec 18, 2017Guru - Experienced User
BJB wrote:
Thanks for all that info! Copying a 20 GB file from a USB3 memory card reader on windows 10 copies at around 30MB/s. Would this increase with either of those choices?Memory cards (and memory card readers) often aren't that fast. So you might be partly limited by that (copy speed depends on the source device, destination device, and the network connection speed).
NAStester is a useful performance measurement tool ( http://www.808.dk/?code-csharp-nas-performance ) that can also check your card reader.
CrystalDiskMark is another useful tool, and you can measure NAS performance with it if you map a NAS share to a PC drive letter. One advantage it has is that it can test the devices directly. NAStester will copy from your system disk to the test folder, so the system disk performance can sometimes factor into the results.
- BJBDec 18, 2017AspirantThanks. High-end card and reader that copies fast to a local drive. The NAS is on gigabit Ethernet.
I will run those benchmarks, have not in since I set it up.
Perhaps someone has an answer on the R214 tray question?
Thanks,
BJB
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