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Forum Discussion
RN214 using USB Hub
I need more than 2 external drives to backup my NAS. I hooked up a USB hub and had two drives on it and they were both recognized. I added a third drive and all disappeared. The hub does not have a separate AC power source, so is gets its power from the USB port. Of the two drives that were working, one was powered from AC and the other from USB. The third was also powered by USB. I would guess powering more than one drive through USB was an overload. I am able to use that port with a drive that is powered from AC. So am I correct in suggesting that I should use a USB Hub that has an AC power source?
2 Replies
Les214 wrote:
So am I correct in suggesting that I should use a USB Hub that has an AC power source?
I would certainly recommend that. The front USB port on the RN214 is USB 2.0. That limits both the speed and available power from that port. The USB 2.0 power spec is only 2.5 watts.
Netgear doesn't say how much power can be delivered from the two rear USB 3.0 ports. But the minimum is 4.5 watts, which might be enough for one drive, but not for two.
It's a bad idea to connect even one USB-powered drive to a USB hub without a separate power supply, be it on the ReadyNAS or elsewhere. The port is rated for one device -- in this case the hub.
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