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Forum Discussion
ReadyNAS 214 Slow Transfer Speeds (Over Network and Direct-Connect)
I just purchased a ReadyNAS 214. I followed the quick start guide: installed two Seagate Ironwolf 3TB hard drives, connected Ethernet and power cable, powered on the unit, and went to http://read...
Changing the cable is reasonable, though we didn't see any errors in the stats.
Do you have access to another PC you can test the speed with?
This is interesting.
Using the same Ethernet cable (we'll refer to this as Ethernet cable #1), I set up a direct connection between the ReadyNAS and an old laptop with a 10/100 NIC (Windows 10 OS). Accessed the unit via Windows Explorer and was getting 11 MB/sec transfer speeds!
Disconnected everything.
Connected the ReadyNAS to my router using the supplied Ethernet cable from Netgear (we'll refer to this as Ethernet cable #2). Used the laptop and accessed the unit via Windows Explorer on an 802.11g Wi-Fi connection and transfer speeds were around 4 Mbps. Connected the laptop to my router using (original) Ethernet cable #1, accessed the unit via Windows Explorer and was getting 11 MB/sec transfer speeds!
Out of curiosity, I used the computer tower (what I've been using prior to these tests), accessed the unit via Windows Explorer on an 802.11n connection and transfer speeds were around 4 Mbps. Used a MacBook Air on an 802.11n connection, accessed the unit via SMB protocol, copied a 70 MB file to the ReadyNAS in about 10 seconds - works out to be about 5 MB/sec. What gives?
Summary
ReadyNAS <Old Ethernet Cable> Direct Connection > Computer Tower (1 Gbps NIC) = 4 Mbit/sec
ReadyNAS <Old Ethernet Cable> Direct Connection > Laptop (100 Mbps NIC) = 11 MB/sec
ReadyNAS <New Ethernet Cable> Router > Laptop (802.11g) = 4 Mbit/sec
ReadyNAS <New Ethernet Cable> Router > Laptop (100 Mbps NIC) = 11 MB/sec
ReadyNAS <Old Ethernet Cable> Router > Computer Tower (802.11n) = 4 Mbit/sec
ReadyNAS <New Ethernet Cable> Router > Computer Tower (802.11n) = 4 Mbit/sec
ReadyNAS <New Ethernet Cable> Router > MacBook Air (802.11n) = 5 MB/sec
davidnvisuals wrote:
Connected the laptop to my router using (original) Ethernet cable #1, accessed the unit via Windows Explorer and was getting 11 MB/sec transfer speeds!
So running fast ethernet to the NAS (100 mbit link) works as it is supposed to. Running gigabit isn't.
davidnvisuals wrote:
ReadyNAS <New Ethernet Cable> Router > MacBook Air (802.11n) = 5 MB/sec
This is curious, since the NAS connection to the router is the same. But it could simply be rounding or some such.
I'd say we've
-probably ruled out the cables
-ruled out the router
-NIC in the tower CPU seems unlikely
If you share a folder on the laptop, and access it from the tower, you should see 11 MB/s speeds over ethernet. If you do, then you've ruled out the tower NIC for sure.
I say "probably" ruled out the cables, since I don't know their origin. Fast ethernet only needs 4 of the 8 pins in the cable, gigabit needs all 8. If you have home-built (or IT-built) cables it is possible that some pins in both cables weren't properly connected to the plug. Also, if both cables are CAT-5, then cables might still be a factor. CAT-5E or better is recommended for gigabit. The rating is usually printed on the cable - if it's not, assume it's CAT-5.
So if you have purchased Cat 5E or better cables, you've already ruled the cables out. If not, perhaps purchase cat-6 cable just to be certain.
Assuming that the laptop->tower connection runs at 11 MB/s and that the cables are purchased and CAT-5E or better:
It sounds like a NIC issue in the RN214. The RN214 has a three year warranty - if you are the original purchaser you should be covered. I suggest contacting support (my.netgear.com) and asking for an RMA. You could reference this thread I guess.
StephenB wrote:if both cables are CAT-5
That seems unlikely as the ethernet port of the NAS do show 1Gbps in the logs.
I don't know what's the problem, but I don't think it's the NAS NIC either. As the 11MB/s throughput is seen sometimes (with the laptop).
Unless the issue is that its NIC behave properly in FastEthernet but not in GigabitEthernet, which would be weird, but I guess possible.
Could you directly connect the NAS to the Tower and force the Tower's NIC to 100Mbps Full-Duplex? (Under the drivers advanced properties.)
Alternatively, use a CAT-5 cable between both machines, to enforce FastEthernet.
And test the speeds again.
jak0lantash wrote:
Unless the issue is that its NIC behave properly in FastEthernet but not in GigabitEthernet, which would be weird, but I guess possible.
That is exactly what's happening, the data is quite clear. The only question is what component is misbehaving - the cable(s), the tower PC NIC or the RN214 NIC. It looks to me that the odds favor the problem being with the RN214 NIC, but it would be good to definitively rule out the other two before trying to convince support to do an RMA.
jak0lantash wrote: That seems unlikely as the ethernet port of the NAS do show 1Gbps in the logs.Gigabit is negotiated over cat-5 with no problem, so that is not relevant. If there is a connection problem with some of the twisted pairs in any grade of cable, then sometimes fast ethernet is negotiated. In other cases, gigabit is negotiated, but you end up with no data transfer at all in one direction or the other. So several outcomes exist there, it depends on the details of the cable problem.
A duplex mismatch also might be occuring, though that is pretty rare with current ethernet chips. I guess Auto MID-X could be misbehaving too, but I've never seen that one, and the direct connection behaves the same as the router connection.
With CAT-5, the twisted pairs don't have as many twists per inch, which results in the shorter pulses used by gigabit being smeared out at the receiver. It can also increase the cross-talk between the pairs. Gigabit is supposed to work anyway, but CAT-5e or better is more reliable.
StephenB wrote:If you share a folder on the laptop, and access it from the tower, you should see 11 MB/s speeds over ethernet. If you do, then you've ruled out the tower NIC for sure.
I'm going to purchase a CAT 6 patch cable later today to try this out to rule out the Tower NIC.
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