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KenTanker0us1's avatar
Mar 22, 2018
Solved

RN42600 - EXT4 vs. NTFS for OS6 usb backup

Hello friends, the title says it all. I read that EXT4 is faster and more efficient than NTFS.

On the other hand, it would be difficult to use with the PC unless I added a driver that isn't guaranteed not to have conflicts.

 

So just how much faster is EXT4? Say for a direct copy of a share to a usb WD Passport external 2TB drive?

 

*extra note: I can't find my NAS listed above so I just typed in the model number on the back, RN42600. I hope that's ok?

 

Thanks very much!

 

Ken

  • It's been a while since I tested this, but back in OS 6.5.0 firmware they switched to different NTFS drives in the NAS.  That increased performance to ~95 MB/s.

     

    My advice is to use NTFS - a backup that is hard to read on your other devices isn't worth much.

     

    Note that you can use rsync to get incremental backups to your USB drive.  The trick is to set the source up as "remote", and use 127.0.0.1 for the IP address.

10 Replies

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  • mdgm-ntgr's avatar
    mdgm-ntgr
    NETGEAR Employee Retired

    Well you could give NTFS a try and see if the performance is fine for what you need and if it's not reformat to EXT4 and give that a try.

     

     

    USB performance does vary a bit depending on the NAS model, USB disk model, filesystem etc.

    • KenTanker0us1's avatar
      KenTanker0us1
      Tutor

      Hey mdgm, thanks for the reply.

       

      Yeah that is exactly what I'm doing. I'm running a backup from a share on the NAS to a WDPassport 2TB through the front usb port using NTFS, and it's taking a while.

       

      I'm just wondering if anybody has done any kind of comparison study between the two for these purposes. If necessary I'll do my own.

       

      I'm also wondering if anybody has any experience with the EXT drivers available. I'm in Win7 Pro.

       

      Again, thanks for any and all discussion/advice.

       

      Ken

  • StephenB's avatar
    StephenB
    Guru - Experienced User

    It's been a while since I tested this, but back in OS 6.5.0 firmware they switched to different NTFS drives in the NAS.  That increased performance to ~95 MB/s.

     

    My advice is to use NTFS - a backup that is hard to read on your other devices isn't worth much.

     

    Note that you can use rsync to get incremental backups to your USB drive.  The trick is to set the source up as "remote", and use 127.0.0.1 for the IP address.

    • KenTanker0us1's avatar
      KenTanker0us1
      Tutor

      Hey StephenB, good to see you here.

       

      Thanks for the advice. I will stick to NTFS.

       

      This idea of using rsync for incremental backups sounds best. Ithink I might need some more detailed steps in this. If I understand you correctly, I would do this:

       

      _New Backup Job:

      From remote system

      Host: 127.0.0.1

      Protocol: remote:Rsync Server

      Port: 873 ??

      To ReadyNAS folder, USB port, or eSATA port

      Location: /media/USB_HDD_1/

       

      Does this look correct?

       

      Also: what about snapshots, etc. do they take up much room on the usb drive?

       

      Always good to have your expert help.

       

      best

       

      Ken

       

       

       

       

      • KenTanker0us1's avatar
        KenTanker0us1
        Tutor

        Well, I've done some testing over the last couple of days. The rsync option took 26 minutes longer than the local option.

         

        The local protocol went like this:

        Backup Job Name: MANUAL_Library_to_Passport_2TB_01
        Backup Job Type: Full
        Protocol: local
        Backup Source: [library]/
        Backup Destination: [USB Front]/
        Backup Start Time: Wed Mar 21 2018 19:04:21
        Backup Finish Time: Wed Mar 21 2018 22:14:07
        Backup Status: Success

        *Time elapsed: 3h 9m 46 s

         

        The rsync job went like this:

        Backup Job Name: 2TB01_library
        Backup Job Type: Incremental
        Protocol: rsync
        Backup Source: [remote:rsync]/127.0.0.1::library
        Backup Destination: [USB_HDD_1]/library
        Backup Start Time: Fri Mar 23 2018 1:32:49
        Backup Finish Time: Fri Mar 23 2018 5:08:22
        Backup Status: Success

        *Time elapsed: 3h 35m 33s

         

        The idea that the rsync will do incremental should make things faster from here on, I would think.

         

        I'm posting this in case anybody else is looking for info. Thanks all.

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