[SOLVED] 2 computers 1 nas

[3d scan guy]

Hello

So i have a possibly unique issue, I need to connect a NAS to my 2 work computers.

Both computers are similar, and both well speccd gaming computers I use for processing scan data.

I need the NAS or common drive as a work space. While one computer is flatout crunching numbers i use the other computer, and neither computer can hog the NAS drive. The files I move around daily are around 100gb a shot. So this whole exercise is about speed, making file transfers faster.

The slightly better speccd computer has 2 network ports.

What would be the best way to connect these computers to the NAS (NAS has a single network port)

Do I simply purchase a network switch?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yes, the NAS should be connected to either a router or a switch, so that is is accessible by all systems on your local network, or even wide area connections if that is desired.

 

[kanewolf]

1Gbit network will transfer 100MB/s 100GB will take at least 1000 seconds to transfer. First thing you need is 10GE networking.

 

[SamirD]

If you're moving that much data, you do need to look into 10Gb ethernet and a nas that will support it. But if the current transfer speeds don't bother you, then you can keep rolling with that you have.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I agree. You probably need to consider a 10Gbe NAS, switch and network cards for these systems if the network speed is THAT critical to your usage.

 

[gggplaya]

I don't think you need 10Gbe because the hard drives will likely be the limiting factor in network speed unless you plan on using SSD's in the NAS.

If you want to do this on the cheap, 2.5Gbe is becoming very popular and affordable. This switch is going to be $100: https://www.adorama.com/qnqsw11055t.html

and network cards on amazon are like $40: https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-2-5Gase-T-Standard-Low-Profile-TEG-25GECTX/dp/B07SNQ2NQ1

 

[kanewolf]

I don't think you need 10Gbe because the hard drives will likely be the limiting factor in network speed unless you plan on using SSD's in the NAS.

If you want to do this on the cheap, 2.5Gbe is becoming very popular and affordable. This switch is going to be $100: https://www.adorama.com/qnqsw11055t.html

and network cards on amazon are like $40: https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-2-5Gase-T-Standard-Low-Profile-TEG-25GECTX/dp/B07SNQ2NQ1

I would not recommend 2.5GE, because it is not widely supported by NAS manufacturers. 10GE is more widely supported, has much more "run time" on drivers and has much wider support. An inexpensive 10GE switch is the MikroTik -- https://www.amazon.com/Mikrotik-CRS212-1G-10S-1S-Router-Gigabit-Switch/dp/B00TKFMDTC/ You can use DAC cables, copper or fiber.

 

[SamirD]

I don't think you need 10Gbe because the hard drives will likely be the limiting factor in network speed unless you plan on using SSD's in the NAS.

If you want to do this on the cheap, 2.5Gbe is becoming very popular and affordable. This switch is going to be $100: https://www.adorama.com/qnqsw11055t.html

and network cards on amazon are like $40: https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-2-5Gase-T-Standard-Low-Profile-TEG-25GECTX/dp/B07SNQ2NQ1

Even a single hard drive today can almost saturate gigabit so any raid system more than likely can exceed gigabit. Saturating 10Gb is much tougher and does require ssds or a large array and caching.

The reason I wouldn't bother with 2.5Gb is because used 10Gb equipment will cost around the same when using DACs, and you literally get 4x the performance and 10x the performance of 1Gb.

 

[gggplaya]

My NAS with 4 WD red drives in raid 5 max out at about 250MB/s. I'm running 10GBe, but 2.5GBe would be fine in my situation.

 

[USAFRet]

I don't think you need 10Gbe because the hard drives will likely be the limiting factor in network speed unless you plan on using SSD's in the NAS.

On a gigabit LAN, SSD vs HDD in the NAS doesn't much matter.
The LAN is the limiting factor.

Doing a test to my NAS just now:

3 different Volumes in the NAS:
3x8TB HDD, RAID 0
4x4TB HDD, JBOD
480GB SATA III SSD

4 files, 27GB each, totaling 104GB.
Copying from an Intel 660p in my PC.
Copying to each volume took about 17 mins. 105-110MB/s.

 

[gggplaya]

On a gigabit LAN, SSD vs HDD in the NAS doesn't much matter.
The LAN is the limiting factor.

Doing a test to my NAS just now:

3 different Volumes in the NAS:
3x8TB HDD, RAID 0
4x4TB HDD, JBOD
480GB SATA III SSD

4 files, 27GB each, totaling 104GB.
Copying from an Intel 660p in my PC.
Copying to each volume took about 17 mins. 105-110MB/s.

Sorry, I wasn't clear enough. I should have said "shouldn't need the full 10GBe" because if I thought 1gbe was enough then why would I follow up with 2.5gbe examples?

Even a cheap ARM nas will saturate 1gbe. Most 3.5" hard drives can handle 130-170MB/s.

 

[USAFRet]

Sorry, I wasn't clear enough. I should have said "shouldn't need the full 10GBe" because if I thought 1gbe was enough then why would I follow up with 2.5gbe examples?

Even a cheap ARM nas will saturate 1gbe. Most 3.5" hard drives can handle 130-170MB/s.

Right.
And I still wouldn't go with 2.5.
If going beyond gigabit, go with 10GBe. Much better support.

 

[kanewolf]

My NAS with 4 WD red drives in raid 5 max out at about 250MB/s. I'm running 10GBe, but 2.5GBe would be fine in my situation.

It might be enough bandwidth, but 2.5Ge and 5Ge are still experiments, IMO. 10GE is field proven in mission critical environments. Use Intel NIC cards and you will have no issues with compatibility, performance or support.

 

[punkncat]

Something to consider here....

Unless you specifically need the redundancy options and such that the NAS would offer you could likely do this just as readily via a shared scratch drive in one or the other machine.

 

[gggplaya]

802.11bz is becoming the standard mainly because office buildings and such can do quick and easy integration using their existing cat5e infrastructure. Intel is readying their I225 chipset for motherboard and network switch manufacturers. The main reason 10gbe was never widely adopted is due to cost. The price is insane for network hardware, especially if you want to do a full rack switch. 2.5Gbe switches are affordable.

Higher end routers all come with 2.5gbe now, and so do higher end mother boards, and network switches are finally rolling out this year. I think once we start seeing widespread adoption on business laptops and computer motherboards. We'll see IT departments start buying 2.5gbe switches, because it's a simply plug and play upgrade. When they make recommendations for PC lease purchases, they'll spec out 2.5gbe ports which are a low cost line item. Laptops with 10gbe ports are nearly non-existent. Whereas my alienware has a built in 2.5gbe port

You're right 2.5gbe is still in it's infancy, but I think with it breaking price barriers, we'll start to see widespread adoption.

 

[SamirD]

Something to consider here....

Unless you specifically need the redundancy options and such that the NAS would offer you could likely do this just as readily via a shared scratch drive in one or the other machine.

This is a really good point. Especially when you could just slap in some used 10Gb sfp+ cards and a dac cable between them and have 10Gb speeds between the machines.

 

[SamirD]

802.11bz is becoming the standard mainly because office buildings and such can do quick and easy integration using their existing cat5e infrastructure. Intel is readying their I225 chipset for motherboard and network switch manufacturers. The main reason 10gbe was never widely adopted is due to cost. The price is insane for network hardware, especially if you want to do a full rack switch. 2.5Gbe switches are affordable.

Higher end routers all come with 2.5gbe now, and so do higher end mother boards, and network switches are finally rolling out this year. I think once we start seeing widespread adoption on business laptops and computer motherboards. We'll see IT departments start buying 2.5gbe switches, because it's a simply plug and play upgrade. When they make recommendations for PC lease purchases, they'll spec out 2.5gbe ports which are a low cost line item. Laptops with 10gbe ports are nearly non-existent. Whereas my alienware has a built in 2.5gbe port

You're right 2.5gbe is still in it's infancy, but I think with it breaking price barriers, we'll start to see widespread adoption.

It's closing in from both ends imo. 802.11bz is a nice update for existing wiring, and on the other side 10Gb used equipment can be had for nearly the same cost as the newer 802.11bz stuff (if not cheaper), so there's options for those that need the bandwidth.

Higher end routers are now coming with 40Gb and have had 10Gb uplinks for quite a few years now. Except for consumer routers, but then at those high consumer price points, a used enterprise router is 100x better for the money.

I agree with you that the prevalence of 2.5Gb will get it out there. It was the same when 100Mbps first came out and then 1Gbps. I've seen them both roll out in the industry. 2.5Gbps simply still costs too much and has a bit of a 'what do I need this for?' factor surrounding it since 1Gbps handles most of what everyone needs and if they need more, it's generally a server with 10Gbps. Still, it was when 1Gbps was the same price as 100Mbps that it was everywhere. And once it was everywhere, the applications came along too.

The biggest thing that 802.11bz has going for it is immediate upgrade in speed without touching the wiring. This was the same appeal that 1Gbps had over 100Mbps. The transition from 10Mbps to 100Mbps required rewiring, which is one of the reasons why 10Gbps was never the next step since it too requires a wiring upgrade. And is also didn't even run over copper for the longest time and still has limitations even when it does. This is the niche where 802.11bz can fill, but I think it's going to be more like the move from 100Mbps to 1Gbps versus the move from 10Mbps to 100Mbps, which took a pretty long time since whole wiring plants had to be redone.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I would not recommend 2.5GE, because it is not widely supported by NAS manufacturers. 10GE is more widely supported, has much more "run time" on drivers and has much wider support. An inexpensive 10GE switch is the MikroTik -- https://www.amazon.com/Mikrotik-CRS212-1G-10S-1S-Router-Gigabit-Switch/dp/B00TKFMDTC/ You can use DAC cables, copper or fiber.

I have this one, which is even less expensive, and has been working fantastic for about 12 months now ever since I got my Qnap TS-932x which also has 10gb support AND a couple of Mellanox network adapter cards.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07LFKGP1L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071KWNFP3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1