Gigabit NAS?

[rnb2]

Theoretical. In practical terms it's CONSIDERABLY slower.

The problem is the processing power of these machines - they're not powerful, and therefore they lack the horsepower to power the gigabit network engine. The I/O of the one-step-below-Linkstation Pro machines are truly woeful for gigabit, and the Linkstation Pro takes it up to 'really fast megabit' levels but true Gigabit-level performance is only attained by good network adapters and decently fast-processor'd machines, which you don't get on a NAS - well at least, not the ones which are effectively decently fast processor'd machines like a Dell / Apple NAS.

And on Macs, SMB/CIFS further bogs down performance on an already limited NAS.

Thanks for your input - I appreciate it.

The testing of the Linkstation Pro here:

http://www.tomsnetworking.com/2006/08/17/buffalo_linkstation_pro_review/

indicates real-world throughput of up to 40MB/sec(read)/26MB/sec(write) with 4K jumbo frames. While that's not on the level of something like the new Thecus box, it also doesn't cost $750US without drives, and it's by far the fastest single-disk NAS I've been able to find - it appears to be 2-3 times as fast as the TS-101/Synology 106e/Linkstation Gigabit.

Cost is very much a consideration here - I just don't have the available funds for one of the more expensive boxes, nor do I want the headache of building a box, installing some flavor of Linux, etc. I'm looking for something that will give similar performance to FW400 (and this seems to be in the neighborhood) without breaking the bank. I realize it may not be the "best" solution out there, but for the price, it *looks* like it will suit what I'm looking for.

Also, after I posted the previous message, I remembered that the Linkstation Pro does support Apple file sharing - how robust that is, I don't know, but I don't think I'm stuck with just SMB.

So, given all that, anything else I should be aware of?

 

[ChrisA]

Does anyone *cough* Sesshi *cough* have any other recommendation? My Buffalo thingy arrived today, and I looked on the box under "Operating Systems" and it was all Windows, no Mac. I called Buffalo, and they said they did not support OS X. Ergo, I have arranged to return the unit - thankfully unopened - but still want a network accessible drive, 300GB-500GB in size, with the ability to work as a print server and to accept a further plug-in drive, and FULLY MAC-COMPATIBLE. Any ideas?

Read above where I said "buy a PC chasis, install Linux or BSD..." Seriously if you look at the high end NAS units, that ones that REALLY CAN flood multiple gigabit interfaces what they are inside is a PC with a Pentium class processor. All those little low cost low performace boxes uses a cheap low powered processor. You REALLY do need a pentium class CPU and about 1GB of RAM if you are going to do RAID and push a sustained gigabit of data. Look at companies like www.netapp.com they make the real thing but it cost $$$.

A pentium PC is almost free used PCs are free. so your only cost is the bare internal drives and maybe a network card

I used this case. It is nearly silent has excelent cooling and has some nice slide in drawers to hold up to 6 drives. www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15139

 

[Sesshi]

Thanks for your input - I appreciate it.

The testing of the Linkstation Pro here:

http://www.tomsnetworking.com/2006/08/17/buffalo_linkstation_pro_review/

indicates real-world throughput of up to 40MB/sec(read)/26MB/sec(write) with 4K jumbo frames. While that's not on the level of something like the new Thecus box, it also doesn't cost $750US without drives, and it's by far the fastest single-disk NAS I've been able to find - it appears to be 2-3 times as fast as the TS-101/Synology 106e/Linkstation Gigabit.

Cost is very much a consideration here - I just don't have the available funds for one of the more expensive boxes, nor do I want the headache of building a box, installing some flavor of Linux, etc. I'm looking for something that will give similar performance to FW400 (and this seems to be in the neighborhood) without breaking the bank. I realize it may not be the "best" solution out there, but for the price, it *looks* like it will suit what I'm looking for.

Also, after I posted the previous message, I remembered that the Linkstation Pro does support Apple file sharing - how robust that is, I don't know, but I don't think I'm stuck with just SMB.

So, given all that, anything else I should be aware of?

Thing is, you won't get anywhere near FW400 on these NASs unless as you must be aware by now, if you pony up for the high-end ones. The only economical way you get to FWanything levels is by using a PC box (a basic P4 would be fine) with a good gigabit card running Windows Server or Linux. Alternatively if like skunk you've managed to score a Mac Mini for next to nothing that's a good choice too with a FW external enclosure.

If you want it simple, new and your budget is low, be prepared for very slow.

 

[XIII]

So what kind of speeds would I get with a PIII 500mhz, with 256MB RAM, if I put a gigabit card in? Would it be faster than FW400/USB2? Would adding more RAM to the Linux box help speed it up? Thanks.

 

[Sesshi]

Network throughput isn't just a factor of the NAS/server. It's also about the switch and the devices which are connecting to the LAN. In order to operate at truly Gigabit speeds you'll need something with a hefty throughput as far as the switch is concerned - none of your cheapo £50 switches.

A low-cost Gigabit network is not going to operate with multiple peers at speeds beyond FW/USB2, but by choosing carefully you can get very close to it or slightly beyond it in a single-device to single-device situation.

If it helps any, I had to resort to a watercooled (done by collaring a PC modding guy. Watercooling for noise, not performance) HP Procurve 2848 to get the performance I wanted at home as well the number of ports - your count will vary of course, but I can say that you'll undoubtedly end up needing more than you thought! The 2800 series have next to no bottlenecks in their gigabit performance. The significantly cheaper US Robotics gigabit switches also have a fairly good rep. You can get a 24-port for about £200, and the 16 port for around £150.