NAS constantly disconnecting

[Weaselboy]

Right now the IP on Ethernet 2 is 169.254.5.163 and the NAS is 169.254.134.9 (the WD EX4's default).

Right now they're directly connected which seems to have improved reliability a bit. It still disconnects if the computer sleeps and fails to automatically reconnect upon wake.

Those are both "self assigned." I think you would have more stability if you gave them both status IP addresses. It certainly won't hurt anything.