network drive - AFP or SMB ?

[colonelbutt]

I have a NAS drive (Synology - latest firmware) and have been trying AFP and SMB for access

My main storage is photos, and I am using Adobe Lightroom on a MacBook to access the photos on the network (the catalogue is on the MacBook)

I am not sure whether Lightroom is overly sensitivity, but it seems to loose connection occasionally when using AFP. It then shows the photo as "not existing". I have to repoint it at the photo folder. Very annoying. Once I had to reboot the NAS
However, SMB seems more reliable

Is this a general finding ? I thought Apples own protocol would be better on Mac, but perhaps SMB is just much more mature these days ?

 

[galad]

AFP has been deprecated years ago and it's not being developed anymore.

 

[colonelbutt]

AFP has been deprecated years ago and it's not being developed anymore.

that explains it - thanks

so I guess Apple is using SMB as its main protocol now as well ??

 

[Dameatball]

that explains it - thanks

so I guess Apple is using SMB as its main protocol now as well ??

That’s correct and as an fyi, Mac and network drives disconnects has always been problematic for years and it’s not bc of AFP.

For years I ran a script that immediately remounted a drive if it lost connection. Now I use ‘automounter’ app (same guy wrote original script). It sucks to have to rely on something to keep a network drive mounted but it’s worth the few bucks/fewer headaches. Just my opinion. Good luck.

 

[orionquest]

Yeah I also have a synology and yup network shares on the Mac suck. I initially was using AFP but there were a host of issues with that protocol with network speeds degrading over time. SMB has better overall throughput, but it also has it's own issues. I thought the network disconnect problems would be resolved when I updated from Mojave to Monterey, for the most part it is, but still an issue.

I wish Apple would focus on stuff like this instead of hammering out yearly updates with half baked features, because this has been a problem for years.

 

[thebart]

I found that when i switched to using IP address instead of name to connect to my NAS (smb) the connection has been more stable. Could be coincidence, i don't know. Need to test more

 

[Dameatball]

Yeah I also have a synology and yup network shares on the Mac suck. I initially was using AFP but there were a host of issues with that protocol with network speeds degrading over time. SMB has better overall throughput, but it also has it's own issues. I thought the network disconnect problems would be resolved when I updated from Mojave to Monterey, for the most part it is, but still an issue.

I wish Apple would focus on stuff like this instead of hammering out yearly updates with half baked features, because this has been a problem for years.

Youre right. The annual updates take priority over fixing important issues. I think smb has gotten dramatically worse with Ventura believe it or not; I wouldn’t upgrade from Monterey. Smb has been a problem as long as I can remember; we need this fixed instead of unnecessary features. I stupidly assumed with afp being deprecated this would happen but apparently not.