How to make the most of 2 NICs?

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Ultimate Geek
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EMT (R)

#2541117 14-Aug-2020 15:38

I've been down this track & have a $1400 switch for my troubles.

If you are using 'Windows Explorer/teracopy' on your pc,
The path is NAS --> PC --> NAS for every packet of data - so yes this halves your transfer speed.

Regarding Link Aggregation
1 x session will only EVER use 1 x port and be limited to 1gb performance.

You cannot exceed this limitation between 2 machines.

There is a 'new' version of SMB (3.0/3.1/4.0 - cant quite remember) which is getting released, [its not switched on in win10 by default yet & not comming to Win7]

This is supposed to allow multichannel within the same SESSION, which will overcome the single channel limitation.

UNFORTUNATELY - This SMB version needs to be supported right through the whole connection - PC - Switch - NAS.

I bet your existing NAS & Switch don't support it.

I couldn't find any consumer grade NAS'S which supported it & I would have had to spend "data Centre money" on another new switch.

I've turned my attention to implementing 10gb core infrastructure instead.

ANglEAUT

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#2541321 14-Aug-2020 20:13

kiwifidget: ... Now looking to work smarter....any ideas?

networkn: ... Teracopy allows you to queue jobs as well.

+1 for TeraCopy available from Code Sector

+1 for FreeFileSync available here Compares two folders & merges / updates synchronises them. Also supports Google drive / FTP / SFTP.

sbiddle: If you're just copying files on the NAS using the NAS explorer then files will stay local on the NAS. Obviously your constraint reading and writing at the same time on the same drives or array will be drive throughput which is not unlimited.

Listen to sbiddle. No data is moved, only a pointer is updated. Fastest method. See screenshots below for file managers via the web interface. Man, this makes me miss Novell NetWare that did this directly from the Windows machine.

Please keep this GZ community vibrant by contributing in a constructive & respectful manner.

kiwifidget

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#2541375 14-Aug-2020 22:23

Yes, I tried using the Drobo NAS file browser (Drobo Access). It wont work for some reason.

Can't even get the login screen to come up.

Am using Teracopy now, it is better than Explorer, but it's going to take me days to get everything relocated.

Quite possibly 12 days will be enough.

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concordnz

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EMT (R)

#2541384 14-Aug-2020 22:47

See, there is silver linings to a Lockdown. :-)

Jase2985

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#2541423 15-Aug-2020 08:09

how much data are your transferring?

even at 60MB/s you can transfer 216gb per hour

Tinkerisk

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#2541431 15-Aug-2020 09:12

kiwifidget:

The NAS has been set up so that it's 2 NICs look like 1, with 1 IP address. || Check if LAG or LACP is configured for the NAS.

The WIN10 PC has had Intel ANS installed, and it's 2 NIC's set up as an IEEE something Dynamic Aggregated Link. || Check if it's really LACP on the NAS as well on the PC.

All 4 ethernet cables are plugged into the same switch, a TP-LINK TL-SG108. || THIS kills it all! A vanilla SG108 is too "stupid" - needs to be replaced anyway.

I was hoping to see increased throughput when using the PC to move files from one folder on the NAS to another, but alas, not to be. || Nope because of what's said before.

Do I need a better switch? Or did I have the wrong idea from the outset? || Yes and yes ;-)

See comments in your posting.

Further reading: http://www.fiber-optic-components.com/llag-vs-lacp-relationship-difference.html

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Firewalls do NOT stop dragons.
In effect we have everything to hide from someone, and no idea who someone is.

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kiwifidget

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#2542805 17-Aug-2020 12:19

Just out of curiosity, with my current setup...

The dotted pink line is a possible path where I can connect 1 NAS NIC directly to the router (or Edimax) if that would be of any benefit other than failover.

When copying data in and out of the NAS via the Win10PC, which path will the data be taking?

To the TL-SG108 and back?

To the SG-1016 and back?

To the VF UltraHub and back?

Thx.

EDIT: Woah that pic is big! Sorry.

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nztim

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TEAMnetwork

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#2542806 17-Aug-2020 12:23

kiwifidget:
Just out of curiosity, with my current setup...

The dotted pink line is a possible path where I can connect 1 NAS NIC directly to the router (or Edimax) if that would be of any benefit other than failover.

When copying data in and out of the NAS via the Win10PC, which path will the data be taking?

To the TL-SG108 and back?

To the SG-1016 and back?

To the VF UltraHub and back?

Thx.

EDIT: Woah that pic is big! Sorry.

You will still create a broadcast storm by connecting that up, id get a managed switch and create a LAG/Trunk group and bond both your Win10 PC and your NAS to get 2GBPS

the key component you are missing is the managed switch

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

kiwifidget

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#2542817 17-Aug-2020 12:32

@nztim , please explain "broadcast storm"? I have had a setup like this but with a different PC (WHS2011 with 1 NIC) for years and have not noticed any inclement weather in my network? :)

Also, once I have all the data relocated, the Win10PC will be used to backup the NAS, so pretty much one way traffic.

EDIT : I do have a TP-LINK TL-SG108PE which I bought when I was thinking about getting some PoE stuff, but didnt, would it work?

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cyril7

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#2542829 17-Aug-2020 12:48

Hi, so when you put the pink dotted line in I assume you remove the link from that port of the NAS to the SG108, in that case no storm is likely assuming the two ports of the NAS are not bridged.

Cyril

kiwifidget

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#2542836 17-Aug-2020 13:06

@cyril7 , yes the left NIC of the Drobo is an either/or scenario. I have moved that cable back to the router just now, so the pink dotted line is in play.

But while I had it connected to the SG108 I didn't notice any extra degradation of network performance.

Better safe than sorry though right?!

I don't know much about how Drobo manage their NIC bonding, but here are the settings I have used...

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kiwifidget

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#2542837 17-Aug-2020 13:09

OH, I did get DroboAccess working. Despite what the manual says, I see no way to move files within the NAS, only rename and delete.

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cyril7

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#2542842 17-Aug-2020 13:16

So, based on what I see the bonding will only be failover, so in essence useless at achieving any improvement in performance, based on your setup I would just use the single NAS interface.

Another option is that if you remove the bonding, you could then assign two IP addresses (one on each nic) of the NAS (and use the dotted pink path) and you could then make connections from two devices two different IPs and use each NIC of the NAS indepantly.

Cyril

kiwifidget

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#2542846 17-Aug-2020 13:19

@cyril7 , thanks for the suggestion. I thought having 2 IP's would only be of any use if I had 2 networks. Which I don't.

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cyril7

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#2542861 17-Aug-2020 13:35

Hi, the IP address of the 2nd nic on the nas would be in the same subnet as the first, that way PC1 could connect via IP1 and PC2 via IP2 and they would then no share the common link to the NAS.

When the NAS nics are not bonded they appear as independant NICs as if seperate devices.

To be honest all this is a bit of a waste of time in my view, if you want to do this correctly then the NAS, switch and dual NIC PC need correct aggregation and should use at least L4 hashing to achieve SMB3 speed improvements. To do what you are proposing and I proposed above might be a novelty interest but of little functional benifit for the hassle.

By the way I have in a commerical environment with proper switching etc achieved what you are trying to do, but not with dual nics on the client PC, instead aggregating links to improve throughput onto a network with many 1G clients on it, in that case with proper switching and NAS configuration you can get good load balancing across multiple NAS/Server links to multiple 1G endpoints at the same time, not sure if I could be bothered in a small domestic network.

Not sure what the Drobo supports, but with Synology NAS's the following bond config will give L3+4 hashing, and it works very well, this can also be used with any Linux based server or desktop with multiple links. On windows you can also acheive similar teaming using the Dynamic setting, but I have only done it on Win Server, not bothered to see if Win10 desktop supports it, I am sure it would. Obviously aggregation hashing only applies to traffic transmitted from an aggregator, so to achieve the same in return your switch must also support L3+4 hashing

/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-bond0

edit the following line

BONDING_OPTS="mode=4 xmit_hash_policy=layer3+4 use_carrier=1 miimon=100 updelay=100 lacp_rate=fast"

Cyril

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