Would router upgrade help with slow transfer speeds between NAS540 and PC

Meurglys0Meurglys0 Member Posts: 13  Freshman Member
in Personal Cloud Storage
I have a 300 mbps Zyxel router (model: VMG3312-B10A V2). I get 7-8 mb/s transfer speed between my laptop (connected to the router via ethernet) and my Zyxel NAS540. I believe upgrading my router to a Gigabit router would help speed it up. I would like to know by how much? And do I need to change anything else  (e.g. with my laptop?) to get faster connection speeds?    

Would  something like this be enough? 
ZYXEL NBG6716 AC1750
https://www.amazon.com/ZyXEL-Simultaneous-Dual-Band-Wireless-NBG6716/dp/B00FRX2U1W

Accepted Solution

  • MijzelfMijzelf Member Posts: 1,498  Guru Member
    Accepted Answer
    What could be the bottleneck?

    For instance the nature of the data you are copying. If you are copying a lot of small files, the disks can be the bottleneck. While a modern rotating disk can easily write at 150MB/sec, the random access time (the time to position the heads above a certain sector) is something like 10msec. Writing a file hits at least 2 times that random access time. Once to write the directory entry, once to write the file itself. When some filesystem structures have to be accessed to find free space for that file, that could easily get 3 or 4 times. So you can't write more than 25~50 files a second. If each file is 1 byte, you'll get a throughput of 50B/sec. (BTW, that's the reason an SSD feels so fast. It's not the throughput, but the random access time. For an SSD that is measured in nanoseconds.)

    If I go for a new router I would have faster connection speed between the NAS and the laptop even wirelessly, is that correct?

    Yes. Assuming the laptop isn't limited on 300Mbit wifi.

    If I understand correctly, the connection between an external HDD and the NAS, even when it is connected to the USB port on the NAS is handled by the laptop

    Depends. If you are using the 'copy' button, it's handled completely by the NAS. If you use the filebrowser in the webinterface, it's also handled by the NAS. Only if you copy from a share on the external disk to a share on the internal disk, it's handled by the laptop.

    If so, what would be an entrance level Gigabit Router that you would recommend me?
    Sorry, I have no opinion on that. Search for a router on base of specs, and than read reviews. And keep in mind, it doesn't pay to have router that performs far better than your clients. Also not for future use. When you buy a 'better' laptop next year, the top spec router from today will be entry level, and cost accordingly.

All Replies

  • MijzelfMijzelf Member Posts: 1,498  Guru Member
    If your NAS and laptop are both wired connected to a router with 100 Mbit ports, a throughput of around 11MB/sec should be possible. So if you now get 7-8 MB/sec (I assume you meant megabytes, and not millibits) the bottleneck is not the 100 Mbit ports.

    If you want to upgrade to gigabit ports, it's not necessary to go for a full new router. A simple 5 port gigabit switch (+/- €15) is enough. Connect both your laptop an NAS to the switch, and connect the switch to the router. Then there will be a gigabit connection between NAS and laptop (if the wiring and the ethernet port of the laptop support it)

  • Meurglys0Meurglys0 Member Posts: 13  Freshman Member
    Thank you very much!

    What should I look for in a switch? Is there anything I need to know? 

    Plus, I would now get 80+ mbs when I get the switch, right?

  • TiggerLASTiggerLAS Member Posts: 51  Ally Member
    Nearly any gigabit switch would work.

    If you want to stick to the Zyxel line, a GS-105S would be adequate,
    and the least expensive of the lot.  It is a 5-port switch.
    I'm seeing $20 USD on Amazon right now.

    Plug your NAS, all of your PC's, laptops, streaming devices,
    and of course your router into the new switch.

    However, if you have OTHER wired devices on your network,
    you may want to consider a slightly larger unit, such as a GS1200-8.
    It is an 8-port switch, and has some option advanced features.
    I'm seeing $30 USD on Amazon right now.

    This would give you extra ports for expansion.
    It is plug-and-play, but has some optional features such as
    "Link Aggregation", which (if you're willing to delve into it)
    would help if you have multiple devices on your network
    trying to access your NAS simultaneously.

  • Meurglys0Meurglys0 Member Posts: 13  Freshman Member
    Thank you very much!
  • MijzelfMijzelf Member Posts: 1,498  Guru Member
    Plus, I would now get 80+ mbs when I get the switch, right?

    Maybe. The NAS can do 80+MB/sec (please use the right case, mb is something different!) under certain circumstances. But your speed is now not near the 11MB/sec which fast ethernet could do. So possibly the network is not the bottleneck.

  • Meurglys0Meurglys0 Member Posts: 13  Freshman Member
    What could be the bottleneck?
  • Meurglys0Meurglys0 Member Posts: 13  Freshman Member
    Mijzelf, you said: "If you want to upgrade to gigabit ports, it's not necessary to go for a full new router. " If I go for a new router I would have faster connection speed between the NAS and the laptop even wirelessly, is that correct?

    If so, what would be an entrance level Gigabit Router that you would recommend me?

    Though I'm already sold on the Gigabit Switch idea. If I understand correctly, the connection between an external HDD and the NAS, even when it is connected to the USB port on the NAS is handled by the laptop, so with the use of a Gigabit Switch the laptop and the NAS will communicate inside the switch, it will also speed up the transfer speed between external HDD connected to the usb3 port of the NAS and the NAS. Is that correct?  
  • Meurglys0Meurglys0 Member Posts: 13  Freshman Member
    edited May 27, 2020 7:25AM
    deleted
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