Computer Related > Dual network on NAS box Miscellaneous
Thread Author: smokie Replies: 12
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New Wed 11 Apr 12 23:32 
 Dual network on NAS box - smokie
I have a Thecus N2200PLUS www.thecus.com/product.php?PROD_ID=43.

This has 2 Gigabit network ports, which when I bought it I assumed I could team to increase speed, but not so - seems one is a "LAN port for connecting to an Ethernet network through a switch or router"and the other a ""WAN port for connecting to an Ethernet network through a switch or router".

In the config I can only set them to IP address in different subnets. They seem to address the same storage though.

So, could I get a second Gigabit card for my PC and set it up with a static IP address in a different subnet to access the NAS?

Primary reason for asking is a tech issue which it might resolve, viz the downstairs PC gets its drawers in a twist when trying to read any reasonable size of data from the NAS when the NAS is attached through the Virgin Gigabit superhub, but is OK through the 10/100 switch, so I could connect the NAS separately and directly to my PC (which is the only one which needs the faster connection).
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New Thu 12 Apr 12 00:23 
 Dual network on NAS box - rtj70
Without looking into it, I'd say it might work and I'd give it a try it was mine. But with the mention of WAN access I wonder if there are restrictions on protocols that can access it via that interface. Very easy to checkout.... plug this other interface into the existing network switch.

Or to test it try the existing NIC in the PC to the NAS (using a cross over cable). Static IPs will be needed on PC and NAS.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Thu 12 Apr 12 at 00:25
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New Thu 12 Apr 12 08:30 
 Dual network on NAS box - Zero
Yup RTJ has it right.

Cat 5 crossover cable, Another gigabit nic in the PC, static IP address in both and bingo. It would be the fastest home network link you ever had.,
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 12:06 
 Dual network on NAS box - smokie
Well it works - second network card in PC, different subnet, disconnect the original one and I can still access the drive.

Now I need to investigate how (if) I can ensure it uses the Gigabit link in preference to (or as well as) the 100mb one.
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 13:01 
 Dual network on NAS box - rtj70
If you connect the NAS to the PC directly with a cross-over cable using the Gigabit link then make sure when the PC maps to the NAS it uses the static IP address you've assigned it. I'd put an entry in the host file on the PC to map the DNS hostname name to the new IP address. Then map to the NAS using that entry in the hosts file

Don't forget the hosts file does not have a file extension on Windows if you edit it.
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 14:50 
 Dual network on NAS box - smokie
I successfully connected with a standard Ethernet cable, and they are talking and I can see/write/read data.

Had forgotten about HOSTS files, I want to see how it;s running by default though before making config changes. I can see traffic over each NIC using Task Manager, so will do some testing when I have time and report back :-)
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 17:21 
 Dual network on NAS box - smokie
Seems to be exclusively talking over the Gigabit connection, if Windows Task Manager can be believed. This is fine as the downstairs computer is connected via the 100 mb connection now, and the problems I was having with that have gone away as a result.

I suspect to load balance I would need something a bit more exotic than an £5 NIC card... The NAS is dual processor and writes reasonably quickly (5400 rpm drives) but I can't saturate the gigabit connection - it runs at about 26% (viewed in Task Manager). Doesn't alter much if I do a few copies concurrently - Windows copy tells me a combined throughout of around 32MB/second, quite how this relates to Gigabit is at the moment beyond me, but people with similar hardware report up to 80 MB/s. Not too bothered though as I don't shuffle too much data around now the NAS has all my backups on it.
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New Sun 15 Apr 12 10:47 
 Dual network on NAS box - smokie
Seems to be 10 to 12 times faster than the 100mb connection so I guess it's working OK...even though it rarely reaches 50% utilization on a copy of large files :-)
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New Sun 15 Apr 12 13:30 
 Dual network on NAS box - rtj70
Yes it will be faster - which is why my Mac and laptop connect to the network in the office at Gigabit speeds, i.e. to access the NAS where I keep ISOs of software to install, some VMs, etc.

You might want to experiment with Jumbo frames too - how much a difference this makes can vary. Depends on a lot of things.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Sun 15 Apr 12 at 13:31
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New Thu 19 Jul 12 14:41 
 Dual network on NAS box - smokie
Having just had some large scale file movements to carry out, I noticed that it was all very slow, and my dedicated NIC to NAS connection (above) seems to be not working.

The NAS sees the connection come and go if I plug in then unplug the cable at either end (I mean in the NAS software).

As far as I recall, nothing has changed except I've had a new VM box...I don't remember configuring anything in there, and the cabling bypasses it so I doubt that's the cause.

Anyone got any ideas please?

EDIT: I also had to reset the Thecus back to factory a long time ago but as far as I can see I have all the setting for Lan 2 correct.
Last edited by: smokie on Thu 19 Jul 12 at 14:43
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New Sun 22 Jul 12 09:10 
 Dual network on NAS box - smokie
Spent an hour or so this morning reconfiguring, removing adapters, swapping cables etc. Eventually rebooted everything and it's back to life. I think it was rebooting the NAS that cured it.
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New Sun 22 Jul 12 09:30 
 Dual network on NAS box - Zero
Oh come on Smokie! An old IT hand like you and a reboot was the "last" thing you tried?
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New Sun 22 Jul 12 09:53 
 Dual network on NAS box - smokie
I know, I know...
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