Should NAS go to a 10-Gigabit intranet? I upgraded from Gigabit to 2.5G, and after checking the 10 Gigabit account, I got it back

the reason was simple: I copied an 80GB 4K disc to my NAS, and the progress bar crawled at 110MB/s, waiting a full 12 minutes. I stared at that number, stunned—gigabit Ethernet is at this speed, theoretically 125MB/s, but after deducting protocol overhead, 110 to 117 is the ceiling. So I started thinking about upgrading the intranet. I first researched 10Gbps, and finally spent 280 yuan to get 2.5G. I flipped through the 10Gbps bill several times, but still didn't get it. This article lays out the score.

first clarify: what step is Gigabit really stuck at

many people think that a "slow intranet" means the NAS is inadequate, but actually, they look at it separately. previously wrote a troubleshooting where NAS transfers are only a few dozen MB/s, most of which are due to hard drive sleeping and not wakeed, network ports negotiated to hundreds of Mbps, or WiFi running out. If all these pitfalls are eliminated and the speed stabilizes around 110MB/s, then the gigabit network port itself is at its peak and has nothing to do with NAS performance.

What does

110MB/s mean? A 2G movie, copied in 18 seconds. For daily video watching and backing up phone photos, this speed is more than enough—1080P online streaming only requires 20Mbps, while 4K original discs only get 80 to 100Mbps, which converts to less than 10MB/s, and gigabit can simultaneously carry a dozen such streams.

only a few things can truly fully load gigabit files: backing up several TB of data on a whole drive, dragging 4K footage directly from the NAS for editing, or loading large files from several machines simultaneously into the NAS. My home uses the third type—the downloader is written to the NAS during the day, and I copy it outside at night. If you squeeze both sides, everyone ends up with half the 110.

280 2.5G: Ridiculously high cost-performance

to get to the point: if you just find 110MB/s annoying, 2.5GB is enough. My setup is an N100 mini PC (with built-in 2.5G port) plus an 8-port 2.5G switch. The switch on Pinduoduo is just over 200 yuan, plus two Category 6A cables, totaling 280 yuan on the road.

measured speed increased from 110MB/s to about 290MB/s, theoretically 312MB/s, and over 90% actual speed. The 80G original disc was reduced from 12 minutes to 4 and a half minutes. And 2.5G has a hidden advantage: it runs on Cat5e lines without any issues, no need to rewire, and renters can play it too.

power consumption is worry-free; an 8-port 2.5G switch is under 10W when fully loaded, costing just over ten yuan per year. This is probably the most worthwhile 280 yuan I've spent on digital devices in recent years—assuming your NAS port is also 2.5G. If the NAS only has gigabit ports, then buying a switch is pointless—the bottleneck is moved to another place to keep clogging.

Ten Thousand Gigabita's Account: Hardware Isn't That Expensive, Lies elsewhere

I loaded the 10 Gigabit solution into my shopping cart. For second-hand network cards: 82,599 dual optical ports for sixty to seventy yuan, X710-DA2 around one hundred and thirty yuan; The cheapest switch has 8 Ethernet ports costing over 500 Mbps, while optical port solutions are a bit cheaper; Add two more DAC cables, each for a little over 30. Calculating it, 700 to 900 yuan is entry-level, cheaper than I expected.

But when I actually placed an order, I got stuck, because looking at each item at my own home, there were traps everywhere:

right, laptops don't have a 10GB port. You'll need to buy another USB 10G network card or disassemble and install it. USB 3.0 gets hot and slows down, but in actual tests, if it can stay stable at 700MB/s, that's a blessing. And 700MB/s is exactly the entry point for the next pit.

bottlenecks are chained: the network card is fast, the hard drive can't hold up

10GB theory: 1250MB/s. If you want it to run at full capacity, you have to export data from the hard drive at this speed. Each mechanical drive reads sequentially between 200 and 260MB/s, at most a bit over gigabit; Two RAID0 blocks can reach around 450; To break 1000, either use a four-disk array or an SSD. I previously added an SSD to my NAS as a cache , and the conclusion was that it only accelerates repeated reads—if you want to keep 10 Gigabit running to full capacity, relying on caching is useless, you need a solid SSD storage pool.

add a tough calculation: a 2TB SSD costs over 400 RMB, and a full 8TB SSD pool that can feed 10 Gigabit can go up to 1,700 RMB. Including the network card and switch cable, it costs over 2,000 yuan, and in exchange, copying 80GB from 4.5 minutes to 2 minutes (yes, 4.5 minutes for 2.5G). Is the two and a half cents saved worth two thousand yuan? I calculated for myself three minutes and closed the shopping cart.

also mention heat generation. That old 82599 card can reach over 60 degrees Celsius when fully loaded, and a 10G switch is also a hand warmer. Putting it in a weak current box in summer is a good choice. The 2.5G switch just feels warm to the touch.

Who really needs a trillion

I have grouped the real 10-gigabit users I've seen into three categories, and I have identified them accordingly:

the first type, which directly crops 4K footage from the NAS. Editing software requires real-time preview to read multiple tracks simultaneously, stacking several 300Mbps stream clips together, then adding proxy files and audio, and gigabit can indeed cause lag. These people are in urgent need, don't hesitate.

the second category: finished NAS players with many bays and RAID arrays. Synology's four-bay RAID5 reads easily go up to 700MB/s, and gigabit ports are a waste of machines, but upgrading to 10 Mbps is immediate. drive, the streaming library, , and several devices at FamilyMart can read and write simultaneously, with 10Gbps solving the problem of concurrent conflicts all at once.

third type, those who want to stir things up. There's nothing more to say—fever itself is an excuse, and I respect that. Just don't use 'improving experience' as an excuse to fool yourself.

Conversely, if your NAS only has two drives, mainly for watching movies, backing up photos, and occasionally copying small files—gigabit is still available, and 2.5G is the best. What 10 Mbps means to you is roughly like adding a rear spoiler to a grocery shopping car.

the last configuration I left behind, and the order for beginners

my current standard: optical modem bridge, the main router's gigabit port isn't enough, so I hang that 8-port 2.5G switch below. The N100 NAS and desktop both plug in the switch to run 2.5G, and the rest of the devices are fine. There wasn't a single trillion in the house, but every penny was spent wisely.

give those who are conflicted with a sequence list, looking from top to bottom, stop at the overlapping point between your budget and needs:

has a clumsy trick that works well: open Task Manager and keep an eye on the network tab for a week. If you've never seen it reach 100MB/s, congratulations—save a bit of money. If it's maxing out every day, then start with 2.5G. If the 10Gbps pitfall really isn't enough, jump in— my N100 even lost power once last month for protection. If 10Gbps goes up, I might have to cry and recover that day's data.