Connecting DS220j to Mac Studio

[jvishal]

Try and make an AFP mount and transfer a single large file (in GBs) and see if that will be any faster then going over SMB.

Okay - So looks like it does make a difference. I can see 90 MB/s read and write on Blackmagic.

I can see that the LAN port on my Mac Studio is a 10 Gb port. I am not sure whether my DS220j has a 10 Gb port also not sure whether that can be upgraded. So connecting the DS directly to Mac would also not make much of a difference i guess.

I am assuming this is the best transfer speed i will have to live with - is that correct ? Or any other change/ mod would improve the situation ?

 

[Rusty]

I am not sure whether my DS220j has a 10 Gb port also not sure whether that can be upgraded.

No, and no

So connecting the DS directly to Mac would also not make much of a difference i guess.

Correct, 1G will be max speed (100MB/s)

I am assuming this is the best transfer speed i will have to live with - is that correct ? Or any other change/ mod would improve the situation ?

Again, correct. 100MB/s would be a max speed to expect. Depending on the rest of the network as well as the fact that the "J" series has its limitations, 90MB-100MB/s transfers is a realistic maximum.

 

[EAZ1964]

Good that you are ”up to speed”.
I know Rusty uses AFP, and his experiences are that it is fine to use In many setups.
My experience since 2002 is, that Apple had difficulties getting it right. Depending on the MacOs version either SMB or AFP, or both of them had stable and unstable releases, resulting in anything between loss of connection to full system freeze in my mixed, Mac, Windows, linux environment, most of the time apple patched it in the .1 releases.
SMB is stable for several M1 MacOs releases now, so I stick with it for the moment. Beware that you might need to check functionality on new releases and prepare to switch between the two in the future.

 

[jvishal]

No, and no


Correct, 1G will be max speed (100MB/s)


Again, correct. 100MB/s would be a max speed to expect. Depending on the rest of the network as well as the fact that the "J" series has its limitations, 90MB-100MB/s transfers is a realistic maximum.

Well - So with AFP here is the final result which i guess is the best i can get. I also realise that after uninstalling AV gets me better performance as well. So finally have uninstalled the AV for good.

Thanks a lot Rusty for being so prompt in replies and so helpful.

-- post merged: 26. May 2023 --

No, and no


Correct, 1G will be max speed (100MB/s)


Again, correct. 100MB/s would be a max speed to expect. Depending on the rest of the network as well as the fact that the "J" series has its limitations, 90MB-100MB/s transfers is a realistic maximum.

Wish i did a better research before buying the NAS. I should have got a NAS with a dual LAN and one with a Gigabit port.

Which that model would be if you had to recommend ?

 

[Rusty]

Which that model would be if you had to recommend ?

If by 1G you mean the one that has 10G port and can push 1GB/s transfer along with a dual standard 1G (100MB) ports, that would be DS723+ if we are talking about a dual bay NAS.

10G is an option on that model (another 150€ for the card), but the unit is very powerful. also there is a 4-bay version of the exact setup, the DS923+.

The DS220+ (and the upcoming refresh, the DS224+) does offer a dual LAN but no 10G options (probably the 224 model will not offer it as well).

For more 1st hand details and speeds, maybe these articles will help:

Synology DS723+ review

Not long ago, #Synology released the brand-new DS923+. Today, here is its younger brother, the new top-of-the-line 2-bay #NAS, the DS723+

www.blackvoid.club

Synology DS923+ review

Brand new #Synology #DS923 is here! A long-awaited 4-bay #NAS comes with an optional #10G, up to 32GB of RAM, and an #AMD Ryzen.

www.blackvoid.club

 

[Deleted member 5784]

Wish i did a better research before buying the NAS. I should have got a NAS with a dual LAN and one with a Gigabit port.

OP, I noticed from another thread that you are using your NAS to store RAW photo files. Just to say that in all this discussion of networking speeds etc, it's worth making explicit that most people in your position working with RAW photo files / video and the like don't try to edit large media files directly on the NAS, for the networking reasons you're discovering.

A typical workflow would involve downloading an image(s) to be edited from the camera to a fast, local storage such as your internal NVME, or possibly a fast direct-connected external SSD, for example; then editing the image(s) locally; then finally uploading the completed edits back to the NAS.

IOW, the NAS is literally just being used for storage of RAW files & edited files, whilst fast solid state devices are used for the editing stages.

This isn't universal, and ofc there will be folk along to say how they have managed to cobble a system together that lets them edit directly on the NAS, etc. There will also be folk who have fast 10Gbit Macs, switches, cables and NAS Network cards which are fast enough to edit directly on the storage NAS. But for the majority of photogs I've worked with, most don't try and do everything directly from a 1Gbit NAS.

Apologies if this is obvious to you; just a different perspective to possible consider before you go down the rabbit hole of chasing 10Gbit networking. I've encountered lots of photogs who buy NASs expecting them to act like external SSDs and are then surprised to find that 1Gbit Network speeds are not comparable. But it's possible to work round the technical limitations with a suitable workflow.

 

[jvishal]

OP, I noticed from another thread that you are using your NAS to store RAW photo files. Just to say that in all this discussion of networking speeds etc, it's worth making explicit that most people in your position working with RAW photo files / video and the like don't try to edit large media files directly on the NAS, for the networking reasons you're discovering.

A typical workflow would involve downloading an image(s) to be edited from the camera to a fast, local storage such as your internal NVME, or possibly a fast direct-connected external SSD, for example; then editing the image(s) locally; then finally uploading the completed edits back to the NAS.

IOW, the NAS is literally just being used for storage of RAW files & edited files, whilst fast solid state devices are used for the editing stages.

This isn't universal, and ofc there will be folk along to say how they have managed to cobble a system together that lets them edit directly on the NAS, etc. There will also be folk who have fast 10Gbit Macs, switches, cables and NAS Network cards which are fast enough to edit directly on the storage NAS. But for the majority of photogs I've worked with, most don't try and do everything directly from a 1Gbit NAS.

Apologies if this is obvious to you; just a different perspective to possible consider before you go down the rabbit hole of chasing 10Gbit networking. I've encountered lots of photogs who buy NASs expecting them to act like external SSDs and are then surprised to find that 1Gbit Network speeds are not comparable. But it's possible to work round the technical limitations with a suitable workflow.

Thanks a lot. You have hit the nail head.

When i setup my DS220j for the first time and started transferring RAWs, Edited RAWs (PSD, TIFF etc) to the NAS which was around 5TB of data - It was frustrating. Having no idea about data transfer speed to expect from the NAS, I had very high hopes and hence the frustration. Nevertheless, when all the files were copied, I started using it and more ofthen than not, I am able to edit my RAWs directly on the NAS. Benefits of having a low megapixel camera. Since i don't shot/ edit videos, I am almost sorted with the data speed this device offers (specially after all the tweaks suggested on this forum).

I would continue to use it till the time i realise, i should invest in a more capable device. Thanks again for your reply and the prespective. We all learn from each other and thats the whole purpose of being on a forum like this.

 

[ed.j]

It's bit of a nasty surprise when you find out that 1Gb (E) /= 1 GB.

Of all the numerical inconsistencies in the tech world, it's probably the most annoying.

1 manufacturing GB /= an actual GB (as measured by any computer system) is also very annoying

1 home internet Mb /= 1 MB as used by every single person ever is the biggest con

 

[fredbert]

I first noticed the 1 MB (on box) =/= 1MB (in computer) was with Iomega Zip discs which where marketed as 100 MB (but in base 10). Regarding bandwidth transmit/receive, I've only ever thought in bits per second, or kilo/mega/giga in base 2. I really struggle with Synology mixing up bandwidth speeds in SRM so you have to enter it in bytes.

Capitalisation is important when reading bits and Bytes, as one is eight times greater than the other (hint, the latter is greater).

 

[ed.j]

I first noticed the 1 MB (on box) =/= 1MB (in computer) was with Iomega Zip discs which where marketed as 100 MB (but in base 10). Regarding bandwidth transmit/receive, I've only ever thought in bits per second, or kilo/mega/giga in base 2. I really struggle with Synology mixing up bandwidth speeds in SRM so you have to enter it in bytes.

Capitalisation is important when reading bits and Bytes, as one is eight times greater than the other (hint, the latter is greater).

I have often wondered what happened to my zip drive - and what 13 (ish) year old me could possibly need the storage space for. Is it any wonder all these years later I'm into the world of NAS...

 

[jvishal]

I have often wondered what happened to my zip drive - and what 13 (ish) year old me could possibly need the storage space for. Is it any wonder all these years later I'm into the world of NAS...

ohh thats some ray of hope for me. Plese find if you have the ZIP drive reader. One of my good friend has lot of RAW photos (treasure) on his Zip drives only to understand that readers are no more available. Only if you have a working one and willing to let go.

 

[ed.j]

ohh thats some ray of hope for me. Plese find if you have the ZIP drive reader. One of my good friend has lot of RAW photos (treasure) on his Zip drives only to understand that readers are no more available. Only if you have a working one and willing to let go.

there are loads of zip drives for sale on ebay UK...

 

[fredbert]

there are loads of zip drives for sale on ebay UK...

Just be sure to look for one with the correct interface, both my Zip and Jaz drives had SCSI (of some long forgotten variant).

 

[Deleted member 5784]

Just be sure to look for one with the correct interface, both my Zip and Jaz drives had SCSI (of some long forgotten variant).

Were some of the Zips parallel port, or is my memory deceiving me?

 

[jvishal]

there are loads of zip drives for sale on ebay UK...

Thanks a lot. Will do check.

 

[jvishal]

Yes - It came in both the SCSI & the Parellel Port.