NAS Compares How to Connect the QNAP QNA-UC5G1T 5Gbe Adapter to a Synology NAS

Currently reading
NAS Compares How to Connect the QNAP QNA-UC5G1T 5Gbe Adapter to a Synology NAS

Make Your Synology NAS 5Gbe Equipped with the QNAP USB-to-5GbE Adapter​


For those of you who have been considering (or have already purchased) a Synology NAS in the last year or so, one of the things that the brand has never really engaged in heavily is the idea of greater-than-gigabit connectivity at the diskstation level. There HAVE been a handful of 10Gbe equipped solutions that were either priced as enterprise solutions (eg DS1621xs+) Or were partnered with weaker CPUs (eg DS1817). Alongside this, many solutions at the desktop level have arrived with PCIe upgradability, allowing users to upgrade the 1GbE ports to something more substantial. However, last year QNAP released a new kind of network interface upgrade for NAS and PC, known as the QNA-UC5G1T USB to 5GbE adapter. Many (myself included) were looking forward to testing this out on a Synology NAS system, in order to allow even modest 2 and 4-Bay Diskstation systems to upgrade from 1Gbe-to-5Gbe just with a USB port. However, the Synology NAS system does not officially support the QNAP QNA-UC5G1T adapter. However, a smart user by the name of bb-qq’ on github last year successfully created an unofficial Synology app/plugin for the Diskstation App Center that will install the necessary Aquantia driver to use this QNAP adapter on your Synology NAS. Today I want to show you how to add this adapter to your NAS and upgrade your Synology to 5Gbe (or more with more adapters and USB ports) without the need of a PCIe upgrade slot. Let’s go!


Continue reading...
- - -

Check out FREE NAS advice section on nascompares.com
 
That's a nice guide from Rob and an even nicer project by this bb-qq fella :)
I'm planning on upgrading to some sort of multi-gig setup (LAG or otherwise), but because I don't have anything in that regard, I'd have to buy a bunch of things (managed switch (like the Netgear SX10) and 2x such USB 5GbE adapters). I haven't been able to justify that for myself YET :p
 
Read about this when those 5G QNAP devices hit the market. Wondering if the drivers will also be updated to DSM7 considering that the chain tools are out now. Guessing they will. Hope that they will become more stable as well in the future. Still, a dual 1G will still remain in case of failure. But I guess that's the beauty of a multi interface NAS.
 
Last edited:
Bare in mind that 5G is the limit of the USB 3.x Gen1 interface Even though the adapter can be configured as 5000Mbps full duplex, the bandwith will be shared between RX and TX. I had one connected to an ESXi server, which made roughly 2Gbps down and 3Gbps up in iperf tests I had to perform a firmware update on the usb adapter to make it work with ESXi. I made the tests with MTU size 1500, though I doubt that the speeds will change drasticly with jumbo frames. Tbh, I never tried it with the Syno. I needed it for StorageOS which creates a cluster of storages within a Kubernetes cluster.

Because of the bandwith cap, I ended up replacing the USB adapter with a 10Gbps nic.
 
Because of the bandwith cap, I ended up replacing the USB adapter with a 10Gbps nic.
Ofc 10G all the way :D. But this these smaller DS models that is not an option. And even getting 2-3x faster speeds will be an upgrade.
 
Bare in mind that 5G is the limit of the USB 3.x Gen1 interface Even though the adapter can be configured as 5000Mbps full duplex, the bandwith will be shared between RX and TX. I had one connected to an ESXi server, which made roughly 2Gbps down and 3Gbps up in iperf tests
True that! Not surprised to also see the thermal throttling mentioned in the driver of this small USB adapter, so it's def not for sustained speeds, but the 2-3x speed Rusty mentioned.
 
The temperatures on the usb adapter are very noticable, but not to an extend that it's too hot to touch ^^

I wish I could say the same for 10GBase-T SFP+ module I used to connect the adapter to my switch; during the summer the temperatures rarely dropped below 70C (I assume this is the max value the switch is able to show or the heat sensor of the SFP+ module is able to detected) and it was uncomfortable to touch.
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Similar threads

  • Article
…As an update to this, I now have a couple of these. I have them plugged into one of my Synologys, but...
Replies
4
Views
2,479
  • Article
Connecting DIRECTLY With Your NAS without Using a Switch or Router Let’s all be honest for a second about...
Replies
0
Views
2,210
  • Article
Welcome to NASCompares YouTube channel! Check out our next video below. - - - Check out FREE NAS...
Replies
0
Views
1,574
  • Article
Welcome to NASCompares YouTube channel! Check out our next video below. - - - Check out FREE NAS...
Replies
0
Views
12,494
  • Article
An Easy Guide to Buying the Right UPS for your NAS System The popularity of uninterruptible power...
Replies
0
Views
480
  • Article
Welcome to NASCompares YouTube channel! Check out our next video below...
Replies
0
Views
601
  • Article
Synology DS224+ vs QNAP TS-262 NAS – Which is Best For You? Isn’t it great when any facet of the tech...
Replies
0
Views
1,491

Welcome to SynoForum.com!

SynoForum.com is an unofficial Synology forum for NAS owners and enthusiasts.

Registration is free, easy and fast!

Back
Top