Is it bad to directly connect a Synology NAS to a computer?

[nasusers]

Hello, since my PC and NAS both have 10GbE, I thought of directly connecting them via Cat6 ethernet cable for the fastest connection without using a switch. However, somebody mentioned that doing so could cause some stability issues. Is that really true?

 

[EAZ1964]

this should work fine.
issue that you can expect:

• Nas is not given an ip number as it is not connected to router ( fixed ip needed)
• Nas cannot connect to internet or other devices, for same reason.

 

[Rusty]

Hello, since my PC and NAS both have 10GbE, I thought of directly connecting them via Cat6 ethernet cable for the fastest connection without using a switch. However, somebody mentioned that doing so could cause some stability issues. Is that really true?

It will work fine. Guessing 10G is not the only NIC on the NAS. If so, you can use a dedicated subnet range to connect direct to your PC, and use another NIC on both PC and the NAS to connect to the rest of the network to get network connectivity towards the Internet for example.

 

[nasusers]

Synology told me that they don't recommend such method because the NAS (mine is a 1522+) will not have internet access and will not be easily able to retrieve updates. Moreover, a direct connection can cause issues such as Packet Collisions without the use of intermediary device to manage the traffic between the PC and the NAS. This can cause issues such as random disconnections or possible data corruption in rare instances.

In practice, how likely do such stability issues happen?

 

[Rusty]

In practice, how likely do such stability issues happen?

Never happened to me, but I'm sure other will comment on this as well.

 

[Telos]

Works fine here.

 

[Coop777]

it is not bad, but if you need to connect more than one pc to it, a switch connected behind your router would be the best option.

 

[fredbert]

The problem with the original question is that you only mention the 10 GbE interfaces and don't say what others you have on the devices. So a DS1522+ with a 10 GbE port will still have four 1 GbE interfaces, so you can set the default gateway to be on the 1 GbE and have this connected to your router. Likewise the PC could have a default interface, be it a 1 GbE (or other wired) or WiFi. Then connecting the PC and NAS 10-10 GbE will [should] auto-assign IPs or you can manually set them using a spare subnet.

This is similar to how I have my new and old Mac Minis networked. Default interfaces are their internal Ethernet ports connected to my LAN, and between them I have ThunderBolt Ethernet which is 5 Gbps. You just have to ensure that the correct interfaces are default so that's where outbound request get sent for destinations that are outside of the connected subnets.

 

[Deleted member 5784]

'Can I do this..?' != 'Should I do this?'

OP, frankly you'd be better served just learning to run your new NAS as an actual NAS, ie connected to a router / an existing network, before you go down technical rabbit holes like the one outlined above. In other posts, you're still grappling with issues like HDD noise & whether SSDs are covered by warranty; I'd suggest that you'd be better off learning the basics first before trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole, even if it can technically be done.

It sounds a bit like you've bought a NAS but dont have an actual network (The 'N' in NAS) to connect it to? If that's the case, really you'd be better off returning it and buying a DAS direct-connected storage device instead. As that's what you'd be effectively turning the NAS into in your OP.

 

[nasusers]

Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, I got a NAS last week but I have not used it because during the setup process, the manual asked me to connect it to a router/switch/hub which I have not figured what to do with my home network along with the UPS.

So just plug it to a 1GbE port of my router and set it up with a Seagate Ironwolf listed as compatible. Start using it while figuring out a more optimal home network setup? I am wasting the return period leaving the NAS doing nothing on the desk.

I spent months trying to decide between DAS and NAS. Tried the DAS approach but it did not work out. I kind of regret trying the NAS approach but returning is not that easy as I bought it internationally and I have to pay for the shipping cost to send it back.

 

[nasusers]

The problem with the original question is that you only mention the 10 GbE interfaces and don't say what others you have on the devices. So a DS1522+ with a 10 GbE port will still have four 1 GbE interfaces, so you can set the default gateway to be on the 1 GbE and have this connected to your router. Likewise the PC could have a default interface, be it a 1 GbE (or other wired) or WiFi. Then connecting the PC and NAS 10-10 GbE will [should] auto-assign IPs or you can manually set them using a spare subnet.

This is similar to how I have my new and old Mac Minis networked. Default interfaces are their internal Ethernet ports connected to my LAN, and between them I have ThunderBolt Ethernet which is 5 Gbps. You just have to ensure that the correct interfaces are default so that's where outbound request get sent for destinations that are outside of the connected subnets.

Sorry for the lack of information.

Actually is it worth to spend more to buy a 10G switch? Before buying the NAS, I bought a Silicon Mac to set up a SMB server. I connected it directly to a PC via their respective 10GbE port. I was able to transfer lots of large files from the PC to a SSD DAS. I want that kind of speed when transferring files from the PC to the NAS. Some mentioned that Silicon Mac have SMB issue but I was not aware of it. I had some other issues and returned it to buy a NAS.

 

[Rusty]

Sorry for the lack of information.

Actually is it worth to spend more to buy a 10G switch? Before buying the NAS, I bought a Silicon Mac to set up a SMB server. I connected it directly to a PC via their respective 10GbE port. I was able to transfer lots of large files from the PC to a SSD DAS. I want that kind of speed when transferring files from the PC to the NAS. Some mentioned that Silicon Mac have SMB issue but I was not aware of it. I had some other issues and returned it to buy a NAS.

Direct connection or over a 10G switch will work and you will be able to get 1GB/s transfers easly. The question now, is do you want that kind of setup or not? If its something that works for you, go for it. Will it work, it will, is that the intended method how to use a NAS? Well, not really, (talking about a DAS scenario), but it can work if you will utilize it using multiple NIC.

As both @fredbert and @Fortran already said, its not a question can you do it, but should you do it.

In the end, the choice will be yours alone.