Cat6 and WHS for max. throughput?

Soldato
Joined
30 Sep 2006
Posts
5,280
Location
Midlands, UK
Hi all,

ok, i'm part way through replacing ALL my cat5e network with cat6 modules, patch panel and cabling.
Bear with me before you scream "Why, there's no need!?"
Having already completely replaced one segment, i've tested the speed and its no better than the cat5e segment that it replaced. Copying data between the pc and nas was the same (12MB/s) so a decent 100mbit speed, but not what i was hoping for. I accept that cat6 installation is fussier than cat5e and i haven't met ALL the criteria as regards radius bend etc, but still, and increase in speed was expected.
Now, i'm summising that even though the nas has a gigabit rated nic, the hdd controller doesn't work as fast as better ones and so the speed is never likely to increase. It was a cheap nas enclosure after all. (running 2 x 500gb sata spinpoints in raid 0).
So....i was thinking, replace the nas with Windows Home Server on a new build pc with gigabit lan adaptor. Now, WHS issues aside, i'm hoping that this should then increase my throughput speeds to nearer a 1000mbit network. I'd be happy with maybe 40MB/s transfers (considering overheads etc)
Does this sound reasonable to you guys?

I think the theory is there, just not sure if it truly will give me better speeds. My switch is a 24-port 3com gigabit one, so everything on the network will be gigabit certified.

Any comments will be appreciated. :)
 
FreeNAS, decent HARDWARE raid card and a decent Intel PCI-E nic would probably give you the best performance, the saving made by not using WHS could be put towards the raid card.

The Cat6 was certainly a waste of time / money and was never going to give you an increase in speed - would only have been worthwhile if you were doing long cable runs and required gigabit all the way down them.

Still at least your network is a bit more "future proofed" ;)
 
unless your running crazy long distances the cat5e will run the gigabit stuff fine, plug a pc with an appropriate card in both ends and give it a test before ripping out anymore cable.
 
unless your running crazy long distances the cat5e will run the gigabit stuff fine, plug a pc with an appropriate card in both ends and give it a test before ripping out anymore cable.

yeah, i know, but i was given the stuff, brand new, for free, so i aint gonna let it sit and gather dust. ;)
 
free is a different issue entirely :p

id get two pcs's on that network and test it. a gigabit network should max out any single mechanical hard drive and then some i know i did when transferring data from my laptop to my pc using a router inbetween and cat5e cable.
 
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