Update Router for New PC & NAS Build

[Skellig]

Hello! I'm hoping to get a sense check of my plans for for changes to my home network with a new PC Build, NAS and Router.

1. Install one or two 2.5gbps network cards on the NAS? I am decommissioning an old Drobo NAS and building a new one using my old PC as a foundation. The motherboard has a 1gig LAN port so I'm thinking of putting in a 2.5gig network card (dual?) to be able to connect it both to the router and directly to the new PC. I'm assuming it would then be possible to link this NAS to my PC directly.

2. Run CAT 6 cables to access router and internet as well as editing from NAS directly? The new PC will be capable of Wifi 7 and has 5 gig LAN capability alongside USB-C (4.0) and will only be a few feet away from the router position but would it be good still to have a cable to the router? If I wanted two cables, would I be able to use a USB-C to Ethernet adapter so I don't have to put in another network card in the new PC?

3. What router? It appears to me that my new router will then have to have dual 2.5gbps ports and WiFi 7 capability which will probably be something like the upcoming: ASUS RT-BE86U Wifi 7 Router or ASUS TUF Gaming BE6500 Wifi 7 Router.

Or is this a complete mess and I need to go back to the drawing board?

Would appreciate any advice on this! Been a while since I last to do a bunch of tech upgrade in one go.

 

[ChrisD.]

If you have no requirement to route 2.5 Gbps or above, just get a 2.5 Gbps or 10 Gbps switch with enough ports to meet your requirements. There's no need to replace the router. And I personally wouldn't be buying anything Asus sell, especially their routers.

 

[Armageus]

It would make sense to just get a 2.5Gb (or even 5Gbps switch) then connect it to your router. You then aren't tied to upgrading/changing the router at the same time. (and it doesn't matter if the uplink from the switch to router is only 1Gbps, the benefit is from nas to PC)

Cat5e is fine for 2.5Gbps (and even 5Gbps or 10Gbps at short distances), but Cat6 patch leads don't cost much more so would be a benefit.

If you need Wifi7, you could also separate out the Wifi to a dedicated Access point, and plug that into the 2.5Gbps switch.

 

[Skellig]

Thank you for the replies and big thank you for taking the time to draw it out! Super grateful for the input.

So it seems like I can just go for a 5-Port 2.5g switch option such as the TP-Link Unmanaged 5-Port 2.5G Multi-Gigabit Desktop Switch (TL-SG105-M2) with a 2.5g or 5g network card in NAS server.

As for the router, I won't worry having to upgrade for a bit and even if I did, I'd won't need to fuss about multiple 2.5gb ports as the switch will handle it which is a lot cheaper than my initial plan.

Thanks again!

 

[Avalon]

As a side note, for a variety of reasons it’s considered bad practice to run a virtualised router, the major caveats being if host isolation/security fails, it can get nasty, and if you reboot or it goes down for some reason eg an update, or a host problem, you loose local DNS till it’s fixed, if that for example requires you to download an update or patch, well you see the problem, then it’s dragging out a physical router. I’m not saying I haven’t done this in a home setting, but I usually had another VM ready to spin up on another server or had HA configured on physically different hosts, the primary being bare metal. If it’s just you in the household, no issue as you know the risks, when the household is multiple people, that tends to not go down too well.

Also when you say editing, if you want high bandwidth/IOPS/low latency, local NVMe will always win over a network share, by all means back it up to the NAS or sync it, but scratch generally works best as local storage.

 

[SpellowHouse]

It would make sense to just get a 2.5Gb (or even 5Gbps switch) then connect it to your router. You then aren't tied to upgrading/changing the router at the same time. (and it doesn't matter if the uplink from the switch to router is only 1Gbps, the benefit is from nas to PC)

Cat5e is fine for 2.5Gbps (and even 5Gbps or 10Gbps at short distances), but Cat6 patch leads don't cost much more so would be a benefit.

If you need Wifi7, you could also separate out the Wifi to a dedicated Access point, and plug that into the 2.5Gbps switch.

Thank you for the replies and big thank you for taking the time to draw it out! Super grateful for the input.

So it seems like I can just go for a 5-Port 2.5g switch option such as the TP-Link Unmanaged 5-Port 2.5G Multi-Gigabit Desktop Switch (TL-SG105-M2) with a 2.5g or 5g network card in NAS server.

As for the router, I won't worry having to upgrade for a bit and even if I did, I'd won't need to fuss about multiple 2.5gb ports as the switch will handle it which is a lot cheaper than my initial plan.

Thanks again!

The diagram is similar to what I have. The NAS, in my case, is a media PC that also serves as a backup. I was a little dubious about whether I would see any real improvement over 1Gb, given that I was using mechanical drivers, but it did. Write speed to the mechanical NAS was approximately doubled with the 2.5Gb LAN, but failed to show any improvement after that. In other words, 5Gb is a waste of money. Of course if you have RAID that will be different.

Regards the manufacturer of the switch, the main difference between the cheap ones and the more normally priced ones is the warranty. Realistically, the warranty for a cheap Chinese one is a year. For a reputable make, its more likely to be a lifetime warranty. I was lucky with mine, I managed to get an open-box D-Link at a silly price, complete with lifetime warranty, and I would suggest you hunt around and just go for the best deal. The D-Link has worked flawlessly since it was installed.