Networking – WD MyCloud NAS Slow Transfer Speed

gigabit-ethernetnasnetworking

Let me start by saying that I'm a networking newbie. I understand the basic processes but not the intricacies of multiple routing devices on a network.

My setup is essentially this:

------------------        ----------      -----------------------
| Internet/Cloud |  <-->  | Router | <--> | PowerLine Adapter 0 | <---*
------------------        ----------      -----------------------

                                                          -------------
    Upstairs                                           -> | NAS Drive |
    -----------------------      ------------------ <-/   -------------
*-> | PowerLine Adapter 1 | <--> | Gigabit Switch | 
    -----------------------      ------------------ <-\   --------------
                                                       -> | Desktop PC |
    Downstairs                                            --------------
    -----------------------      -------
*-> | PowerLine Adapter 2 | <--> | PS4 |
    -----------------------      -------

The internet speeds I get are as fast as they should be on average (74Mbps).
When attempting to transfer files between my NAS and Desktop PC, I am expecting to get transfer speeds of 1000Mbps (~125MBps) however I am only getting speeds of 100Mbps (~12.5MBps).

I understand that the PowerLine elements of the network will mean the transfer speeds across that interface will be limited to 300Mbps (I'm only getting 100Mbps there but I'm not as fussed about that). However, with the Gigabit switch located between the NAS, PC and PowerLine Adapter 1, I am of the opinion that I should be getting gigabit speeds between the NAS drive and the PC?

Can anyone point out where I might be going wrong or misunderstanding something.

EDIT: Just to note also, the drives in question are SSD in the PC and WD RED 4TB drives in the NAS, so should not be a bottleneck in this process?

Thanks in advance!

Best Answer

Ok, so I finally found out what is going on here... There is nothing wrong with my network setup, cables or drivers. The issue is caused by the encryption of the drives that is an option when creating the volumes. If volume encryption is enabled, the processor is simply not powerful enough to decrypt the drive at the speed required for gigabit data transfer.

Unfortunately this means that in order to achieve the speeds desired, you have to reformat the drives, which is not ideal if you have no other storage options.

EDIT: As suggested by Daniel B, the NAS drive in question here is a WD MyCloud Ex2.

Hope this helps someone else who is seeing this issue.

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