Ethernet card (speed) upgrade

[Leonkar]

Hi everybody!

 

In a few days I am going to upgrade one of my array disks, and I would like to upgrade too my ethernet speed.

 

My system:

 

Kernel: Linux 3.10.24p-unRAID x86_64

Motherboard: ASRock - FM2A88M Extreme4+

CPU: AMD A4-4000 APU with Radeon HD Graphics

Speed: 3 GHz

Cache: 96 kB, 1024 kB

Memory: 2048 MB (max. 2 GB)

Network: eth0: 100Mb/s - Full Duplex

 

 

When installed, I found that the ethernet card of my motherboard was not able to be used with Unraid, so I installed an aditional 10/100Mbs card that is the one I used always. The problem is that when writing in the array from my desktop machine (10/100/1000Mb) using SAMBA I can't get a transfer speed of more that 10M/s (windows 10 info). So I want to know if that is the expected speed for the system, and if its possible to upgrade it with a new card or anything else. I guess the ethernet of the board is not still viable, right?

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

Array info (if needed):

Parity ST3000DM001-1CH166_Z1F4982Q (sdd) 2930266532 * 3 TB         -         -         25.341.114 8430        0

Disk 1 ST3000DM001-1CH166_Z1F4985Y (sdb) 2930266532 * 3 TB         2,81 TB 190 GB 20.964.759 2846 0 Browse /mnt/disk1

Disk 2 ST3000DM001-1CH166_Z1F48PZR (sdc) 2930266532 * 3 TB         2,94 TB 58,3 GB 24.261.846 3139 0 Browse /mnt/disk2

Disk 3 ST31500541AS_9XW02BBP (sde) 1465138552 *     1,50 TB 1,38 TB 119 GB 5.075.868 2029 0 Browse /mnt/disk3

Disk 4 ST31500541AS_6XW0M3BN (sdf) 1465138552 *     1,50 TB 1,30 TB 200 GB 7.473.723 404         0 Browse /mnt/disk4

 

Total (Size/Used/Free excludes Parity) * 9 TB 8,43 TB 567 GB 83.117.310 16.848 0

 

Flash DataTraveler_2.0 (sda) 7565784 * 7,75 GB 168 MB 7,58 GB 729 15 0

[itimpi]

That speed strongly suggests that your Ethernet is only running at 100 Mbps.  A common culprit is the cabling as any broken connector in the cable will cause a fallback from 1Gbps to 100Mbps.

[Leonkar]

You didnt got me I guess. I am using an 10/100Mb card in my unraid system because the motherboard one was not accepted (Its 10/100/1000Mb). I wanted to know if that transfer speed is the correct with my card and if I can upgrade it with a 1G one. The motherboard one is still not accepted?

 

Thanks for your help and sorry for my bad english!

[JonathanM]

When installed, I found that the ethernet card of my motherboard was not able to be used with Unraid, so I installed an aditional 10/100Mbs card that is the one I used always.

That speed strongly suggests that your Ethernet is only running at 100 Mbps.

Yep, a 10/100Mb/s card is only ever going to transfer at about 11MB/s.

[firetime]

You can see up to a 10 fold increase moving to gigabit capable nic.

 

Some unscientific tests on my system show that copying a large file from unraid server to my desktop nets about 110 MB/s. Copying data to the server is about the same

 

I would recommend looking over at the hardware board for nics that people have had good luck with however just about any Intel branded network card should work (PCI,  PCI express x1). They often have the least issues when it comes to compatibility and have good performance.

 

Also you are correct in that the on board nic is still out. From some old posts the Qualcomm Atheros AR8171 that your mother board uses is unsupported.

[METDeath]

You actually tried using the NIC on the motherboard or did you just read about issues with some Realtek NICs and assume that it wouldn't work? I've used several on board NICs with AMD systems that had Realtek NICs and not had any issues.

[John_M]

You actually tried using the NIC on the motherboard or did you just read about issues with some Realtek NICs and assume that it wouldn't work? I've used several on board NICs with AMD systems that had Realtek NICs and not had any issues.

 

I too have not experienced any major issues with Realtek NICs, though I always find that Intel or Broadcom ones work better (more throughput and less CPU load). However, that is beside the point. The OP's motherboard uses a Qualcomm Atheros AR8171, which doesn't appear to be supported.

[Leonkar]

I tried with the built-in one when configured the Unraid server, but it doesn't work.

 

Then I will change the 10/100Mb for a faster 10/100/1000Mb one. I have this one as posibility but I wanted to know if this one is supported. I searched in the hardware section but I fear that I get lost without clear info...

 

One more doubt: Is there any vital or important info that I have to know for the pci card change? I dont know if I can just change it and everything will work without problems or if I need to do something not obvious to get it.

 

Thanks to everybody for your help and advices!

[garycase]

Just to be safe, I'd buy an Intel card (they're the "gold standard" for Ethernet adapters):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106121

 

However ... be sure your server has a PCI slot before buying a card with a PCI interface (like both the one you asked about and the Intel card above)

 

... if you need PCIe instead, get this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106033

[METDeath]

You actually tried using the NIC on the motherboard or did you just read about issues with some Realtek NICs and assume that it wouldn't work? I've used several on board NICs with AMD systems that had Realtek NICs and not had any issues.

 

I too have not experienced any major issues with Realtek NICs, though I always find that Intel or Broadcom ones work better (more throughput and less CPU load). However, that is beside the point. The OP's motherboard uses a Qualcomm Atheros AR8171, which doesn't appear to be supported.

 

Whoops... good catch.

[firetime]

That tp-link card implements the realtek r8169. I'm not sure if any of the issues still persist but that chip has had a rocky past with less than stellar consistency. It works for some and not others. If you have excess time to tinker you could attempt to use it but in my position dropping the ~$30 to not have to mess with it ever again would be worth it.

[garycase]

... dropping the ~$30 to not have to mess with it ever again would be worth it.

 

Absolutely agree -- I never buy a non-Intel network adapter.  I do have a couple systems with Realtek adapters; but only because that's what's on the motherboard.