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Posts Tagged ‘Buffalo Tech’

by lungstruck

Question by Robert: What is the best way & equipment to speed up a network to share devices?
I need to share Maxtor 1TB & 2TB external hard drives between 2-4 desktop pcs. I found the only way to do this was to put the hard drives on the network.

I’ve tried using Network Magic and a Buffalo Tech 1 TB NAS hard drive, but they are both too slow. The Buffalo tech transferred a 4.4 GB dvd file in 12-13 minutes (same as reading/writing from a DVD disc), Network Magic about 45 minutes. USB takes 6 minutes, but obviously can only use one hard drive per pc and I need any or all pcs to be able to access all drives at any one time. I also found USB and Firewire switches, but as expected can only use one pc at a time.

All pcs are Windows Vista Ultimate, 4 GB RAM (Maxxed) with AMD 64 X2 Dual Core Processors 4200+. The network cards vary,,,one is a D-link and the other is onboard. Router is a Linksys WRT54GS with Speedboost.

So I’m wondering how I can speed transfer rates up or is that possible? Getting a better router and network cards are options I would use if I knew it would help. That and any adjustments. All will be hard wired into the router. nothing wireless.

Thanks for the help and enjoy your Sunday.
Update:

I upgraded to a Linksys WRT350N (with storage link) router, 2 Linksys 10/100/1000 network adapter and Cat 5 cables.

Much to my disappointment the Storage Link is way too slow. It takes 45 minutes to transfer a 4.4 GB movie file (stored on a USB Maxtor 1TB drive plugged usb into the router, however I can hook the drive up usb in my 2nd computer and transfer it thru it, the router, to my first computer in 9-10 minutes. Go figure. Makes no sense to me.

I originally couldn’t do that but I used Network Magic and replaced my network adapters with Linksys 10/100/1000 and that alone made it faster going through 2 computers. I was hoping adding a Linksys 10/100/1000 router and Cat 6 cables would help with the storage link, but it didn’t. Looks like I will add hubs to each pc and just transfer back and forth that way for now. My next experiment would be to add a NAS Hard drive to see if it’s faster.

Thanks for the info.

Best answer:

Answer by SonicD
You need to replace your router and all of your network cards. You’re running a 100MB network, and you can upgrade to a 1GB network. Make sure you buy a router and network cards that support the 1GB transfer rate. For routers, the LinkSys WRT350N would work. Also, upgrade your network cables from Cat5e to Cat6 (Cat6 supports faster data transfer rates and better shielding from noise).

If you really need blazing fast speed and have the money to spend, consider setting up a file server with multiple network cards connected to a professional grade router (Cisco or equivalent).

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