Setting Up Mac Studio and Synology NAS Without Breaking the Bank

[sirHydra]

Hello everyone!

I recently purchased a new Synology NAS for my Mac Studio and am excited to finally leverage the 10Gbe port. However, I'm faced with a dilemma on how to proceed.

I've noticed that switches with 10Gbe ports are quite expensive for their basic function, so I'm considering an alternative solution. Instead of investing in a pricey switch, I'm thinking about getting a more advanced router like the Asus GT-AXE16000. My question is, do the two 10Gbe ports on this router function similarly to a switch? I plan to connect one port to my Mac Studio and the other directly to the NAS.

Has anyone here tried this setup? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot for your help!

 

[BrianBaughn]

I have no experience with that router but from what I've read the 10 gigabit ports are marketing BS.

 

[sirHydra]

Hi Brian. Thanks for your reply. Could you elaborate?

I'm looking to utilize the 10 gigabit cause my goal is to use the NAS as if it were internal storage.

Currently, with the 1 gigabit port, I'm only getting about 110-120 MB/s. But with a 10 gigabit, I expect to reach speeds closer to 1000/1100 MB/s. This upgrade should be similar to moving from an HDD to an SSD in terms of performance

 

[ondioline]

If it’s just between your Studio and NAS this is a good option:

Switch Flex XG - Ubiquiti Store

A compact, 5-port, Layer 2 switch that supports 10 GbE speeds and can be powered with PoE or a 5V USB-C adapter.

store.ui.com

 

[splifingate]

There are quite a few little 4-port 2.5G / 2-port 10G switches out there that cost USD50-70

I use a little fanless Hunsn (IIRC) I got from ALi, and it works a treat. The 10G SFP+ RJ-45 units get a bit warm, but they've been running 24/7 for a few months now with no failure. Will switch (no pun) it over to SFP+ fiber later this Summer.

Patrick over at STH has reviewed dozens of similar units.

In particular, and applicable to your use-case, pay attention to the reviews regarding using SFP+ DACs . . . not all work with all models.

 

[sirHydra]

Thank you all so much for your advice and suggestions.

After considering everything, I've decided to wait for Prime Day 2024 to purchase the Asus GT-AXE16000. This will allow me to use my current (and excellent, though 8-year-old) Asus AC5300 as an AiMesh node.

With the savings from Prime Day, I’ll also have the flexibility to add one of the recommended switches if needed.

 

[MrWillie]

If you want to use external storage as internal, Thunderbolt is your friend. Return the Synology and purchase a TB drive.

 

[sirHydra]

If you want to use external storage as internal, Thunderbolt is your friend. Return the Synology and purchase a TB drive.

Actually, I already own a custom Thunderbolt external drive that I built using an Acasis enclosure.

While this setup works well for some of my needs, the Synology NAS provides much more storage capacity and additional services.

 

[Fomalhaut]

Hello everyone!

I recently purchased a new Synology NAS for my Mac Studio and am excited to finally leverage the 10Gbe port. However, I'm faced with a dilemma on how to proceed.

I've noticed that switches with 10Gbe ports are quite expensive for their basic function, so I'm considering an alternative solution. Instead of investing in a pricey switch, I'm thinking about getting a more advanced router like the Asus GT-AXE16000. My question is, do the two 10Gbe ports on this router function similarly to a switch? I plan to connect one port to my Mac Studio and the other directly to the NAS.

Has anyone here tried this setup? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot for your help!

why not just connect the Studio directly to the NAS via 10Gb Ethernet? Does the NAS have 2 network ports? I do this with my MBP 14 with a 2.5GbE adapter to a TerraMaster NAS (with 2 x 2.5GbE ports). As long as you can connect to your main LAN via wifi or another network adaptor, you can avoid the expensive 10Gb switch altogether unless you need to connect multiple machines.

 

[sirHydra]

why not just connect the Studio directly to the NAS via 10Gb Ethernet? Does the NAS have 2 network ports? I do this with my MBP 14 with a 2.5GbE adapter to a TerraMaster NAS (with 2 x 2.5GbE ports). As long as you can connect to your main LAN via wifi or another network adaptor, you can avoid the expensive 10Gb switch altogether unless you need to connect multiple machines.

My Synology 1821+ does have multiple ports: four 1GbE and one 10GbE (E10G18-T1), so direct connection is indeed a possibility. However, my situation is a bit more complex as I need to connect several machines simultaneously.


While initially I considered using the NAS as a switch, there are potential configuration and performance issues that could arise with such a setup. After evaluating these factors, I decided it's not the optimal solution for my needs.