Recommended way to transfer 2TB of data from external hdd

[ariffinaldo]

I am enquiring the best way for transfer of data from my external HDD (2TB of data) USB2.0 to my Qnap419+ NAS. I am doing the transfer via LAN. I am using Cat5e. My HDD is connected to my notebook (WIFI connection) and my NAS to a LAN cable. My transfer speed is 700KB/s to 1.5MB/s. Its ver slow. Will it be faster if i connected my HDD to the USB slot in the NAS?

Reason for my enquiry is that i I have another 2TB of HDD that i wish to transfer.

[Toxic17]

maybe slightly faster but the quickest transfer would be have the drive in a esata docking station and connect to the esata port on the back of the NAS....

something like this. http://www.dynamode.com/english/pages/p ... HDK-E.html

[ariffinaldo]

maybe slightly faster but the quickest transfer would be have the drive in a esata docking station and connect to the esata port on the back of the NAS....

something like this. http://www.dynamode.com/english/pages/p ... HDK-E.html

Thanks for the prompt advise. I will try that. Maybe i will look into my local store and check out their prices first.

[ariffinaldo]

Sorry but i just realised. If i am using an external USB HDD, I will not be able to use the esata dock as i believe that it can only be used for internal hdd that i can place inside the dock for transfering. My external USB HDD is WD2Tb and IOMEGA 1TB.

[Toxic17]

most external disks can be removed from their casing, then you just stick it into the docking station.

[pwilson]

Sorry but i just realised. If i am using an external USB HDD, I will not be able to use the esata dock as i believe that it can only be used for internal hdd that i can place inside the dock for transfering. My external USB HDD is WD2Tb and IOMEGA 1TB.

You can also attach your USB drives directly to the NAS, and use File Station or the Linux command line to copy the files. (I prefer to use the command line here). The problem with these suggestions is that your TS-419P+ only has USB2.0, so performance is horrible over USB.

I don't personally understand purchasing external drives at all. I prefer to use Docking Stations, as this allows me to purchase drives from the QNAP HDD Compatibility List, so that I can re-task my backup drives as "internal" drives later, when I need to "hot-swap" a failed drive in my NAS.



You would be far better off with an eSATA Docking Station, as already suggested by Toxic17, as eSATA would be 6 times faster than USB2.0, and would allow you to purchase drives what are suitable for "internal" use later when required.

I dislike purchasing purpose-built external drives, as frequently manufacturers use these to get rid of dubious drive models. For example Seagate used to put their horrible STx000DM00x drives in their enclosures. (These drives are probably fine for such use, however these same drives are not suitable for use inside your NAS). If you use a Drive Dock, you know exactly the Make/Model of the drives you attach to it.

I'm almost afraid to ask, but what Make/Model of drives did Western Digital and Iomega provide "inside" those external drive enclosures? All Drive Docks are not created equal, just as external drive enclosures are not created equal.

For maximum flexibility you might want to purchase a Dock that supports both USB3.0 and eSATA. This would allow you to use it via USB3.0 with your PC, yet be able to use the same Dock (and possibly same drive) for your NAS via eSATA. (USB 3.0 is backward compatible with USB2.0, so you can use a USB3.0 dock with a USB2.0 Computer/NAS).



USB2.0 is horrid to use with Storage devices as it is simply too slow. Are those external drives USB2.0 or USB3.0?
BTW, Drive Docks are cheap. You shouldn't need to spend more than $50USD for a good Dock.

[RichSpan]

The dock with USB 3 sounds like the best option. Have you thought of just of placing the external drive as an internal? Or do you need to keep it as a external?

[pwilson]

The dock with USB 3 sounds like the best option. Have you thought of just of placing the external drive as an internal? Or do you need to keep it as a external?

That was my conclusion too, however I strongly recommend that you choose one that also supports eSATA for your NAS use, as your TS-419P does not support USB3.0.

[RichSpan]

Ah yes, see what you mean

[Frode]

I continue this thread, as the issue is the same. I need to copy data from two 2 TB drives from a ts-209. The 209 is extremely slow, working at 100% cpu when replicating over the wire.
So, I got this Icy Box IB-122CL-U3 Docking Station, but it seems to be a bit flaky. 1st, the TS-670 pro I connected it to reports it as a usb2 device. 2nd, one of the drives, a WD2002fyps, didn't want to connect. The other drive, a WD20ears, connects fine, but I get lots of errors "cannot stat", on nearly half the files when copying. When connecting the IcyBox to a win7 PC, it seems to work much better, no errors, but the paragon extfs driver has problems handling high numbers of files, and crashing windows.

Would this be an issue of the IcyBox, the usb port of the ts-670, or a combination of hdd type and one of the above??? Does anyone have any experience or suggestions?
It's probably better to get another adapter/box which is tested fully compatible - maybe Esata is more stable or better suited than usb3, even if it is slower?

[GunMetalBlue]

I continue this thread, as the issue is the same. I need to copy data from two 2 TB drives from a ts-209. The 209 is extremely slow, working at 100% cpu when replicating over the wire.
So, I got this Icy Box IB-122CL-U3 Docking Station, but it seems to be a bit flaky. 1st, the TS-670 pro I connected it to reports it as a usb2 device. 2nd, one of the drives, a WD2002fyps, didn't want to connect. The other drive, a WD20ears, connects fine, but I get lots of errors "cannot stat", on nearly half the files when copying. When connecting the IcyBox to a win7 PC, it seems to work much better, no errors, but the paragon extfs driver has problems handling high numbers of files, and crashing windows.

Would this be an issue of the IcyBox, the usb port of the ts-670, or a combination of hdd type and one of the above??? Does anyone have any experience or suggestions?
It's probably better to get another adapter/box which is tested fully compatible - maybe Esata is more stable or better suited than usb3, even if it is slower?

Personally I use a Rosewill enclosure, that is currently on the compatibility list that houses an "enterprise" drive (EXT4) that is connected via esata. Typically I see throughput of about 20-30 MB/sec which is acceptable being attached to an already overloaded and very aging TS410. This drive runs 24/7 for backup purposes with no issues.

For "temporary" transfers, I agree with Patrick on the docking station. They're great, however I only connect mine to a Windows laptop and transfer over the LAN to USB for my offsite backups. I tried the docking station once connected directly and after about a day or so, running full time, the drive disconnected from the server. After the disconnect, the drive was hot to the touch (I wish I had taken a temp reading, but didn't). From this I had reason to believe the drive just overheated is what caused the disconnect.

The drawback of the Windows machine is Windows don't like EXT partitions. It might be an idea to load something like Ubuntu on a spare machine, if you have one, and use it for transfers?

[Frode]

So far, I hear that Rosewill docking enclosures should be hunky-dory. Can't find them on the local market tho' (US & far east only). Any other specific docks which are tested compatible?
Or any specific info on what's wrong with the IcyBox?

Is it likely that eSata gives less problems than usb3?
usb3 is theoretically faster, but I think the difference is less than 1:2, so it's probably ok with eSata, for now at least. It might disappear in the near future tho'.