WD MyCloud NAS Slow Transfer Speed

Question

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!

Solution

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.

Comments

[kasperd]

Most switches have different colours of LEDs to indicate the link speed of each interface. What speed does it indicate for each of the links?

[Ben Turner]

Unfortunately the switch I have doesn't have that functionality. I know what you mean, for example the netgear switches have two LEDs on each port and if both are lit then you are getting gigabit speeds. No such functionality on this switch I'm afraid.

[Konrad Gajewski]

Which os are you using? Provided it is Windows, check the properties of the connection to determine if it is synched at 100Mbps.

[Ben Turner]

The Speed and Duplex is set to Auto Negotiation.

[Ron Maupin]

You need to make sure that the cables have all four pairs connected correctly. If a gigabit port only has two good pairs on a cable, it will auto-negotiate to 100 Mb.

[Linef4ult]

As Ron says above, its either cable quality or one of the devices has a 10/100 NIC. Windows will report the link speed to you so you know if its good or not, the NAS, depends what you're running there.

[Ben Turner]

I have tested both cat6 cables used in a direct connection to my PC and can confirm that I get gigabit speeds when a direct connection is made. The issue arises as soon as the switch (and thus rest of network) is linked in and speeds drop back down to 100Mbps... This means it is nothing to do with my PC or the NAS being unable to support it, so I'm thinking either the switch says its gigabit and is somehow malfunctioning, or there is a deeper issue with the network setup.

[Daniel B]

To help others, you should mention the exact make and model of the NAS involved.