Blog Post

10GbE Networking

  • By Michael Wang
  • 28 Dec, 2018

from Michael Wang qnap blog

With a range of affordable NAS, switches and adapters, QNAP is at the forefront of pushing 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) adoption for both home and business users. From multimedia entertainment, virtualization, file backup/recovery, to teamwork and general everyday usage, every application will greatly benefit from the incredible bandwidth that 10GbE provides.

Whether you have already adopted 10GbE networking and want to get the best performance, or you are interested in upgrading to 10GbE but want more information on how to do so, this blog post is a helpful guide that goes through key steps of ensuring that you are getting the promised performance and bandwidth of 10GbE.

Solid-state Drives (SSD) are absolutely essential for attaining the advertised speeds of 10GbE networks. There are two ways of using SSDs with a QNAP NAS: you could go overboard and splash the cash by using an all-SSD configuration, or you could save your money and still attain 10GbE-grade performance by using an SSD cache to complement traditional hard drives.

If you’re using a QNAP NAS with dedicated 2.5-inch SSD bays, or if there are M.2 SSD slots in your NAS then you can easily build a dependable SSD cache without sacrificing any storage space. From QNAP’s internal testing, we recommend using at least four SSDs in a RAID 10 read & write cache to attain the best performance. SSDs from Samsung and Intel usually deliver superb performance.

Of course, you need a business grade, high-end QNAP NAS to deliver the max. speed. To get the best long-term use from your SSDs, QNAP NAS now provides SSD Extra Over-provisioning (OP), allowing you to mitigate the potential effects of write amplification by adding additional OP space to SSDs. You can calculate the recommended OP space by using the SSD Profiling Tool.

You will also need to ensure that your computers have SSDs as their primary storage devices, but most modern laptops and desktops now come equipped with SSD-based storage by default.

Make the switch to the QSW Series

It goes without saying that your switch will be the beating heart of your 10GbE network, so making the right choice is essential. QNAP provide the QSW-804-4C (8-port) and QSW-1208-8C (12-port) 10GbE switches that not only provide a wealth of connections (both SFP+ and RJ-45) but also have been designed for universal usage with a sleek modern look. Whether on a rack in your server room, or sitting alongside your NAS and workstations in a small office, the QSW Series 10GbE switches are energy efficient and run near-silently to empower you with a dependable 10GbE network. And don’t forget to use the proper cables!

Add 10GbE connectivity to your computers

Outside of high-end workstations, finding native 10GbE connectivity on a computer is still quite rare. If you’re lucky enough to have 10GbE-ready computers then you’re all set – but if not then you’re going to need suitable network adapters. If you have a PC with a free PCI Express slot, then QNAP provide the affordable QXG-10G1T adapter for you to add a 10GbE port. If you have a laptop/computer that cannot be upgraded (or if you don’t feel like opening up your PC) then QNAP also offer Thunderbolt 3 to 10GbE adapters – the QNA-T310G1T and QNA-T310G1S NIC – which provide a light and portable solution for connecting devices to your 10GbE network.

Set the MTU to 9000

After you’ve got everything plugged in and ready to go, there’s just one small step left. In your NAS and all of your connected devices you need to set the Jumbo Frame (also known as “MTU” – Maximum Transmission Unit) to 9000. On your NAS, this step can be carried out in Network & Virtual Switch. On Windows and macOS this setting can be configured by going to your network adapter properties/settings.

10GbE Unleashed

The resulting performance when using a RAID 10 SSDs cache with 20% extra over-provisioning.

In summary:

  • Use a sufficient number of SSDs in your NAS to build a RAID 10 read/write SSD cache.
  • Allocate extra over-provisioning space to your SSDs based on recommendations from the SSD Profiling Tool.
  • Use a high-quality 10GbE switch with a variety of ports such as the QNAP QSW Series.
  • Add 10GbE connectivity to your computers using QNAP’s QXG and QNA Series adapters.
  • Set the Jumbo Frame (MTU) of your NAS and computers to 9000.

By following these steps, you will have a dependable 10GbE network that can supercharge every aspect of your IT infrastructure. Whether for home or business use, 10GbE makes everything faster and provides an immense boost in both performance and potential.


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Many companies choose to choose cloud migration to take advantage of cost savings. For companies with fewer than 1,000 employees, purchasing multiple servers is too expensive. Virtualizing requires fewer servers and extends the lifespan of existing hardware. This also means reduced energy costs. Many love the cloud because of it’s ease of use. For example, it’s much easier to backup and protect against disasters that are always unexpected. Recovery is  much easier and accurate, with less manpower and a fraction of the equipment when using the cloud. This also provides better business redundancy. With an increasingly mobile workforce, having good business redundancy is essential. Virtualization gives employees access to software, files and communications anywhere they are and can enable multiple people to access the same information for more efficiency with IT operations. Going to a virtual environment will always make everyone’s job easier and more efficient, especially the I.T. staff providing less downtime, fewer outages, quicker recovery and instant backup automatically, as opposed to non-virtual environments.

By Chris Pacheco January 4, 2019
Contracts come in all shapes and sizes today as tangled web of surprises and tactics used by shareholders to keep the debt ripe among men. The bait and switch clauses are all but gone with almost every contract you're forced to Hancock these days. Luckily cellular phones and my personal favorite, mobile hotspots, have outbid themselves while clamoring to come up with the next trending service plug-in to the point where signed contracts seem last century.

Network speeds, volumized storage arrays, antenna frequencies, and bandwidth have pushed the internet of things to the top of a shining hill. I've listed some legal methods of contractual exodus from a handy blog collectionbelow; mostly for my own reference.

Prepaid:
  AT&T GoPhone  and Straight Talk. Other options include H20 Wireless , Ultra Mobile , Net10 , LycaMobile , Spot Mobile , Telcel America , GIV Mobile , MetroPCSSimple Mobile , Red Pocket , and Pure Talk.


Unlocking your phone before you leave your current carrier seems to be the hottest trend today because you get more value from a better capable device. 

Before you make the call to your carrier, gather some info:

  • The account holder’s name and account number
  • The account holder’s social security number (they’ll ask you for the last four digits) or password
  • The IMEI of your device 
  • The phone number
  •   Make sure your contract is finished. Carriers aren’t required to unlock your device if your plan is active

AT&T

How can I tell if my phone is eligible?  It needs to be a device from a current AT&T customer or a former customer, and you’ll need to verify that with either a phone number or account number. The device will need to have been paid for in full and not reported lost or stolen. AT&T customers can unlock up to five devices per account per year.

Caveats:  Your unlock code comes in through your email, and can take a few days to arrive. Check your spam folder. Officially, AT&T doesn’t do SIM unlocks over the phone; instead, it funnels all requests to an online form, which is a good system until it isn’t.

Can I unlock it online?  Yup, just plug in your IMEI number right here.

What’s the best phone number?  Customer support can be reached at 1- 800-331-0500  but the web form is your best bet.

Where’s the official documentation?   Here.

Verizon

How can I tell if my phone is eligible?   Here’s a list of Verizon devices sold with an unlocked SIM slot. Verizon uses the CDMA network in the United States, but many of its devices also include an unlocked SIM slot. This means most Verizon phones — including all LTE devices — aren’t locked. Unlike Sprint, the SIM slot on Verizon iPhones comes unlocked.

Caveats:  While you can use SIM-equipped Verizon phones on AT&T, T-Mobile and other GSM carriers, unless the device has roaming GSM radios it won’t be able to make phone calls or send texts in the United States. Most recent Verizon phones will work on American GSM bands, but LTE support can be a mixed bag depending on your device.

In the past, Verizon has sold a small number of phones described as “Global Ready 3G.” Often older phones — think Blackberrys — with a SIM slot come locked.

Can I unlock it online?  Verizon currently doesn’t have an online unlock request form.

What’s the best phone number?  Call 1-800-711-8300  and ask for a SIM unlock.

Where’s the official documentation?   Here.

Sprint

How can I tell if my phone is eligible?  You’ll need to have an account with Sprint, verified either through an account number or a phone number. The account needs to be in good standing, and the phone can’t be reported or lost and stolen. Sprint does unlock devices for short overseas trips. If you’re an active member of the U.S. Military deployed overseas, you can request an unlock from Sprint, although the same caveats (good standing, account with Sprint) still apply.

Caveats:  If you’ve got a Sprint iPhone, you’re probably out of luck. From Sprint’s legal unlocking policy:

Sprint-branded iPhones have been manufactured in a way that prevents them from being unlocked to allow the device to activate on a different carrier’s network in the United States.

While Sprint uses radios that make it difficult to use its devices on other CDMA and LTE networks, almost all Sprint spectrum resellers are free to activate unlocked Sprint phones..

Can I unlock it online?  Yes, through an online chat  with a customer service representative.

What’s the best phone number?  Call 1-888-211-4727, or *2 from a Sprint device.

Where’s the official documentation?   Here.

Alternative prepaid carriers:   Ting , iWireless , Voyager , FreedomPop , ROK Mobile , Sprint Prepaid


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