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Link Aggregation Usefulness

MyNameGoesHere
Go to solution Solved by Lurick,

For a single source to single destination stream, no it does not improve anything.

Link Aggregation (excluding cases where you can use SMB Multichannel) is for multiple source/destination streams and load balancing.

If both sides support SMBv3 and SMB Multichannel then multiple links can in theory be utilized by the SMB source and destination.

I've recently set up a NAS on my network and am trying to improve the transfer speed to it from my PC. I've included my relevant network structure below with the available port speeds:

 

PC            2.5 GbE port

Switch      10 GbE ports

Switch      1 GbE ports w/ a 10G SPF+ connection to NAS

 

I have an obvious bottleneck between the 2 switches due to the 1 GBE ports on the second switch. My question is if using Link Aggregation between them would improve the connection speed to above the current 1 GBE? I've already verified that both switches support it. (I haven't actually bought the 10 GbE switch yet, so I can't test it myself. And I know I don't need the 10 GbE itself, but the 2.5 GbE switch has additional ports I don't need and is more expensive.)

 

I've never used Link Aggregation before, but from what I've read about it elsewhere, it sounded like it only improves the throughput of multiple clients and would still not utilize both connections for a single client. Is that correct?

 

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For a single source to single destination stream, no it does not improve anything.

Link Aggregation (excluding cases where you can use SMB Multichannel) is for multiple source/destination streams and load balancing.

If both sides support SMBv3 and SMB Multichannel then multiple links can in theory be utilized by the SMB source and destination.

Current Network Layout:

Current Build Log/PC:

Prior Build Log/PC:

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