External hard drives

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External hard drives

Is it possible to attach a hard drive that supports 1gb ethernet directly into the ethernet port on the new macbook and have it run at full speed? Could this be as good as using a fire wire 800 port for video editing? Theoretically it's faster isn't it? Or am I barking up the wrong tree completely?

macbook 2.4ghz core duo, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Jan 18, 2009 3:27 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

362,007 points

Jan 18, 2009 3:39 PM in response to choppington

In theory, yes, in practice, no. Ethernet is slower than having the drive connected directly to a FW800 port.

Besides, most NAS devices use a different filesystem than OS X - Windows or Linux. That means there are potential filesystem problems to deal with such as length of filename allowed and characters used in OS X filenames that are illegal in Windows or Linux.

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Answer 2

choppington Author

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Jan 18, 2009 4:46 PM in response to choppington

I have the new macbook though and so am screwed as far as firewire goes. I was thinking about buying-

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500GB-LaCie-Ethernet-Disk-mini-Home-Edition-Gigab it-Ethernet

and using it for storing and editing video files. If it's more advisable I'll max out the internal hard drive and use that for any current projects and transfer them on and off via usb. But I'd rather see if I can do it all via ethernet if possible. Supposably there is talk of firewire to ethernet coming in the next osx, but whether that would be firewire 800 I don't know. Fingers crossed though.

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

362,007 points

Jan 18, 2009 5:37 PM in response to choppington

I hardly consider it "being screwed" when you chose to buy the MacBook. Nobody twisted your arm.

If you want something similar but more compatible, then consider perhaps using a Time Capsule. It provides the AEBS router with a built-in 500 GB or 1 TB hard drive. Since it's designed for use with Macs, it's filesystem is Mad OS Extended. No compatibility problems. However, if the LaCie product sully supports AFP protocols, then it should work for NAS (but it will not work with Time Machine.)

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Answer 4

Ziatron

Level 5

4,214 points

Jan 18, 2009 5:59 PM in response to choppington

Supposably there is talk of firewire to ethernet coming in the next osx, but whether that would be firewire 800 I don't know.

Never heard of firewire to ethernet. Firewire 3200 will be out soon.

Firewire is continuing to improve and gain in popularity. Firewire is more relevant than it ever has been.

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Answer 5

choppington Author

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Jan 19, 2009 3:21 AM in response to Kappy

woa of course nobody made me buy it. I had the choice of the old macbook with firewire 400 and a rubbish graphics card or the new one with a card that would meet my needs, and i've never been more happy with a computer. Seen as i can capture on my windows pc with firewire (cue chastisement). This is not a 'no firewire' ***** thread, it just seems that if there is an port capable of passing 1gb/s, I'd like to try and use it. And find out if, by with just one wire, I can hook an external had drive to my macbook and enjoy speeds that would rival firewire 800. I don't want a wireless network- just a cat6 ethernet going between the drive and the macbook. Has anyone ever tried anything like this? I've read that I could find frames being dropped, but I'm not planning on capturing through this port. With the full final cut studio, traktor sratch pro and logic studio- there isn't going to be much room for raw video files.

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Answer 6

choppington Author

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Jan 19, 2009 3:30 AM in response to choppington

ps router out of the question- I'm a skint student. Have a strict budget, and can just about afford £120 for a new external drive

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Answer 7

Kappy

Level 10

362,007 points

Jan 19, 2009 6:33 AM in response to choppington

As I suggested before you cannot simply take a plain external drive and connect it to an Ethernet port. If your existing router has the capability of having a USB drive connected to it, then you could connect a USB drive to that port. But a hard drive in an enclosure that provides Ethernet is not the same as a simple external drive. Such devices are called NAS - Network Attached Storage. That's what a Time Capsule is. NAS devices have their own operating system - usually Windows or Linux. Only a handful of such products support AFP - Apple File Protocol. These devices can be attached via the Ethernet port. But in operation they are not much faster than a directly connected USB drive. NAS devices are more expensive than a basic external drive. It's going to be really difficult to find just a bare NAS box (no drive) for the amount of money you're talking about.

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