NAS Configuration

Test Setup

For the single-client tests, we use a Mac mini equipped with a 6-core Intel i5 CPU clocked at 3 GHz, with 32 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. For the two-client tests, we added a MacBook Pro 15.4 (end of 2018) featuring an i9 Intel CPU, 32 GB of RAM, a VEGA 20 GPU, and a 1 TB SSD.

Methodology

For NAS servers featuring Thunderbolt ports, we only use one benchmark which is compatible with Mac OS: Helios LanTest. To obtain the highest possible speeds, we also configure the disks in RAID 0, which is not recommended for a NAS/DAS unit. We also take readings with RAID 5, which is much safer than RAID 0. We set Helios LanTest to run ten times and use the average results.