DISCLAIMER: Read the left Column first before proceeding to the right.
First I would like to thank OWC for sponsoring this Thunderbolt 3 to 10Gb ethernet for the NAS CAD Review.
Other World Computing (OWC) has a reputation of being a reliable company that pushes the limits of computing. One such device is their THUNDERBOLT 3 10G ETHERNET ADAPTER. The Adapter is designed to work for both Windows 10 (or later) and macOS 10.13.6 (or later) PCs. It has a fairly slim form factor of 3.2 in (8.0 cm) x 1.5 in (3.8 cm) x 5.0 in (12.6 cm) (WxHxD) and weighs around 16.0 oz (0.5 kg). With the included rubber sleeve, this adapter is great for the occasional portable use while traveling on the go. With an appropriate Thunderbolt 3 PC, the adapter is able to deliver over 900MB/s transfer speeds for large files. This is ideal for video / photo editors, gamers, CAD users with large assemblies and anyone else in need of a high data throughput within a short amount of time.
The Thunderbolt 3 to 10Gb ethernet adapter has many more features with a complete list here. Some of the most important features include:
- Compatibility starting at Windows 10 and Mac 10.13.6
- Auto-negotiation
- Jumbo frames up to 16K
- Multicast filtering
- Interrupt coalescing
- Wake-on-LAN (WoL)
- Quality of Service (QoS)
- Flow control support
- IPv4, IPv6/TCP and IPv6/UDP Checksum offloading
In order to use the adapter with a Windows 10 computer, users have to simply plug it into the Thunderbolt 3 port and download the needed Windows drivers here. Once connected to the appropriate 10Gb networking via a Cat 6 or newer ethernet cable and the network driver mentioned earlier is installed, you are ready to use the adapter to its full potential. To further tweak the maximum throughput you may want to optimize the adapter settings to your application. In Windows this is done under Device Manager – Network adapters and in Mac under System Preference – Networking.
With the fanless design, the device is perfect for environments where noise from hardware is not an option. To achieve proper cooling the adapter is cased in an aluminum body with fins to dissipate the heat faster by increasing the surface area in contact with the air. Under normal conditions the adapter feels warm to the touch which is great for warming your hands in winter 😊. Jokes aside, this adapter never (even under a lot of stress) reached critical temperatures where it was uncomfortable to touch.
With the aluminum case and the included Thunderbolt 3 cable, the adapter has a very premium feel to it. My one complaint is that at around half a kilo, it is a bit heavy to carry around with you in your Laptop bag. Opening the Thunderbolt 3 to 10Gb Ethernet adapter, the actual electronics are much smaller than the outer housing. Furthermore, they are housed in yet another aluminum heat sink to dissipate the heat. As such, the unit can dissipate more heat and stays warm to the touch even after longer intensive use.
In my use case, the adapter was able to deliver an average transfer speed of around 2,4Gbit/s (write) and 2,4Gbit/s (read). The test was executed with a 5 loop test load of 400MB using the NAS performance tester 1.7.
Using Blackmagicdesign Disk Speed Test software which is included in their Blackmagic Desktop Video available here for Windows, MAC OS X and Linux, I was able to reliably reach transfer speeds of 490Mbit/s (write) and 510Mbit/s (read) with a 1Gb stress load.
A third test was conducted with CrystalDiskMark which measured speeds of 170Mbit/s (write) and 660Mbit/s (read). This test was also done in a 5 loop setup with a 1Gb load.
Each test was conducted connected to an ISCSI mounted 10Gb network Attached Storage (NAS) Device with a single RJ45 Cat 6 cable and two Seagate Ironwolf NAS HDDs configured in RAID 1. It is clear, that the HDD configuration is the limiting factor for increased speed throughput and not the adapter itself. Stay tuned for a better analysis of the actual adapter capabilities coming soon.
Overall I am very satisfied with the design and performance of the (OWC) THUNDERBOLT 3 10G ETHERNET ADAPTER. If you are looking to increase your productivity and get your hands on a portable, easy-to-use, high-performance 10Gb adapter, then I can highly recommend you get this one. It is important to mention an AVB and NBASE-T (IEEE 802.3bz) compatible switch / router is required in order to make use of all the adapter’s capabilities. If you are interested in getting this adapter for your setup go here.
Pros:
- Silent cooling: fanless ventilated aluminum heatsink housing
- Durable: rubber sleeve for portable use
- Energy efficient with bus powered
- Smart: supports auto-negotiation for 10, 5, 2.5 and 1GB/s as well as 100MB/s
- Simple plug and play: easy driver installation
- Very premium feel: Thunderbolt 3 cable, aluminum housing
Cons:
- Not (yet?) certified for Linux
- Slightly heavy for daily portable use and travel
Overall Rating:
Package Contents:
- Thunderbolt 3 10G Ethernet Adapter
- Premium Thunderbolt 3 cable
- Quick start guide
Suggested Improvements:
- Linux compatibility
- Weigh less
DISCLAIMER: Read the left Column first before proceeding to the right.
First, I would like to thank SONNET for sponsoring this Thunderbolt 3 to 10Gb Ethernet for the NAS CAD Review.
If you are looking for an adapter with even more capabilities and throughput than the portable one from OWC, then look no further. SONNET has proven itself to be a very reliable and premium company when it comes to anything to do with large and quick data transfers / throughput. They clearly are geared towards creating hardware which improves the content creators performance and efficiency. As such, they have brought incredible products to the market including their Twin10G (Thunderbolt 3 Edition).
Here are some of the key features SONNET wanted to highlight. For a complete overview visit here.
- Adds 10GBASE-T 10GbE Connectivity
- Cost-effective
- Easy Setup
- 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 Interface
- Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports
- Rugged. Nearly Noiseless.
- Supports Transparent Failover
- Supports Link Aggregation (Teaming)
- Provides up to 15W of Power for Connected Peripherals
- Includes 0.7-meter Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps) cable
- Includes Sonnet’s ThunderLok 3 Thunderbolt Connector Retainer Clip
- Mac, Windows, and Linux Compatible
- 2-year Product Warranty
- Free Lifetime Customer Technical Support
- Designed and Made in the USA
In order to use the adapter with a Windows 10 computer, users simply plug it into the Thunderbolt 3 port and download the needed Windows drivers here. Once connected to the appropriate 10Gb networking via a Cat 6 or newer Ethernet cable and the network driver mentioned earlier is installed, you are ready to use the adapter to its full potential. To further tweak the maximum throughput you may want to optimize the adapter settings to your application. In Windows this is done under Device Manager – Network adapters and in Mac under System Preferences – Networking.
This adapter is clearly geared towards video / photo editors, gamers, CAD users with large assemblies and anyone else in need of a high data throughput within a short amount of time while retaining an extra Thunderbolt 3 port for peripherals. With a 60W 100-240V, 50-60Hz power adapter, it is not only deployable around the world, but also able to supply your peripherals with up to 15W of power. Thus, many devices (depending on their power rating) do not require being plugged into a power source in order to function properly. This is especially helpful for connecting storage bays or other editing hardware with a low power consumption.
The adapter design is simple yet very elegant with bent sheet metal. Taking a look on the inside of the device we find a proprietary SONNET PCB board as well as a 2xThunderbolt 3 to PCIe board and a 2x 10GB RJ45 Ethernet to PCIe x4; with the possibility of upgrading to x8, presumably for their SFP+ fiber optics version of the Twin10G. At the bottom of the case a fan is mounted to supply the adapter with adequate air flow for cooling the individual components. This fan has a low (yet still audible) hum during normal use of the adapter. As such, the unit stays cool to the touch, occasionally warming up after longer intensive use.
In my use case, the adapter was able to deliver an average transfer speed of around 2Gbit/s (write) and 2,5Gbit/s (read). The test was executed with a 5 loop test load of 400MB using the NAS performance tester 1.7.
Using Blackmagicdesign Disk Speed Test software which is included in their Blackmagic Desktop Video available here for Windows, MAC OS X and Linux, I was able to reliably reach transfer speeds of 430Mbit/s (write) and 500Mbit/s (read) with a 1Gb stress load.
A third test was conducted with CrystalDiskMark which measured speeds of 190Mbit/s (write) and 660Mbit/s (read). This test was also done in a 5 loop setup with a 1Gb load.
Each test was conducted connected to an ISCSI mounted 10Gb network Attached Storage (NAS) Device with a single RJ45 Cat 6 cable and two Seagate Ironwolf NAS HDDs configured in RAID 1. It is clear, that the HDD configuration is the limiting factor for increased speed throughput and not the adapter itself. Stay tuned for a better analysis of the actual adapter capabilities coming soon.
Overall I am very satisfied with the design and performance of the SONNET Twin10G (Thunderbolt 3 Edition). My main complaint is the noise level of the fans used to cool the device. However, if slight noise is not an intrusion in your immersive production experience, then this should be no problem as you can quickly get used to the low hum of the fans.
If you are looking to increase your productivity and get your hands on a high performance 10Gb adapter which is easy to use and has an extra Thunderbolt 3 port for peripherals, then I can highly recommend you get this one. It is important to mention a NBASE-T (IEEE 802.3bz) compatible switch / router is required in order to make use of all the adapter’s capabilities. Furthermore, make sure to use the newest OS versions as well as an updated BIOS and Thunderbolt drivers (for Windows), in order to get the maximum performance and prevent any errors form occurring. If you are interested in getting this adapter for your setup go here.
Furthermore, If you don’t have a device equipped with Thunderbolt 3 and would like to improve your Ethernet performance don’t dismay. SONNET has you covered with their wide range of networking adapters. With their new 5GbE Network USB 3 Adapter: Solo5G; 10GbE Network Thunderbolt 2 Adapters: Solo10G, Twin10G and Twin10G SFP+; and their 10GbE Network Thunderbolt 3 Adapters: Solo10G (Copper / SFP+) and Twin10G (Copper / SFP+) they have the laptop industry covered. The PC tower users can also enjoy SONNET’s Hardware with their wide range of 10GbE PCIe Cards: Solo10G PCIe 3.0 (Copper / SFP+) and Presto 10GbE (Copper / SFP+) dual 10Gb networking PCIe cards. To view their extensive range of networking cards / adapters feel free to visit here.
Pros:
- Great simple but elegant design
- Very capable of handling the 10GB/s throughput
- Compatibility: Windows 10 (64-bit Edition Version 1809 or greater), Linux Kernel 5.0+, Mac OS 10.12.6+
- QR-Code to product page on front of box
- Premium feel: Thunderbolt 3 cable, aluminum housing
- Well thought out ThunderLok 3 for securing the Thunderbolt 3 cable to the adapter
Cons:
- Noticeable noise from fans while in use (you get used to it after a while)
- The PSU power LED cannot be turned off while the adapter is plugged in, even if powered off.
Overall Rating:
Package Contents:
- Sonnet Twin10G Thunderbolt 3 to Dual Port 10GBASE-T Adapter
- Premium quality 0.7-meter Thunderbolt 3 (40GBps) cable
- ThunderLok 3 Thunderbolt Connector Retainer Clip
- Universal power adapter
- Power cord (specific to country of use)
- Documentation (via QR-Code on packaging)
Suggested Improvements:
- Enable switch or software to turn off PSU power LED
- Add option to buy with Noctua fans for users with noise sensitive environments of use (during conference calls a low hum of the fans was audible) or add a “smart” temperature monitoring to reduce fan spin up during cool sessions of use