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ASUS USB-C2500 Provides a Handy, Tool-free 2.5GbE Upgrade

btarunr

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ASUS USB-C2500 lets you add 2.5 Gbps wired Ethernet to your PC or NAS without the fuss of opening it up for a PCIe adapter. The dongle features a USB 3.0 type-A (5 Gbps) connector on one end, and an easy-to-setup 2.5 GbE port on the other. The main body of this network dongle is made of an aluminium alloy, while a Nylon-sleeved 5 cm cable ties it to the USB 3.0 type-A connector. A type-A to type-C adapter, or native type-C interface aren't included, unlike with the ASUSTOR AS-U2-5G2. The company didn't mention the controller underneath, but it's very likely to be the Realtek RTL8156B, possibly the only USB3-based 2.5 GbE single-chip solution at large. The company didn't announce pricing.



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TheLostSwede

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@btarunr Realtek isn't the only one making them, but the cheapest out there. Aquantia/Marvell has one too, but it's not nearly as cheap.
 
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I don't think it will work for NAS though. Usually the USB ports on NAS are there to attach additional hard-drives, so used for input and not output.
 
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I don't think it will work for NAS though. Usually the USB ports on NAS are there to attach additional hard-drives, so used for input and not output.

...USB ports on a NAS communicate in only one direction?
 

newtekie1

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I don't think it will work for NAS though. Usually the USB ports on NAS are there to attach additional hard-drives, so used for input and not output.

There are a lot of modern NAS devices that allow you to add external USB NICs as long as they support the chipset used.
 
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Also, for what its worth, some industrious individuals may found a way to get such USB NICs to work with the NAS if the brand is popular enough.

So for example, there are driver packs for 2.5GbE and 5GbE NICs for Synology based on chipset:




For Synology just select your NAS SoC and NIC chipset and your good to go,....supposedly.

Supposedly anyway, I haven't had the stones to try it,....not with my data,....
 
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