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davidp5234480
Participant
August 15, 2018
Answered

Wireless vs. Ethernet File Transfer Speed

  • August 15, 2018
  • 3 replies
  • 3917 views

I am running Adobe LR Classic CC on a new PC, which is replacing my old one. Now, when I want to transfer keeper photo files from the local drive to the NAS mirror storage, it is agonizingly SLOW! The extremely slow transfer speed is not acceptable, especially since these are large data files (photos). My old PC was hard-wired and it transferred files quickly and easily. Not so with the new PC, which is connected to the network wirelessly. Will I see any gain with it being hard-wired by ethernet cable? (I have a CAT 6 cable I can use, just need to make room on the router for it to plug in.)

Thanks.

    Correct answer Conrad_C

    You will probably find the same problem happens during a desktop file transfer when Lightroom is not involved.

    Wired networking is definitely much faster and more reliable than wireless. An Ethernet cable is a dedicated and fully shielded path that can maintain throughput over a relatively long distance. A wireless connection is subject to all kinds of interference: Competition with other routers and devices on the same band, noise, and performance that drops with distance and obstacles.

    If your router and computer use the latest commonly available wifi standard, 802.11ac, the maximum theoretical throughput of that standard is 500 megabits per second (62.5 megabytes per second). But the maximum theoretical throughput of Gigabit Ethernet (available on most computers and routers now) is double that, 1000 megabits per second (125 megabytes/sec).

    In practice, both are slower than advertised because you can only get those speeds under absolutely ideal conditions with the best equipment. And the problem is that because wireless has so many more challenges than a nice shielded cable, the difference (the drop in speed) between the theoretical and real world speed of wireless is greater than it is for wired networking. I have seen file transfers peak over 100MB/sec on my wired connection, but I rarely see more than 20MB/sec on my wireless transfers.

    If speed is a requirement, it is definitely best to use wired Gigabit Ethernet whenever possible.

    3 replies

    SF Cable
    SF Cable
    Participant
    February 20, 2025

    Seamless connectivity is important to Millennials, who depend on Wi-Fi for gaming, streaming, and smart home processes. To do away with dead zones for Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi nodes are employed, but Ethernet cables such as Cat5e and Cat6a must be used to ensure reliability. Cat5e is perfect for residential use, supporting mesh networking for improved coverage, while Cat6a is ideal for commercial use in areas of high bandwidth demand. Wired connections offer speedier, more reliable internet than Wi-Fi. SF Cable has an assortment of Cat5e and Cat6a cables in several colours and sizes.  Wired or Wireless: How to Choose Your Connection Type

     
     

     

     

     

    sfcable
    Conrad_C
    Community Expert
    Conrad_CCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    August 15, 2018

    You will probably find the same problem happens during a desktop file transfer when Lightroom is not involved.

    Wired networking is definitely much faster and more reliable than wireless. An Ethernet cable is a dedicated and fully shielded path that can maintain throughput over a relatively long distance. A wireless connection is subject to all kinds of interference: Competition with other routers and devices on the same band, noise, and performance that drops with distance and obstacles.

    If your router and computer use the latest commonly available wifi standard, 802.11ac, the maximum theoretical throughput of that standard is 500 megabits per second (62.5 megabytes per second). But the maximum theoretical throughput of Gigabit Ethernet (available on most computers and routers now) is double that, 1000 megabits per second (125 megabytes/sec).

    In practice, both are slower than advertised because you can only get those speeds under absolutely ideal conditions with the best equipment. And the problem is that because wireless has so many more challenges than a nice shielded cable, the difference (the drop in speed) between the theoretical and real world speed of wireless is greater than it is for wired networking. I have seen file transfers peak over 100MB/sec on my wired connection, but I rarely see more than 20MB/sec on my wireless transfers.

    If speed is a requirement, it is definitely best to use wired Gigabit Ethernet whenever possible.

      D
      davidp5234480Author
      Participant
      August 15, 2018

      Thanks, Conrad... This is what I was thinking, too. The network card is a gigabit card, so that is pretty fast. And, the wireless router is essentially new and can service those speeds. So, the CAT 6 cable to the new PC sounds like the answer. I will try that and report back.

      dj_paige
      dj_paige
      Legend
      August 15, 2018

      This does not seem like a Lightroom question, as the speed of transfer across a network has nothing to do with Lightroom.

      D
      davidp5234480Author
      Participant
      August 15, 2018

      Thanks for your response, dj.

      I am using LR Classic CC, same as on the old PC. And, if it is not the wireless vs. wired connection to the network causing this, why would my LR file transfers go from fast to slow? The only things that changed was the PC and using wireless. It is strikingly slower with the new PC. And, I agree that "a file is a file", content doesn't matter.

      I'm trying learn why the file transfer is so slow on the new PC, where it was not on the old one. I need to fix this ASAP, as the file transfer performance is not acceptable. The NAS is the same unit, same software. Is there a setting somewhere that I didn't toggle correctly?

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