Link Aggregation (LAG): Boost the Connection Between a Router and a NAS

When you buy an NAS (Network Attached Storage) device at home and store a large number of photos, videos, etc., you might expect to read the media files at any time and be able to share them immediately. However, an awkward fact is the speed of data transmission sometimes is so limited that you have to wait several minutes to use it, especially when other family members are downloading from NAS at the same time.

Why? This is because the rate of transmission between NAS and the router is determined by the network speed at home. Normally, the maximum household bandwidth is 1 Gbps, so if you require higher LAN (Local Area Network) speed than 1 Gbps, it is a good idea to enable Link Aggregation on both your router and NAS.

Link Aggregation can combine two physical links together to make a logical high-bandwidth data path, which provides a strong network connection.

How can Link Aggregation help?

Link Aggregation does not magically turn your physical ports or cables into a higher specification. It simply increases the available bandwidth for every link, when in competition, as much as possible.

Bandwidth would normally be distributed more or less evenly when multiple clients are struggling to use the local network at the same time. LAG can increase the total bandwidth so that every client would get more bandwidth when competition occurs.

That is why the Link Aggregation function is extremely useful. With LAG, your family, guests, and you can enjoy the NAS simultaneously with less congestion.

The Advantages with LAG

1. You don’t have to pay extra money to buy any new device to improve bandwidth
2. The member links can back each other up. If one of the member links shuts down, another link will take over its transmission.

How to configure Link Aggregation on the router?

For more information about LAG configuration, please refer to https://www.tp-link.com/us/faq-1583.html