Intel NUC: I225-V vs. Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter?

[tt1]

Hi everyone, I'm excited to try SnakeOil OS to run Roon Server and HQPlayer!

While setting up Ubuntu Server, I have been struggling with my Nuc's built-in Ethernet being unreliable, which appears to be common across other users. My TP Link USB adapter worked, but I'm worried about the performance impact when using HQPlayer. 

Would a Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter deliver the same performance as built-in, while fixing the reliability issues? Considering the following:

•  Sonnet Solo 10G
  
• QNAP QNA-T310G1T
  

My setup:

• Intel NUC12WSKi7 with I225-V Ethernet adapter
  
• Akasa Maxwell fanless case
  
• Ubuntu 24.04 Server LTS
  
• Installed Snakeoil via the command in this link 
  
• Roon -> HQPLayer -> Gustard R26
  
• NUC and Gustard are connected via Ethernet to the same TP Link XE75 mesh access point. Know it's not optimal that it's not the main router, but can't access that physically with cables from there.
  

Thankful for your advice!

[agent_kith]

[*]Intel NUC12WSKi7 with I225-V Ethernet adapter

This NIC should be stable. What kind of problems are you experiencing? Problem could be on the mesh side of things.

I actually have a few QNAPs but I'm not using it for my music player. 10Gbps might be overkill, but there could be benefits from SFP+ optical. I am using a SFP NIC in my music setup and do think it offers some audio benefits. But I'm using my NIC via pci-e not TB4 so my positives may well not apply to you.

What you decide to go will ultimately depends on you, note that if you using thunderbolt NICs, you might need to add this to your grub boot config:

Code:

thunderbolt.host_reset=false

[hkphantomgtr]

Hi everyone, I'm excited to try SnakeOil OS to run Roon Server and HQPlayer!

While setting up Ubuntu Server, I have been struggling with my Nuc's built-in Ethernet being unreliable, which appears to be common across other users. My TP Link USB adapter worked, but I'm worried about the performance impact when using HQPlayer. 

Would a Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter deliver the same performance as built-in, while fixing the reliability issues? Considering the following:

•  Sonnet Solo 10G
  
• QNAP QNA-T310G1T
  

My setup:

• Intel NUC12WSKi7 with I225-V Ethernet adapter
  
• Akasa Maxwell fanless case
  
• Ubuntu 24.04 Server LTS
  
• Installed Snakeoil via the command in this link 
  
• Roon -> HQPLayer -> Gustard R26
  
• NUC and Gustard are connected via Ethernet to the same TP Link XE75 mesh access point. Know it's not optimal that it's not the main router, but can't access that physically with cables from there.
  

Thankful for your advice!

Hi, tt1, did you subscribed the Realtime Kernel, too?

BTW, for the NAS, how about using an internal SSD drive? 

FYI, I also run a Roon server in my NUC, I use a SATA SSD for Snakeoil OS and a 2T NVMe for music files.  I also used Synology NAS for many years and compared the sound if feeding MPD/Roon Server with NAS files or internal NVMe files, of course including streaming.  Theoretically and practically, the internal SSD gives better sound to my ears.