You can use both at the same time, see http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11019
On Fri, Jan 3, 2014 at 12:14 PM, Dinse, Gregg (NIH/NIEHS) [V] < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi, > > Can I use both ethernet ports on my Mac Pro to make local network backups > faster, or at least to keep local network backups from slowing down > internet use? > > I recently bought a LaCie 5big Thunderbolt disk array and my current plan > is to use it for local (Time Machine) backups. Unfortunately, the only 2 > ports on this unit are thunderbolt (no ethernet, no USB, no firewire). > Thus, I can't connect it directly to my 2012 Mac Pro. But I have a 2011 > Mac Mini with a thunderbolt port, so I figured that I would do the > following: > > 1. connnect LaCie disk array to Mac Mini via thunderbolt > > 2. connect Mac Mini to gigabit router via ethernet > > 3. connect Mac Pro to gigabit router via ethernet > > I read somewhere that I could run 2 ethernet cables between the Mac Pro > and the router, which in theory might (nearly) double local throughput, but > would this do any good if no other computers are connected to the router > with 2 cables? My guess is that it would do no good, but if I'm wrong, > please explain and please tell me if anything is required beyond physically > connecting the ethernet cables. > > Or, assuming the above scenario is a bust, can I use the second ethernet > port on the Mac Pro to keep local network backups from slowing down > internet use? That is, rather than connecting the Mac Mini's ethernet port > to the router, could I connect it to the second ethernet port on the Mac > Pro (with the first ethernet port on the Mac Pro going to the router)? If > so, would it make internet access from the Mac Pro faster during backups? > > In general, I don't care if the Mac Mini sees the outside world, but would > this second setup (assuming it is even feasible) prevent software updates > and Back-To-My-Mac screen/file sharing on the Mac Mini? > > Or should I continue to allow the second ethernet port on my Mac Pro sit > unused (and reserved as a replacement if the first ethernet port fails), as > I have on every Mac Pro I've owned over the years? > > Thanks, > > Gregg > > _______________________________________________ > MacOSX-talk mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.omnigroup.com/mailman/listinfo/macosx-talk > -- Best Regards, John Musbach
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