DSM driver for realtek RTL8152/RTL8153/RTL8156 based USB Ethernet adapters

This is an RTL8152/RTL8153/RTL8156(2.5Gbps or 1.0Gbps) driver package for Synology NASes.

You may also be interested in my other projects:

• AQC111U(5Gbps ethernet) driver package for Synology NASes
• UASP(USB Attached SCSI Protocol for external storage devices) driver package for Synology NASes

Supported NAS platform

• DSM 7.x and 6.2
• Almost all models released after 2017
  • Older models also work, but you may not have enough performance.
  • Compatibility reports by the community will help you.

You can download drivers from the release page and determine a proper driver for your model from knowledge base of Synology,

I would appreciate it if you could report whether it works. If you have any problems, the Troubleshooting page may help.

NOTE: I recommend using front ports to connect devices because some users reported stability issues when they use rear ports.

Author's environment

The author uses the following environments daily and it has confirmed that these devices work stably.

• NAS
  • DS918+ (apollolake) with 16GB RAM
  • DSM 7.2-64570 Update 3
  • Ethernet dongle
    • USB-LAN2500R2 (RTL8156BG, only in Japan.)
• PC
  • Ethernet card
    • AQN-107 (discontinued, but almost equivalent to ASUS XG-C100C)
  • Windows10 SMB3
• Network switches
  • main: QNAP QSW-2104-2T (Broadcom BCM53161: x3 2.5Gbe / x2 10Gbe)
  • sub: keepLINK 5 Port 2.5G Switch (Realtek RTL8372: x5 2.5Gbe / x1 10G SFP+)
    • If you are looking for an affordable 2.5Gbe switch, I recommend products using the RTL837x family, which is a newer generation of chips and consumes less power. Many other products are available from many vendors.

Supported RTL8156(2.5Gbps) based devices

INFO: Products using RTL8156BG have dramatically lower power consumption(up to 64% decrease) and heat generation than those using RTL8156.

• ASUSTOR AS-U2.5G (RTL8156/Type-C to A)
  • NOTE: The included Type A-C conversion adapter is directional. There is a mark on one side of the USB-C connector that must be on the same side as the USB logo on the adapter.
• ASUSTOR AS-U2.5G2 (RTL8156B/Type-C to A)
  • NOTE: Same above.
• CLUB 3D CAC-1420 (RTL8156/Type-A)
• TRENDnet TUC-ET2G (RTL8156(V1.0)/RTL8156BG(V2.0)/Type-C)
  • NOTE: Customer support states that RTL8156BG was adopted in V2.0. However, there is no way to distinguish V1.0 from V2.0. Can we expect the new ones to be v2.0?
• ASUS USB-C2500 (RTL8156B/Type-A)
• CableCreation 2.5G Ethernet to USB Adapter (RTL8156/Type-A)
• UGREEN USB C to 2.5G Ethernet Adapter (2019) (RTL8156/Type-C)
• UGREEN USB C to Ethernet Adapter 2.5G (2023) (RTL8156BG/Type-C)
• Anker USB C to 2.5 Gbps Ethernet Adapter (RTL8156/Type-C)
• StarTech.com US2GC30 (RTL8156BG/Type-C)
• Plannex USB-LAN2500R (RTL8156/Type-A, only in Japan.)
• Plannex USB-LAN2500R2 (RTL8156BG/Type-A, only in Japan.)
• Buffalo LUA-U3-A2G (RTL8156/Type-A, only in Japan.)
• biaze KZ13 link1 link2 (Type-A, only in China)
• ULT-WIIQ USB 2.5G Ethernet Adapter (RTL8156B/Type-A, only in Europe?)

See the Compatibility page for the latest information.

• If you have other products not listed and it does not work, please create an issue with the output of lsusb.
• If you are using a product with a Type-C connector, you will need a connector or cable to convert it to Type-A.
  • For stable device operation, I recommend using a USB 3.2gen2 10Gbps compatible cable.
  • A 5Gbps cable is sufficient for this driver to work, but a 10Gbps capable cable can be expected to have higher transmission quality.

How to install

Preparation

Enable SSH and login to your NAS.

Installation

1. Go to "Package Center"
2. Press "Manual Install"
3. Choose a driver package downloaded from the release page.
4. [DSM7] The installation will fail the first time. After that, run the following command from the SSH terminal:
   • sudo install -m 4755 -o root -D /var/packages/r8152/target/r8152/spk_su /opt/sbin/spk_su
5. [DSM7] Retry installation.
   • You don't need the above DSM7-specific steps at the next time.
6. Reboot your NAS.
   • This procedure is not usually necessary, but many have reported that a reboot was necessary, so please reboot just in case.
7. Open the driver package from the Package Center and start the driver manually.

https://www.synology.com/en-us/knowledgebase/SRM/help/SRM/PkgManApp/install_buy

Warning: Do not use Safari for this operation.

How to configure

You can configure the IP addresses and MTU of the added NICs from the DSM UI in the same way as the built-in NICs.

Option: I recommend setting MTU to 9000 and SMB protocol version to v3 for better performance.

Performance test

Environment

• DS918+ (USB-LAN2500R)
• DSM 6.2
• direct connection with PC (AQN-107: discontinued, but almost equivalent to ASUS XG-C100C)
• native iperf3
  • using docker causes high CPU load

Result

Connecting to host 192.168.0.xxx, port 5201
[  4] local 192.168.0.xxx port 50366 connected to 192.168.0.xxx port 5201
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bandwidth
[  4]   0.00-1.00   sec   266 MBytes  2.23 Gbits/sec
[  4]   1.00-2.00   sec   274 MBytes  2.30 Gbits/sec
[  4]   2.00-3.00   sec   278 MBytes  2.33 Gbits/sec
[  4]   3.00-4.00   sec   278 MBytes  2.33 Gbits/sec
[  4]   4.00-5.00   sec   278 MBytes  2.33 Gbits/sec
[  4]   5.00-6.00   sec   278 MBytes  2.34 Gbits/sec
[  4]   6.00-7.00   sec   274 MBytes  2.30 Gbits/sec
[  4]   7.00-8.00   sec   267 MBytes  2.24 Gbits/sec
[  4]   8.00-9.00   sec   269 MBytes  2.26 Gbits/sec
[  4]   9.00-10.00  sec   271 MBytes  2.27 Gbits/sec
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bandwidth
[  4]   0.00-10.00  sec  2.67 GBytes  2.29 Gbits/sec                  sender
[  4]   0.00-10.00  sec  2.67 GBytes  2.29 Gbits/sec                  receiver

iperf Done.