Which is Faster? Safepoint to USB or LAN?

I’m trying to decide whether to buy a 2TB MB Essential or a 2TB MB Live to use for safepoint backups of my 4TB MB Live Duo running in RAID.  The Essential would be connected directly to the Duo and the Live would be connected to the same GB router as the Duo.

Has anyone done a head to head comparison?  I’m inclined to think USB will be faster.

Comparison aside I also think USB will be faster

Yup USB 2.0 will be faster. 

There are actually a lot of variables involved here. In general USB will be a little bit faster than ethernet, but not always. The reason why a network drive is usually considered the superior backup solution is because A.) You can backup from multiple computers at the same time, and B.) They don’t have to be in close proximity to the computer.