FreeNAS Questions.

[f0rk_b0mb]

Alright! I just set up a basic FreeNAS box from old parts laying around my house. Setup was easy, and I am using it for data backup/share and a Time Machine for both of my macs.

 

I just have a few questions in regards to performance.

 

Specs are as follows:

AMD Phenom II X4 B50 | ASUS M4N98TD EVO (NFORCE 980a) | 4GB of ram | WD Blue 60GB HDD (OS Drive) | WD Red 3TB (Data)

 

Currently just one drive, I plan to get more when I get the coin. I have 2 different backups plus this so I'm not concerned about redundancy at the moment. I plan to consolidate in the near future and make the NAS my main backup. 

 

Networking hardware: (I know its basic, its all I can afford now. I'm a college student. :D)

Linksys E1000 Router | Motorola Modem | AT&T 3 mb/s | both computers are wired and right next to each other.

 

 

So questions:

 

1. When transferring data from Windows using CIFS, I get horrible transfer rates. Is there something I forgot to enable? Suggestions on what to check please. 

 

2. Time machine backups are slow. It took an hour to backup a fresh install (11gb) of data. Is that common? Are official time capsules that slow or is it my server? 

 

Thanks in advance! 

 

[Lant]

How slow is the transfer getting? What are the numbers?

 

The router is going to limit the speed you can transfer at, so even though the motherboard has gigabit ethernet, it won't be able to transfer at those speeds as the router is a 10/100.

 

What version of Windows are you using?

Makes sure to configure FreeNAS to use SMB2, SMB2.1, or SMB3. The SMB2 dialects have much better performance compared to SMB1 (although if you are on Windows XP you won't be able to take advantage of those performance improvements).

 

What version of OSX are you using? The most recent version switched over to their own custom implementation and the SMB2 client is incredibly buggy. Limiting the FreeNAS to SMB1 may even help performance.

 

Are you doing this over the LAN? Some quick calculations ((11*1024) / 1 / 60 / 60) gives me 3 MiB/s which is suspiciously close to your AT&T speed.

[f0rk_b0mb]

How slow is the transfer getting? What are the numbers?

 

The router is going to limit the speed you can transfer at, so even though the motherboard has gigabit ethernet, it won't be able to transfer at those speeds as the router is a 10/100.

 

What version of Windows are you using?

Makes sure to configure FreeNAS to use SMB2, SMB2.1, or SMB3. The SMB2 dialects have much better performance compared to SMB1 (although if you are on Windows XP you won't be able to take advantage of those performance improvements).

 

What version of OSX are you using? The most recent version switched over to their own custom implementation and the SMB2 client is incredibly buggy. Limiting the FreeNAS to SMB1 may even help performance.

 

Are you doing this over the LAN? Some quick calculations ((11*1024) / 1 / 60 / 60) gives me 3 MiB/s which is suspiciously close to your AT&T speed.

 

I'm using Windows 8.1.1 x64 and OS X 10.9 Mavricks and I'm getting about 10-11mb/s burst but goes as low as 1mb/s. Looks like my router is rated for fast ethernet (10/100). I will try to play around with protocols.

 

I am doing this on my local network (I think). I'm simply typing in \\-ipofserver- into file explorer. Is there a better way to do it?

[f0rk_b0mb]

OK. I used this as a reference: http://doc.freenas.org/index.php/CIFS

 

and I did this so I can share with Vista and up. There is no smb1 option. Changeing them both to smb3 has no speed advantages.

 

[+BudMan]

your router/switch on the E1000 only has 10/100 connection. So your going to be limited to lets say 95mbps max (100) - you never actually see full wire speeds.

If you actually mean 10-11MBps then your about right at the max you can expect to see B is Bytes, b is bits..

1MB is a bit slow - but what are you moving lots of smaller files are few large ones?

freenas has iperf built in.. I would suggest you do some testing with this.

http://doc.freenas.org/index.php/Iperf

Speeds from this would give you max speed you could expect over the wire, not counting disk read/write speeds or overheads of the protocols being used. Here is the thing at 100mbps connection I don't think your going to notice the different between smb2 or smb3.. Yes smb3 has less overhead than 2, but your current bottle neck is your 100mbps connection.

You can buy a gig switch for peanuts these days.. Something like this should give you a drastic boost in your speed.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833156250

$19.99 with free shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704042

$18.99 with free shipping

Both have lots of reviews at 5 stars.. Connect it to your router port, then connect your devices to the gig switch and now what is your read write speeds. I see that MB you list ASUS M4N98TD EVO has gig nic, but do your windows and os x hardware have gig interfaces.. I would assume yes unless its some really budget or old hardware.

Here is iperf when connected at gig

Here hard coded it down to 100 -- moving files at this speed would be like watching paint dry.

[f0rk_b0mb]

your router/switch on the E1000 only has 10/100 connection. So your going to be limited to lets say 95mbps max (100) - you never actually see full wire speeds.

If you actually mean 10-11MBps then your about right at the max you can expect to see B is Bytes, b is bits..

1MB is a bit slow - but what are you moving lots of smaller files are few large ones?

freenas has iperf built in.. I would suggest you do some testing with this.

http://doc.freenas.org/index.php/Iperf

Speeds from this would give you max speed you could expect over the wire, not counting disk read/write speeds or overheads of the protocols being used. Here is the thing at 100mbps connection I don't think your going to notice the different between smb2 or smb3.. Yes smb3 has less overhead than 2, but your current bottle neck is your 100mbps connection.

You can buy a gig switch for peanuts these days.. Something like this should give you a drastic boost in your speed.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833156250

$19.99 with free shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704042

$18.99 with free shipping

Both have lots of reviews at 5 stars.. Connect it to your router port, then connect your devices to the gig switch and now what is your read write speeds. I see that MB you list ASUS M4N98TD EVO has gig nic, but do your windows and os x hardware have gig interfaces.. I would assume yes unless its some really budget or old hardware.

 

Yeah I have a Crosshair Formula V-z on my Windows PC. My mac probably has gigabit as well. If I were to go gigabit what would my speeds more than likely be? 

[+BudMan]

see my above screenshots for iperf.. Here is a ropocopy of moving a file

I do see faster than that quite often..

Here is write

I don't always believe the dialog on the windows copy, and it does fluctuate, etc.. Here I grabbed something bigger so I had time to grab a screenshot

[f0rk_b0mb]

Ok thanks budman! I'll just get a new gigabit router. I should be able to pick one up pretty cheaply. 

[+BudMan]

You don't need a router - you just need a switch.. Sure your router can handle your "Motorola Modem | AT&T 3 mb/s" - what it can't handle is gig lan speeds..

[Bigkaye]

You don't need a router - you just need a switch.. Sure your router can handle your "Motorola Modem | AT&T 3 mb/s" - what it can't handle is gig lan speeds..

 

Exactly. You cascade the router to the switch (one port on each), and the router still handles all the routing/IP/DNS/etc, but anything connected to only the switch will get the gigabit speeds. Generally gigabit switches are cheaper than routers, as they are 'dumb' and have no wifi and consume less power and usually come with 5-8 ports rather than the standard 4. I picked up a cheapie d-link for $30 at staples years back, when gigabit routers were still $80

[+BudMan]

I pointed out 2 gig switches that get great reviews for less than $20.. I doubt your picking up a gig router for anything close to that that is any good.

 

That being said if you were in the market for a GOOD switch, then I would suggest more like the SG300-10 from cisco - but your looking at $200 then which prob a bit steep for student ;)  So don't be surprised if you don't see 900Mbps on the cheap switches..  They are clearly not rated for 20Gbps switching like a higher end switch.