AVM Fritz Box 7490 NAS Performance With Different File Systems

[Karikiro]

Edit: Added test results for EXT2 format.

 

 

Hi,

I have done some testing I wanted to share for those who want to try this out.

 

 

Goal

I want to stream 1080p MKV-video files from an old HDD I had lying around that is connected to an AVM Fritz Box 7490.

 

 

Issue

When streaming the video stutters frequently.

 

 

Idea

Use a Linux native file system to improve performance, since the router's processing is the weak point.

 

 

TLDR Result

Use NTFS when on Windows. Neither EXT2 nor EXT3 offers any benefit.

 

 

NAS Hardware

Server: AVM Fritz Box 7490 Modem/Router (all stock)

Storage: Corsair Force 60GB SSD with a generic SATA to USB 3.0 (USB 3.2 Gen 1) adapter (Samsung)

 

 

Client

My main PC:

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K (stock)

MB: Gigabyte GA-Z87MX-D3H (rev.1)

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB DDR3-1600 CL9

Storage: SanDisk Extreme II 2.5" 480GB SSD

 

 

Network

Server and client are connected over a powerline network.

Adapters: Devolo dLAN 1200+ Powerline (1,2 GBit/s rated speed; actual is approximately 38 MB/s or 304Mb/s)

 

 

Testing

The SSD is formatted seperately as EXT2 and EXT3 using the EaseUS partitioning software. Then in Ubuntu the video file is copied to the SSD. After that the drive is connected to the Fritz Box and testing is performed.

For the third round the SSD is formatted in Windows as NTFS and the video is copied to the drive. It is then reconnected to the Fritz Box and testing is performed.

 

The test consists of simply opening the video file in the VLC media player from client machine (Windows). The NAS provides the files on the SSD as a network drive.

During playback of the first 35 seconds the network traffic is monitored using the Windows 7 Task Manager.

 

The Fritz Box 7490 offers two USB 3.0 rated ports. These can be individually chosen to operate as USB 2.0 or 3.0. For the test multiple configurations are selected as shown in the logs. (Note that the number below the graph indicates the port configuration where "2" means USB 2.0 and "3" means USB 3.0. The number between the dashes is the used port and the number in parentheses is the unused port.)

 

 

SSD formatted as EXT2 connected to rear connector of the Fritz Box

 

 

 

 

SSD formatted as EXT2 connected to side connector of the Fritz Box

 

 

 

 

SSD formatted as EXT3 connected to rear connector of the Fritz Box

 

 

 

 

SSD formatted as EXT3 connected to side connector of the Fritz Box

 

 

 

 

SSD formatted as NTFS connected to rear connector of the Fritz Box

 

 

 

 

SSD formatted as NTFS connected to side connector of the Fritz Box

 

 

Notes

The Corsair Force 60GB SSD (NTFS) is capable of an average transfer rate of 114MB/s with the adapter used for the test and the same video file. This number was determined by copying the test video file from the SSD to the client machine over USB 3.0.

 

 

Conclusion

Performance with the EXT2 & EXT3 formatted drive was noticeably worse when compared to the NTFS tests. The video paused for longer times or more frequently. This is reflected in the transmission rates shown in the task manager. There the overall performance was better for the NTFS formatted drive. However, in all cases the video and audio paused sporadically degrading the watching experience to an unusable degree.
 

 

Feel free to ask me questions regarding the test. However, I am no network engineer nor familiar with Linux so I can't answer questions about that.

Thank you for reading.

 

[Mayaa]

Are you just doing this over a network share? definitely seems weird.

Have you tried another video player?

[dalekphalm]

I would check your Processor tab during playback to see if you're getting bottlenecked somewhere (CPU or disk IO would be my first guess).

[Karikiro]

31 minutes ago, Mayaa said:

Are you just doing this over a network share? definitely seems weird.

Have you tried another video player?

This router is known for it's poor NAS performance. The question for me was whether or not a native file system would improve performance and apparently it didn't. Normal file traffic i.e. copying files to and from the NAS is very slow as well.

I also have no idea what a network share is. I have set up my laptop to synchronize folders with my main PC in Windows using the Microsoft Synchronization Center (Home Network Function). The Laptop is usually connected with WLAN to the router and my PC with powerline. Network speed between the two is rather quick, so I assume it is an artificial limit in the router's firmware to preserve performance for more important tasks.

I am currently converting the video file from *.mkv to *.mp4 (h264) to see if that improves playback at all but that will take a while.

Thank you for taking the time.

 

7 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

I would check your Processor tab during playback to see if you're getting bottlenecked somewhere (CPU or disk IO would be my first guess).

I have very limited access to the router so that is pretty much out of the question. (It is very "user friendly".) The client PC is fairly capable and the Corsair SSD that is connected to the router achieves 114MB/s when connected directly to the client with USB so I am sure the problem is with the router. (Edit: I checked and the PC is barely utilized during streaming.) As I mentioned to Mayaa the processor may be limited in terms of available overhead for the NAS services. The newer model (7590) is a lot faster which makes me think the NAS was an post-launch addition.

Thank you for your time.

[Karikiro]

3 hours ago, Karikiro said:

4 hours ago, Mayaa said:

Are you just doing this over a network share? definitely seems weird.

Have you tried another video player?

This router is known for it's poor NAS performance. The question for me was whether or not a native file system would improve performance and apparently it didn't. Normal file traffic i.e. copying files to and from the NAS is very slow as well.

I also have no idea what a network share is. I have set up my laptop to synchronize folders with my main PC in Windows using the Microsoft Synchronization Center (Home Network Function). The Laptop is usually connected with WLAN to the router and my PC with powerline. Network speed between the two is rather quick, so I assume it is an artificial limit in the router's firmware to preserve performance for more important tasks.

I am currently converting the video file from *.mkv to *.mp4 (h264) to see if that improves playback at all but that will take a while.

Thank you for taking the time.

Unfortunately, the different format didn't solve the problem. I think the only solution for me is to either reduce image quality or to invest in more recent or dedicated hardware. I am considering getting an Odroid HC1/HC2.