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SMB3 Multi Channel doesnt seem to be working on any device on my network and Google isnt much help.

Scheme Unbroken

Hey first time posting here, hopefully you guys can help shed some light on why I cant get SMB Multichannel working.

 

I have 2 "servers";

  1. Synology DS918+ with 2 1Gb/s Ports
  2. Unraid with a Quad Port 1Gb/s Intel NIC

And 2 clients;

  1. Windows 11 Gaming PC with Dual Port Intel PRO/1000
  2. 2016 MacBook Pro with USB3 Dual Port NIC (Here)

Everything connects through a 24port D-Link switch (1Gb). The Synology has both ports connected to the switch and each interface has its own IP, The Unraid machine has 2 ports using Link-Aggregation, and the other 2 are independent with their own IP's. I went through all the guides for the Synology, Unraid, Windows 11 and MacOS and everything checks out, but when actually transferring files I notice no speed increase at all. I've tried searching but most info I have found is for Windows Server 2012...

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I have a simple Synology NAS with one port used for system backups configured for SMB 3 and I have no clue what multichannel is in that context.

 

That aside, I've never heard of a consumer NAS client tapping 2 IPs for the same server to boost the speed of a "transfer" (whether one or a group of files). Sounds like that would need a special client app.

 

As for link aggregation, I've never done it personally, but it is my understanding that it won't split one tcp/ip session (or maybe even one source client) between multiple ports/links.

 

Just providing you some food for thought to explore, and hopefully someone will correct me if my logic is incorrect here. You don't have to convince me whether any of it is wrong or right - You just have to find what it takes to modify your setup in a way that works the way you hope it will, whatever that is.

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9 hours ago, NobleGamer said:

That aside, I've never heard of a consumer NAS client tapping 2 IPs for the same server to boost the speed of a "transfer" (whether one or a group of files). Sounds like that would need a special client app.

It doesn't tap 2 IPs as link aggregation combines multiple interfaces into a single virtual one, balancing traffic between the real interfaces.  Multi-channel is supposed to detect this and tell the client to open as many connections as there are interfaces to utilise the full speed.

I do wonder though if this might depend on what kind of load balancing is being done on the aggregation.

The complication with aggregation is you also need the network at both ends to have the right aggregation behaviour, I forget the modes but there are a few that decide how the network stack decides which physical interface to use.  If its only deciding based on client then multiple connections wont help.

Router:  Intel N100 (pfSense) WiFi6: Zyxel NWA210AX (1.7Gbit peak at 160Mhz)
WiFi5: Ubiquiti NanoHD OpenWRT (~500Mbit at 80Mhz) Switches: Netgear MS510TXUP, MS510TXPP, GS110EMX
ISPs: Zen Full Fibre 900 (~930Mbit down, 115Mbit up) + Three 5G (~800Mbit down, 115Mbit up)
Upgrading Laptop/Desktop CNVIo WiFi 5 cards to PCIe WiFi6e/7

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6 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

It doesn't tap 2 IPs as link aggregation combines multiple interfaces into a single virtual one, balancing traffic between the real interfaces.  Multi-channel is supposed to detect this and tell the client to open as many connections as there are interfaces to utilise the full speed.

I do wonder though if this might depend on what kind of load balancing is being done on the aggregation.

So I was under the impression by OP that they used link aggregation for only one of the two servers, and when I said tap 2 IPs I wasn't referring to the link aggregated server:

 

16 hours ago, Scheme Unbroken said:

The Synology has both ports connected to the switch and each interface has its own IP, The Unraid machine has 2 ports using Link-Aggregation, and the other 2 are independent with their own IP's

As for the server that is doing Link Aggregation:

9 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

I do wonder though if this might depend on what kind of load balancing is being done on the aggregation.

My understanding is that LA is a very simplistic form of load balancing at the network level, and anything at least slightly more complicated than that is considered "load balancing" that is configured independent of link aggregation.

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2 minutes ago, NobleGamer said:

My understanding is that LA is a very simplistic form of load balancing at the network level, and anything at least slightly more complicated than that is considered "load balancing" that is configured independent of link aggregation.

https://docs.rackspace.com/blog/lacp-bonding-and-linux-configuration/ is what I was referring to, but I have no idea how the Windows side handles it.

 

I think the switch needs to support LACP for it to work correctly, not basic LAG.

Router:  Intel N100 (pfSense) WiFi6: Zyxel NWA210AX (1.7Gbit peak at 160Mhz)
WiFi5: Ubiquiti NanoHD OpenWRT (~500Mbit at 80Mhz) Switches: Netgear MS510TXUP, MS510TXPP, GS110EMX
ISPs: Zen Full Fibre 900 (~930Mbit down, 115Mbit up) + Three 5G (~800Mbit down, 115Mbit up)
Upgrading Laptop/Desktop CNVIo WiFi 5 cards to PCIe WiFi6e/7

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Everyone seems a bit caught up on the LACP connection that's on my Unraid box. To add some clarity the link aggregation interface is used for "normal" traffic to and from the server. When I connect to it for SMB I use one of the other non-aggregated interfaces since multi channel wont work over LACP.

 

As for the Synology supporting Multi Channel, it's a somewhat recent addition that came shortly after the release of DSM7.

Quote

That aside, I've never heard of a consumer NAS client tapping 2 IPs for the same server to boost the speed of a "transfer" (whether one or a group of files). Sounds like that would need a special client app.

Here is the link to the Synology Community post for its initial beta release, it has since left beta and should be available on all models with more than one NIC...which is nearly all of them.

https://community.synology.com/enu/forum/1/post/157265

 

Quote

As for link aggregation, I've never done it personally, but it is my understanding that it won't split one tcp/ip session (or maybe even one source client) between multiple ports/links.

Oh 100%, the purpose in my case is for handling multiple connections from multiple clients without them all fighting over a single 1Gb/s connection to the server. But each client is still limited to 1Gb/s.

 

One thing I have read in a few places, but not others, is that the two interfaces need to be on different subnets? Such as one interface has the IP 192.168.1.69 and the other has 192.168.2.69...but I cant really confirm if this is the case anymore or not. I even watched Wendell's video on SMB Multi Channel. LTT did a video on it several years ago but it was Windows only, and a lot has changed since then.

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20 hours ago, Scheme Unbroken said:

One thing I have read in a few places, but not others, is that the two interfaces need to be on different subnets? Such as one interface has the IP 192.168.1.69 and the other has 192.168.2.69...but I cant really confirm if this is the case anymore or not. I even watched Wendell's video on SMB Multi Channel. LTT did a video on it several years ago but it was Windows only, and a lot has changed since then.

I stand corrected about LACP.

 

Looking again it seems you need multiple IP addresses on THE SAME subnet, which is what I originally read when it first was implemented.

Router:  Intel N100 (pfSense) WiFi6: Zyxel NWA210AX (1.7Gbit peak at 160Mhz)
WiFi5: Ubiquiti NanoHD OpenWRT (~500Mbit at 80Mhz) Switches: Netgear MS510TXUP, MS510TXPP, GS110EMX
ISPs: Zen Full Fibre 900 (~930Mbit down, 115Mbit up) + Three 5G (~800Mbit down, 115Mbit up)
Upgrading Laptop/Desktop CNVIo WiFi 5 cards to PCIe WiFi6e/7

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On 4/2/2023 at 7:47 AM, Alex Atkin UK said:

multiple IP addresses on THE SAME subnet,

Well that's good because that's exactly what I have have. I still haven't figured out why it doesn't work though. I've triple checked everything and I should be good to go...

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Really, I've never had success for a single connection and multiple NICS.   It is great for load balancing multiple clients but its less of a headache to just go 2.5Gbit (or all out for something faster).  USB dongles are about $25-30 each and you can force it to work on the Synology.

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