SMB Multi-Channel Issues

[DaShesano]

Hi All,

My primary storage server has been having some bizarre file transfer issues recently. The storage server is a Supermicro SYS 5019S-M with 2 gigabit ports on the back (provided by an intel i210 AT) and the 2 systems that primarily access it use a single intel i219-V gigabit port on the back. I updated windows on all the machines recently (the 2 clients use windows 10 pro and the server uses windows 8.1 pro) and now file transfers have ground to a halt. They originally transferred at gigabit speeds, however after the update, both machines have slower transfer speeds, that starts out slow (around 15-20mbps) and then slowly speeds up to almost gigabit (80-90 and occasionally gigabit). The CPU on both clients are i7 6700ks and the CPU on the storage server is a xeon E3 1225v5. After reinstalling windows on all 3 machines I see no difference in file transfer, until I disconnect one of the network interfaces on the server, and then it transfers at gigabit speed again. However, file transfers go at full gigabit speed, when writing to the server, just not reading from it when both interfaces are connected.

Thanks,

[leonfagan71]

46 minutes ago, DaShesano said:

Hi All,

My primary storage server has been having some bizarre file transfer issues recently. The storage server is a Supermicro SYS 5019S-M with 2 gigabit ports on the back (provided by an intel i210 AT) and the 2 systems that primarily access it use a single intel i219-V gigabit port on the back. I updated windows on all the machines recently (the 2 clients use windows 10 pro and the server uses windows 8.1 pro) and now file transfers have ground to a halt. They originally transferred at gigabit speeds, however after the update, both machines have slower transfer speeds, that starts out slow (around 15-20mbps) and then slowly speeds up to almost gigabit (80-90 and occasionally gigabit). The CPU on both clients are i7 6700ks and the CPU on the storage server is a xeon E3 1225v5. After reinstalling windows on all 3 machines I see no difference in file transfer, until I disconnect one of the network interfaces on the server, and then it transfers at gigabit speed again. However, file transfers go at full gigabit speed, when writing to the server, just not reading from it when both interfaces are connected.

Thanks,

I can't remember off of the top of my head but I believe Windows will reserve a lot of the network card bandwidth for stupid crap like Windows Update.

 

But, you mentioned that removing one of the network connections on the server seems to increase the speed.

 

What is the switch, is it configured to allow traffic from two connections simultaneously?

Is the switch bottle necking everything?

[DaShesano]

7 minutes ago, leonfagan71 said:

I can't remember off of the top of my head but I believe Windows will reserve a lot of the network card bandwidth for stupid crap like Windows Update.

 

But, you mentioned that removing one of the network connections on the server seems to increase the speed.

 

What is the switch, is it configured to allow traffic from two connections simultaneously?

Is the switch bottle necking everything?

The network switch is a Netgear GS108E Plus switch, and yes, removing one of the network interfaces on the server increases network transfer speed. To my knowledge the switch is not bottle necking the system, as I deployed it elsewhere and it did not cause this issue. My next plan of action is probably to add a second gigabit port to the client PCs and see what happens.

[leonfagan71]

Just now, DaShesano said:

The network switch is a Netgear GS108E Plus switch, and yes, removing one of the network interfaces on the server increases network transfer speed. To my knowledge the switch is not bottle necking the system, as I deployed it elsewhere and it did not cause this issue.

Okay, have you tried it with another switch to test this?

Also, how are the network interfaces setup, are they configured as a team?

[DaShesano]

1 minute ago, leonfagan71 said:

Okay, have you tried it with another switch to test this?

Also, how are the network interfaces setup, are they configured as a team?

I have tried with another switch, which yields the same results, slow reads and fast writes with both server ethernet ports plugged in, but fast reads and writes with only one server port plugged in. They are teamed in adaptive load balancing.

[leonfagan71]

3 minutes ago, DaShesano said:

I have tried with another switch, which yields the same results, slow reads and fast writes with both server ethernet ports plugged in, but fast reads and writes with only one server port plugged in. They are teamed in adaptive load balancing.

Is this any help?

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/46898c7f-92e0-4c99-98d2-18a7458a7d2d/slow-network-write-speeds-via-smb-cifs?forum=winserverfiles

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/7bd0aa5b-eb95-40a8-a56d-c6013273665c/extremely-slow-smb-network-speed-server-2012-r2?forum=winserver8gen

[leadeater]

Have you tested the performance on each port on the server, a single port does the full gigabit speed and have tested both ports?

 

Also have you tried updating the firmware on the server, may or may not help.

 

Are both NICs on the server using IP addresses on the same subnet or different? Assuming same since the switch isn't layer 3. Check the advanced adapter settings such as send/receive buffers, RSS etc, also use netstat to check for any network errors i.e. netstat -e.

[DaShesano]

On 11/27/2016 at 4:05 PM, leadeater said:

Have you tested the performance on each port on the server, a single port does the full gigabit speed and have tested both ports?

 

Also have you tried updating the firmware on the server, may or may not help.

 

Are both NICs on the server using IP addresses on the same subnet or different? Assuming same since the switch isn't layer 3. Check the advanced adapter settings such as send/receive buffers, RSS etc, also use netstat to check for any network errors i.e. netstat -e.

They are running the same subnet, the send/receive buffer is at its max size, and netstat shows no network errors, I guess I'm just cursed with networking.