Write Speeds Lime Tech MD-1500/AO-9 under latest 5.0RC and 4 3tb drives

[pilgrimHK]

Hi all,

 

I purchased a server from Lime Tech back in Oct-2008 and all has been fine until recently.  Only thing to change is that I have been upgraded unRaid to latest 5.0 RC and have upgraded a number of drives to 3tb.  I also upgraded my router to a Netgear R6300.  12 drives in total, a 3tb parity with 4 3tb drives and a mix for the rest.  No red balls in unraid menu and smart test seem to be ok.

 

The problem is that my write speeds have gotten so bad that is unbearable!  I imagine it is time to upgrade some of the hardware but would appreciate some thoughts on what should be upgraded and what can stay.

 

Given the errors on the report below I imagine I should replace some cables or do some.

 

I was considering upgrading the memory and then adding a SSD cache drive.  Is that the best spend to get write speeds faster or do you guys think some tweaking is needed in settings or ??

 

Many thanks in advance!

 

 

 

login: root

Linux 3.4.36-unRAID.

root@Tower:~# ethtool eth0

Settings for eth0:

        Supported ports: [ TP ]

        Supported link modes:  10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full

                                100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full

                                1000baseT/Full

        Supports auto-negotiation: Yes

        Advertised link modes:  10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full

                                100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full

                                1000baseT/Full

        Advertised pause frame use: No

        Advertised auto-negotiation: Yes

        Speed: 1000Mb/s

        Duplex: Full

        Port: Twisted Pair

        PHYAD: 1

        Transceiver: internal

        Auto-negotiation: on

        MDI-X: on

        Supports Wake-on: pumbg

        Wake-on: g

        Current message level: 0x00000007 (7)

        Link detected: yes

root@Tower:~#

 

 

 

root@Tower:~# ifconfig

eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:1f:c6:4e:e2:2f

          inet addr:192.168.1.7  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0

          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1

          RX packets:142614476 errors:183495 dropped:918 overruns:0 frame:92849

          TX packets:78563808 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000

          RX bytes:176078047858 (163.9 GiB)  TX bytes:57329314302 (53.3 GiB)

          Interrupt:20 Memory:fe940000-fe960000

 

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback

          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0

          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1

          RX packets:496 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:496 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0

          RX bytes:74178 (72.4 KiB)  TX bytes:74178 (72.4 KiB)

 

root@Tower:~#

 

 

[BetaQuasi]

Your error is at network level at the moment - I'd suggest addressing that first before worrying about any extra hardware.  Replace network cables first (make sure you are using good quality Cat 6 cable).

[garycase]

It does indeed look like this is network-related.    Try replacing the cables -- any in-continuity in the cables (poor connection at the RJ45 connectors; broken pair; etc.) can easily cause very slow speeds.

 

You could also have a bad port in your router or any switch(es) you may be using -- but try a new cable from the UnRAID server first.

 

[electron286]

  I see your NIC in your computer is identified as being from Asustek Computer Inc.  Not sure if it is on the MB or an add-on card of course.  It looks like Asus usually uses Realtek gb chip sets.  I have a large pile of realtek NIC cards, and mother-boards with realtek gb lan chips that will no longer function at gb speeds.  They all worked well, at first, but as they age they all began to fail and deteriorate.  I always compare files after copying over my network, and when the first one started to fail it passed corrupted files from one computer to another.  As it got worse, more files would be corrupted.  and speeds continually decreased, till finally it would only connect at 100 mb speed, and no longer connects to establish a 1 gb link.

 

  This has been the same path of symptoms I have now seen many, many more times...  :-(  I have also verified the same connection problems with the aged LAN chips on multiple gb switches and routers from numerous vendors.  It is the Realtek chips, or surrounding components.  (in my bad boards.)

 

  It is, in my opinion, that if you do have a realtek based gb LAN NIC, that it too may have now deteriorated to the point it is no longer usable.

 

  I do also have an early 16 port Netgear gb switch, that also started to fail port by port...  and is also now unusable...  So you may also have a problem with your router, but not as likely as a Realtek chip failure in your computer.

 

  It is also, as already pointed out, a possiblity of a bad cable, or even dirty plugs!  Though again since you have a link, and are able to move data, very much less likely than the other possiblities.  The only real exception here would be a cable that may have sustained some physical damage that has compromised the insulation integrity, that should be easy to see as damaged cable, sharp pinches, etc...

 

  From my tests to date, right now I would ONLY recommend (in order of preference) INTEL or MARVEL gb chipsets for LAN/NIC use.  The Intel have better performance from my tests, (regardless of specific part number tested, though the more expensive ones are a little better...) Followed quite closely by the Marvell chips.  Both seem to so far NOT have failed in ANY of my long-term tests, unlike the Realtek parts.

 

  I would also like to state that of the switches I have tested, only the early version of the Netgear gb switch I have tested has failed, all the other Netgear tests have yet to yield any failures.  So I would still feel good in recommending Netgear switches and routers.  (I would NOT suggest smaller, lesser known brand names for gb switches and routers however... had many failure tests there already)  Other gb switch/router brands I have yet to see failures in my tests... that I also would recommend are Linksys, Cisco, Buffalo, Network Extreme, and D-Link.

 

  Of course even if you do have a bad NIC in a computer, it may NOT be your unRAID computer, but in another computer being used for the data transfer link...  So depending on how many computers you have in your network, you may want to also try seeing how fast your transfer speeds are with a specific set of test files, from various computer to computer combinations, as well as checking for corrupted file transfers after a file copy from computer to computer...  Intel NICs are readily available on-line in both PCI and the newer PCI express configurations.  Some better local computer stores may also carry them, but usually they are hard to find locally, because they cost a little more, and most people would have a hard time seeing a reason to pay more for a card that does the same thing...  add a LAN port, to a computer.

[garycase]

I've also seen several bad ports in both Netgear and D-Link switches.  I have a "4 port" and a "3 port" switch in my "old stuff" collection -- both are actually 5-port switches (one Netgear and one D-Link) that have a bad port (or two).    I've seen several other Netgear switches fail in the same way.  [by the way, the "warranty" for these is essentially useless -- the hassle factor of all the testing they want you to do; and the round-trip postage you have to pay; makes it not worthwhile to even bother.  Fortunately they're cheap  ]

 

But as I noted above, the first thing I'd try is the cable.  You've been moving your system around a bit to replace the drives;  so the cable's been moved around as well, which could have resulted in a simple discontinuity in one or more lines.

 

[pilgrimHK]

All,

 

A big thanks for the replies!  I did change out all my network cables and that helped but the speeds are still slow compared to what I see posted on the forums.  I am about 3.5 mbps.  The router is brand new but I will change the port I am using and will also look into a good network add-in card as I am currently using the network port on the  old Asus motherboard.

 

will report back any progress.

 

Cheers

 

[garycase]

Definitely still too slow -- you may have a bad port on your router.

 

One other possibility, although I'd think you'd have noticed it if this was the case:  When you're accessing the array, how many drives are spun up?  [Look in the Web GUI]    Do a "clear stats" and then write to one of the disks, and see how many disks are involved.    If you happen to have a failed drive, ALL drives will be part of both reads and writes to that drive -- and will be VERY slow.

 

[pilgrimHK]

Definitely still too slow -- you may have a bad port on your router.

 

One other possibility, although I'd think you'd have noticed it if this was the case:  When you're accessing the array, how many drives are spun up?  [Look in the Web GUI]    Do a "clear stats" and then write to one of the disks, and see how many disks are involved.    If you happen to have a failed drive, ALL drives will be part of both reads and writes to that drive -- and will be VERY slow.

 

Thanks Gary,  I tried the clear and copy direct to a drive and only the parity and target drive showed activity.  I then switched a port on the router and still no luck.  I think to next step will be to install a network pci card and see how that works out, unless you have another suggestion.

 

Thanks again, I appreciate the help!!

 

 

[garycase]

Well, you've replaced the cables, so that's not it.    Your router's new, and you've tried different ports, so it's not likely that's it.  So a new Ethernet card isn't a bad idea.    I'd go with an Intel card ... a bit more $$, but by far the best cards.  e.g.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106121

 

Just to be sure: 

 

(a)  Do you have 2 PC's connected to the router?  If so, try copying a reasonably large file from one to the other (e.g. 1GB or so) and see what speeds you get.

(b)  What READ speeds are you seeing from UnRAID?  [i.e. if you copy a file from UnRAID to your PC]

©  What's the make/model of your new router?

 

[pilgrimHK]

Well, you've replaced the cables, so that's not it.    Your router's new, and you've tried different ports, so it's not likely that's it.  So a new Ethernet card isn't a bad idea.    I'd go with an Intel card ... a bit more $$, but by far the best cards.  e.g.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106121

 

Just to be sure: 

 

(a)  Do you have 2 PC's connected to the router?  If so, try copying a reasonably large file from one to the other (e.g. 1GB or so) and see what speeds you get.

(b)  What READ speeds are you seeing from UnRAID?  [i.e. if you copy a file from UnRAID to your PC]

©  What's the make/model of your new router?

 

Hi Gary,

 

Busy work week so just now working on this again.  I have 3 computers on the network: Office, HTPC, Unraid

 

New router is a Netgear R6300

 

Read Speeds

Unraid to Office 55 mbs - 65 mbs

Unraid to HTPC 25 mbs - 30 mbs (long cable)

HTPC to Office: > 60 mbs

Office to HTPC (not able to get shares working read or write from office)

 

 

Write Speeds

Office to Unraid < 5 mbs

HTPC to Unraid < 5mbs

Office to HTPC 10 mbs (started higher but settled in around 10)

 

Will go looking for a network card this weekend at local computer market here in Hong Kong, hopefully I can find the intel card you recommended.

 

Seems odd that read speeds are so good from Unraid while write speeds are so poor.

 

Any other thoughts?

 

 

 

 

[garycase]

Your write speeds are terrible across the board -- 10mbs from "Office to HTPC" is the speed I'd expect with a 100Mb network -- NOT a Gb network.

 

The read speeds between the HTPC and Office are also bad -- about half what you're getting to UnRAID.  A "long cable" shouldn't impact this -- my "UnRAID to HTPC" run is something on the order of 150 ft, going through two switches along the way, and I get ~ 100MB

 

A few thoughts:  You indicated that "...  all has been fine until recently. "    Were all the cable runs the same distance?      And were your speeds both faster and more uniform?  [i.e. was the "long run" still half the speed of the others?

 

You also said you replaced all the cables -- did you use Cat-6 for the new cables?  And are these commercially terminated cables, or did you terminate them?  If you did the terminations, double-check the connectors to be sure there aren't any short or loose ends.

 

Replacing the network card with a good Intel unit certainly can't hurt.    I'm still suspicious about either a bad switch port or a poor connection on one of your cables ... either of these can result in very slow speeds in one-direction only (like you're seeing).    But this is mitigated by the fact that you're getting the slow speeds on multiple devices ... which means that if it IS a cable, it HAS to be the one between the router and the UnRAID server.    You might try a nice new Cat-6 cable for that run, if you haven't already.

 

Good luck -- and hopefully a new NIC will resolve it !!

 

[garycase]

I started to suggest that you try reverting to v4.7 to see if the speed issues went away;  but then remembered that you also added a few 3TB drives when you upgraded to v5.

 

One thing you COULD try IF you have a spare drive you can swap in for a test:  Build a fresh UnRAID USB flash drive with v4.7;  boot to that;  assign the spare drive as a data drive.  Then write a bit of data to it (perhaps a DVD), and read it back to your other PCs.    See what kind of transfers you get with it.

 

Do NOT use one of your current data drives for this test !!    You could, in fact, do that if you ONLY did reads from it => but if you were to write ANYTHING to the disk, parity on your "real" v5 system would be messed up when you booted back to it.

 

[pilgrimHK]

I started to suggest that you try reverting to v4.7 to see if the speed issues went away;  but then remembered that you also added a few 3TB drives when you upgraded to v5.

 

One thing you COULD try IF you have a spare drive you can swap in for a test:  Build a fresh UnRAID USB flash drive with v4.7;  boot to that;  assign the spare drive as a data drive.  Then write a bit of data to it (perhaps a DVD), and read it back to your other PCs.    See what kind of transfers you get with it.

 

Do NOT use one of your current data drives for this test !!    You could, in fact, do that if you ONLY did reads from it => but if you were to write ANYTHING to the disk, parity on your "real" v5 system would be messed up when you booted back to it.

 

Thanks for the reply.  Here are answers to your questions;

 

- I recently purchased 3 new high end cat-6 cables so all 3 pcs are connect to router via the new cable.  only router to HTPC is a longer cable than previously, but not dramatically.  did not change lengths so they are factory terminated

- While there was a recent big deterioration of the unraid write speeds, I have a feeling they have been sub standard for a long time.

- I have a few extra days off so if I can find time I will try your suggestion of downgrading to 4.7 and see what happens there.  I do have some extra drives so I can do this easily without messing with my current parity and data drives.

- will still try the new nic card in the unraid server as they don't cost that much and I imagine even if it does not fix is should help in some way.

 

Will report back after I get some next steps done.

 

Cheers

 

 

[garycase]

Good plan.  Quite frankly, I don't expect 4.7 to make a difference ... but doing this will at least confirm that you don't have hardware that has problems with the current v5 release (there have been some notable problems, so it's always possible that you've hit on another one).

 

[electron286]

  Just to make sure we are talking the same units...

 

  Mb = MegaBit

  MB = MegaByte

  Mbs = MegaBit per Second

  MBs = MegaByte per Second

 

 

  Are we really talking about MegaBit rates here?  I have NEVER gotten any transfers that slow even with my 100Mb equipment.  With 100Mb, I usually see reads to and from anywhere usually above 90%, about 90+  MegaBIT/sec (Mbs), or about 11+ MegaBYTE/sec (MBs)

 

  If you really are only seeing your numbers and the units are mega bits per second, there is a real problem on all the links of some kind.

 

  If however your numbers are really mega BYTEs per second, they are not great, but I have seen other people with similar numbers,  From my tests on various hardware; with Gb, assuming the network switch(es), cables, and NICs are not problems, reads to and from anywhere on the network should be at or above 30%, about 300+ MegaBIT/sec (Mbs), or about 36+ MegaBYTE/sec (MBs) - based on tests with older 1st generation of Intel P4 WITH hyper-threading support running at 3.2 Ghz. (same era 40Gb harddrives maxtor/WD) with only between 256-384 MB RAM. running XP-PRO SP2

 

  With WRITES to a not too current unRAID (4.5.3) with older, but not ancient AMD Athlon 64 X2 2300 with older PCI Promise Fastrack S150 TX4, and older SuperMicro SAT2-MV8 just running on the PCI bus interface.  Speeds drop to about 27%, about 270 MegaBIT/sec (Mbs), or about 32 MegaBYTE/sec (MBs) using the same base computers as listed above.  This is running PARITY with an array of 5 WD 1.5TB EADS data drives on the add-on cards on PCI, and 1 WD 2TB black FAEX running parity from the mother-board SATA.

 

  All speeds go up with more capable/current test computers above the old 1st gen Hyper-threaded P4 series testing with the same unRAID configuration.

 

  To a max with my tests to date, (limited by my test hard drives in the other systems on network reads) that were file COPIES from a tested network drive source to local hard drives, (the write to the local drives were the bottle-necks yeilding a 99% disk utilization) need to test with newer/faster hard drives...  Reads 45% (local disk maxed out) from unRAID to local drive (Maxtor 40GB), 450 MegaBIT/sec (Mbs), or about 55 MegaBYTE/sec (MBs).

  WITHOUT Parity enabled, to test max speeds, writes with this limited hardware actually were FASTER TO unRAID than the reads were, due to the write speed being so much slower than the read on the test machines.  Writes (copy of files from local hard drive) to unRAID (same as above) 60%, 600 MegaBIT/sec (Mbs), or about 73 MegaBYTE/sec (MBs).

  Adding parity again brought the write speeds down to 29%, 290 MegaBIT/sec (Mbs), or about 34 MegaBYTE/sec.  These higher tests are still on rather old hardware for the test machines, newer P4 2.8Ghz - socket 755 32-bit (just before the 64-bit enabled chips) with 512 MB of RAM running Windows 8 Pro, yes it does work with that little RAM...

 

  Anything slower than these numbers with similar, or better hardware would likely suggest other bottlenecks, (again assuming that the NICS, cables and any network switches have been ruled out as being slow...) such as CPU, memory, hard drive, mother-board issues... or even extra processes running slowing down transfers and/or eating up of CPU clock cycles.  (SOME software updates, such as Windows service packs, hot-fixes, etc., as well as SOME anti-virus/anti-malware software updates, have also been seen to DRASTICALLY slow down computer processes and data transfer speeds.)

 

  Long reply, but hopefully it can be helpful...  All my tests have generally concentrated on older hardware to ensure minimum configurations are usable for my purposes.  Then I just enjoy how well things work with even newer configurations...

 

  A couple last thoughts... a cross-over cable directly between two computers eliminating any other devices between the two, might also be helpful in eliminating other network devices as the problem, such as a bad switch.  Software that runs all the time, such as anti-virus and ant-malware, may be disabled with such tests to further identify their effects on transfer speeds.  Looking at CPU usage and tasks can also help to identify if there are other processes that are potentially slowing things down during transfers also.