I’ve run into a couple of issues with my unraid server which I use for streaming media around my home network. Sorry for the long post – felt it better to give people an idea of my set-up. Grateful for any ideas / thoughts you guys may have.

My UNRAID Server Hardware: 

CPU - AMD SEMPRON 140 2.7Ghz

Case - CoolerMaster RC-590-KKN1-GP

Motherboard - ASUS|M4A785TD-M EVO 785G

LAN Controller: RTL8112L PCIe Gigabit LAN controller featuring AI NET 2

PSU - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W RT"

Sata Card: PROMISE SATA300 TX4 RT

Memory - CRUCIAL CT25664BA1067 - 2gb

Hard Drives – Mixture of WD Green / Blue and Samsung low-power drives

 

The Network:

Unraid server sits in the garage, connected to the BT Home Hub router via powerline adapters (The garage and the house share the same power grid). From the BT Hub, the network uses Powerline adaptors to feed each playback device:

 

Home Plugs / Powerline Adapters

2 x AV600 Nano Powerline Adapter TL-PA411KIT

2 x AV500 Passthrough TL-PA451KIT

2 x AV500 Powerline adaptors, older model but still compatible.

 

Playback Devices (all connecting via powerline/Ethernet)

Home PC (10/100/1000)

HiMedia Q10 Pro (KODI / VLC PLAYER) (10/100/1000)

NVIDIA Shield TV (KODI / VLC PLAYER) (10/100/1000)

Dune Player HD Lite 53D (limited to 10/100 speeds)

Dune Player Base 3.0 (10/100/1000)

The unraid server is visible on all devices, and via wifi on my iPad.

 

The Problems

1)      Stuttering / Buffering playback

While watching video files over the network, I get a range of stuttering and buffering issues, ranging from minor delays, to significant pauses (with no audio) to video files crashing and dumping me back in the file browser. I tried switching from SMB to NFS, and while that has helped some of the issues, a lot of the problems still persist. Strangely, they seem more pronounced on the HiMedia Q10 Pro, which is brand new, than they do on the older Nvidia Shield TV, but the issues appear on both.

2)      Incredibly slow transfer speeds

When moving files from my main PC onto the unraid server, I am getting 300kb/s to 700kb/s, meaning that a 15 gig file can take hours. This basically makes large file transfers a no-no due to the time involved. The same computer I am moving files from can download close to my Fiber Broadband maximum limit 2.7mb/s, so I can’t believe it is a cabling / home plug issue.

I appreciate that it is likely that these issues are related to a single issue, but I felt it would be helpful to list them separately.

 

Questions:

1)      Obviously my home plugs will not support gigabit speeds, but should I not be getting stutter / buffer free HD video over this kind of network?

2)      Would it be easier to simply upgrade my homeplugs to gigabit speeds?

3)      Would a more advanced router than the BT Home Hub bring any advantage in terms of speed?

Grateful for any help you guys an provide.

You should also apologize for making a duplicate post.

Sorry for the duplicate post in HARDWARE - - that was an accident.

As was suggested by 1812 in my other thread, would shortening the network chain by connecting the unraid server directly to my router be a likely short-cut to improving speeds and reducing stuttering?

Although it might not be a feasible long term solution, you could try that to rule out the influence of those powerline adapters.

Also, there are known (at least in early v6 versions) issues with the RTLxxxxx network cards (drivers).
My problems were gone after I plugged an Intel based NIC.
Didn't take the time to test recent unRAID versions if the problem is still persistent though.

I also faced serious performance issues with my 140 Sempron when performing parity checks.
CPU load pinned @100% and reduced parity calculation speed! A dualcore CPU is recommended with v6 IMHO.

I will try to find my posts...

Edit:

 

Edited February 21, 20179 yr by Fireball3
insert link

I can tell you that there was a real issue with RealTek NIC and processors like the slow sempron back a year or so ago.  LimeTech and myself were involved in a long testing program and the source of my stuttering and video stoppage during the playing of BluRay ISO's was traced directly to the NIC.  I solved the problem originally by getting an Intel NIC card and disabling the the RealTek NIC in the BIOS. 

However, I had a straight Gb wired network which removed that factor from the equation.  It could be that the RealTek Drivers have been updated in the kernel and that update could have fixed the issue that I originally had.  

As you can tell, I have upgrade my hardware so I can't even test if the problem is still there

Thank you for all the answers. A lot of food for thought.

Beyond newer, larger hdds, I really haven't upgraded any of the components to the server since I built it 6 years ago.

I am going to try rigging up a few tests with direct Ethernet connections to try and eliminate the power line question.

I think a better processor and an Intel NIC seem to be good investment in any event, looking to the future.

Is there a particular Intel NIC to get / avoid?

Thanks again for all your help.

Any Intel PRO/1000 card will be fine.The single port ones aren't ever especially expensive.

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks again for all the suggestions. So I brought the unraid server in and connected it directly my BT Home Hub router, and then ran a direct ethernet connection from the router to the HiMedia Player. The result was completely stutter free playback!

 

Unfortunately, while the unraid server can probably remain connected to the router, I am still going to need homeplugs to stream video around the house. I currently use a mixture of AV500/AV600 TP-Link homeplugs - would upgrading to gigabite homeplugs likely bring a significant improvement in stability and speed?

 

While the CPU / NIC are clearly not an issue right now, I'm pretty clear they will need to be upgraded in the next wee while.

 

Thanks again for everyone's input.

 

Do a complete reboot of every network device (Modem, Router, Switches, Homeplugs, etc.).  Most of these devices contain a SOC and are running some form of a Linux OS and sometimes they just need a full reboot to clean things up.   Also check to see if you have any flow control options on any of those devices.  By the way, I avoid using my router as a switch as it already has enough to do.  (It keeps the router cooler by allowing it to turn off the unused ports and helps extend its life.)

2 hours ago, BlackBriar said:

currently use a mixture of AV500/AV600 TP-Link homeplugs - would upgrading to gigabite homeplugs likely bring a significant improvement in stability and speed?

 

 

 

look back in my comment in the duplicate thread if you want to see how "gigabyte" adapters performed for me...