Inconsistent Performance ("pauses" in file transfers/copies)

[Myflag]

Hello,

I am currently having issues with my FreeNas system having "pauses" when transferring and copying files.

Video - https://www.dropbox.com/s/mo64nd0ifecz9yt/screen-recording 041318.mp4?dl=0

Note 1: The issue is not as pronounced in that video. Sometimes, it has been "pausing" for as much as 30-60 seconds. Additionally, when it "pauses", if I open a new window the file system (FreeNas admin web panel works fine) browser is unresponsive and waits to respond until the "pause" ends.

Note 2: When the system "pauses" during the file transfer/copy, I can hear that the hard drives stop "chattering".

Note 3: The same issue occurs over iSCSI, as well as SMB.

Note 4: CPU usage is minimal.

Note 5: This same issue occurs even when transferring large number of very small files, such as JPGs. After a few GBs of file transfers, the system begins "pausing".

My Specs:

Xeon's 2 x 5660
RAM 49105 MB
36 x 3 TB SAS Enterprise HDDs
SuperMicro server and motherboard.
LSI 2008 HBA card in IT mode.

FreeNas 11.1-U4

Any assistance you can offer will be greatly appreciate.

Blessings,
Steven Dunn

 

[Myflag]

I believe I have discovered what may be the problem. It appears the drive da1 is failing, as it is reporting SMART issues and has now begun making a high pitched sound. I will order in replacement(s) and let you know if that resolved the issue.

Is there an option to have FreeNas just drop a bad drive automatically instead of causing poor performance?

Blessings,
Steven Dunn

 

[toadman]

Not that I'm aware of, no. It's a manual process via Freenas GUI.

I suppose you could write some custom scripts triggered by a repetitive cron job and issue commands that way if there were detected SMART issues with a drive.