Slow SMB browsing with 9.2

[Imslow]

Hi all,

I started playing with freenas about 3 months ago with the 9.2 release and really like it. My IT background is very poor but I believe I am learning fast. I long hesitated to post this question and it is only after some time reading posts and never beeing satisfied with the answers that I decided to come with the following question:

Problem to be solved: I am having extremely slow SMB/CIFS folder browsing with folders containing several thousand files. Typically, it will take up to 30 seconds to display 10 000 files using Windows Explorer.

My system: I am using a donated entry level computer with consumer parts as follows, I just bought enough RAM to meet freenas minimum requirements; primary usage is limited to backup, file sharing and video streaming.
_Zotac H87 motherboard, Pentium G3220,
_ 16Gb (2*8Gb) Samsung DDR3 RAM ,
_ 2x3TB in RAID1 WD Green in ZFS (only encryption is enabled),
_ Used freenas 9.2 64bits with CIFS and recently moved to 9.2.1.2 with same issue,
_ Gigabit network, using D-Link DIR-850L router
_ Clients are 1x smart TV and 2x Windows 7 64 home edition computers.
_ Don’t use any fancy AUX parameters,

Questions:
Cost is primary concern.
How can I improve the performances of my system?

Thank you for your advices.

 

[cyberjock]

Well, you're already breaking many of our cardinal rules..

-non-ECC RAM
-not a server grade motherboard.
-almost certainly not using an Intel NIC
-Using a G3220 with encryption(that CPU doesn't support AES-NI).


To be honest, I'm not really sure where to begin. Granted the first and second aren't likely to be part of your problem, but so many small nuances come into play when using non-recommended hardware I'm really not sure where to even point you.

 

[Imslow]

Dear forum guard,
Thank you very much for your fast reply.
It is well noted that (i) my problem is most certainly hardware related and that (ii) troubleshooting will be easier once proper hardware (give me that supermicro+ECC!) is acquired.
As I mentioned in the introduction of my previous post, I like freenas a lot. I am ready to invest a bit more money to get better performance and more secured data backup. (Actually my first build didn’t cost me much money)
Thank you again for your answer and I will continue this discussion on the section dedicated to hardware selection.
Best regards,

 

[ser_rhaegar]

When dealing with thousands of files in the same folder, SMB will be slow. Your best bet is to break up the files into sub folders.

We have the same issue at work with Windows Server shares. Ended up scripting an auto archive that took log files over a month old and zipped them into monthly archives labeled by date.

 

[cyberjock]

When I use CIFS in Windows I have opened folders with about 50000 files and it took about 4 seconds to load. I know that a larger number of files also means tons more metadata, and metadata is one aspect of the ARC. I also know that some people have had performance improvements by adding more disk space. But, I wouldn't expect you to be having a problem with 16GB of RAM. If you have more RAM you can drop in the system temporarily I would give that a try.

I know a lot of antivirus software affects directory loading. (especially ones that block files like autorun.inf) Maybe try disabling your antivirus temporarily to rule that out as a cause?

 

[Durandal]

Have you tried to inactivate the "Enable store DOS attributes" in the SMB/CIFS-config? Gave me a list-time from 5-6 seconds to more or less instant listning of 800+ folders.

 

[Imslow]

Thank you for your suggestions.

Disabling the antivirus did not show any improvements.
I was luckier with disabling the “Support DOS File Attributes” parameter in the SMB/CIFS settings. This improved browsing speed a lot but I am not sure what could be potential side effects.

Anyway, I took cyberjock advice to get a more reliable hardware into account and I am looking into it right now (mobo, NIC, CPU). Eventually, use of recommended hardware will simplify troubleshooting.

 

[Durandal]

Thank you for your suggestions.

Disabling the antivirus did not show any improvements.
I was luckier with disabling the “Support DOS File Attributes” parameter in the SMB/CIFS settings. This improved browsing speed a lot but I am not sure what could be potential side effects.

Anyway, I took cyberjock advice to get a more reliable hardware into account and I am looking into it right now (mobo, NIC, CPU). Eventually, use of recommended hardware will simplify troubleshooting.

From the online manual it says "allows a user who has write access to a file to modify the permissions, even if not the owner of the file". I don't know what scenarios this could be for but i'm using my shares from a Windows machine with no problems so far, but a lot faster.