Linux Question

[Viper0329]

Right now, i've got a P166 setup using Win2k Pro as a file server on my network. I just have a HD that all the other computers on the network map a drive letter to. It can only get around 40% - 50% of the 100Mb ethernet due to it's week processor.

If I move it to Unix based operating system, say a verion of *BSD or Linux, would I get better transfer rates due to less overhead load on the CPU?

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Actually the crappy throughput is likely due to the hard drive and possibly the smb protocol. It's hard to say if you'd see a performance increase, just because it's hard to say what is causing the slow down. If it's the hard drive's fault, nothing can speed it up.

 

[thraxes]

It could also be the network cards fault. I noticed a massive 60% drop in CPU load when I switched from a cheap Realtek card to a Intel server level card when doing the same task.

 

[batmang]

i dont think switching the os is going to make a difference in the throughput. slow cpu speed is slow cpu speed. the only thing i can think of that would cause a slow xfer rate would be the hard drive, just like the guy said above.

 

[mee987]

Originally posted by: thraxes
It could also be the network cards fault. I noticed a massive 60% drop in CPU load when I switched from a cheap Realtek card to a Intel server level card when doing the same task.

when you say "60% drop, do you mean a drop like 70% to 10% or from 10% to 4%? if its the former, id say you had a defective card.

and there's a pretty good way to see whats holding you back. if the cpu usage is at 100 when copying, thats your problem. if the hdd light is constantly on (no blinky) when copying, thats your problem. if its the hdd, a nice defrag might help your situation.

 

[pitupepito2000]

the first thing that I would check is the cabling and see if there's a lot of crosstalk or if the everything is working fine with the cables, then I would check if its the network devices that you have connected meaning router or switches that are causing the latency. Also I believe that you must have full-duplex enable in your hardware.

Another thing that you can try is upgrading your processor, I think a windows server on that pc is an overkill!!

I hope this helps,
pitupepito2000

 

[chsh1ca]

SMB is notorious for being a very inefficient protocol, which is why if this were asked in the networking forum, the answer would be Yes, switch to Linux/BSD, but don't expect a whole load of speed gain.

SMB itself seems very incapable of achieving much more than about 30-40mbps file transfer without tweaking.