Need help with my ftp server, it's really slow!

[Koba1t]

Hey guys, i just bought a used system and added some parts to it to make an ftp server. Here are the specs:

Abit BP6 motherboard (i think this is what it is)
320 Megs RAM
Some generic 5 gigabyte HD (which is my main HD)
Maxtor Diamondmax 7200 RPM 60 GIG HD (connected to an ultra ATA-100 PCI card).
Celeron 466 on a slotket
SMC EZ Card 10/100 ethernet card
Win2k
"E-machines case and powersupply" I think the Power Supply is 145 Watts

Ok here's the problem. I'm trying to setup an ftp server for a few people to use, but it seems that i can't transmit more than 150 KB/s (both upload and download). I'm on a 10 megabit LAN which is connected to an OC-3 connection. Now i noticed that after a while that the maxtor harddrive gets quite hot to the touch and i have to take my finger off the driver after more than 10 seconds touching it.

The question is, is it possible that the data transfer drops as the hard drive gets really hot? And i don't understand why it's getting hot considering i'm only severing 3 or 4 people at once @ 100 - 150 KB/s. I mean, i rarely hear thhe drive working. Or is it the cause of one of the other devices? Any help would be appreciaated,thanks.

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Edit

ok i know for a fact that the speeds aren't supposed to be this slow. I would get 900 K/s during the regular school year in the dorm with 27 people to a floor (yes, i was a badnwidth hog, heh). Now in my apartment complex of 10 during the summer, i'm dying with 170K/s max. I tried downloading a file off our website: it was going @ 200 K/s but then i saw the other transfers in my ftp going at .88 K/s! I tested the harddrive and you guys were right, it's not that because the transfer speeds don't slow down when i copy a cd to the harddrive... So i guess it must be my NIC or Memory? Sigh.

Edit #2
Changed the specs written above to reflect that i put in 256 megs (320 megs total) more into my system... still doesn't help. Sigh.

 

[TunaBoo]

Your upload speed is prolly capped at that, or something is liming your upload speed.

HD is hot cuz it spins fast. No amount of "too many people on it" will change temp more than a degree or 2. I reccomend you have a fan blowing over (both sides) of it. Cools my 60GXP so it feels room temp. Extends HD life too.

 

[Koba1t]

No the only cap i have is the max speed of the 10 mbit switch... perhaps is the 64 megs of RAM that i am using to run the ftp on win2k?

 

[TunaBoo]

I am thinking you are not the only person on the OC-3, could be other traffic.

Also, 10mbit is something like .8 MB or 900 KB's. 4 people at 200K or 800 KB is pretty close to your max.

 

[TunaBoo]

<< No the only cap i have is the max speed of the 10 mbit switch... perhaps is the 64 megs of RAM that i am using to run the ftp on win2k? >>



And yes if you want to run win2k on 64 ram, tweak the ram like a mofo as you need to get rid of a LOT of services. 128 is usually the bar minimum to have decent preformance.

 

[Ben]

Somethings not right. Your hardware setup is capable of much more that what your getting.

Is this connection at your office or something, or school?

I assume you have other computers hooked up to this switch also. Have you done a speed test at www.pcpitstop.com from the FTP computer of from another computer?

What about transferring files between computers over the LAN? How fast is that?

 

[Ben]

<< Also, 10mbit is something like .8 MB or 900 KB's. 4 people at 200K or 800 KB is pretty close to your max. >>


That's a good point too.

Describe more about your situation. Where you are, what kind of switch, how many people, etc.

 

[Koba1t]

Yeah i notice the transfers drop off quite sharply on lan as well... i don't get it. I can trasnfer really fast when i'm in the public computer labs at my school

 

[TunaBoo]

Get a 100 mbit switch

 

[Koba1t]

Ok editted original post.

I can't get a 100 Mbit switch, our university probably woudln't like it

 

[Ben]

<< I tried downloading a file off our website: it was going @ 200 K/s but then i saw the other transfers in my ftp going at .88 K/s! >>


So your getting 200K downloads from your computer but your FTP is only uploading at .88K?

Your RAM wouldn't cause this problem. It's possible your NIC is bad but I think it's something else.

Is someone else on your switch running some kind of server for anything? Game, Napster, FTP, web, etc,? You whole apartment shares the same switch right? I think someone else is hogging all the bandwidth.

 

[gsaldivar]

Your problem has nothing to do with your RAM, NIC, or Hard Drive.

This sounds like a network problem. Whether your school is connected to the net via OC-3 or not, I can pretty much guarantee that the dorms are getting the ass-end trickle of that bandwidth.

I would try a bandwidth monitoring software to guage the network performance over time. If you notice that it is busier during the afternoon than at say, 5am - then there's your answer. You are at the ceiling of your available bandwidth.

If however, you have an absolute ceiling of 150KB/s up &amp; downstream - regardless of the time of day, then I would begin looking at artificial causes for this ceiling such as: Router/switch limitation, software limitation... etc.

Network problems are a bitch - but at this point, I'm pretty sure that's what you have here - not a hardware problem.

 

[Koba1t]

Nope, i'm 99% sure they don't purposely limit our bandwidth (well, except for the 10 mbit switches). I could get 900k/s when i lived in the dorms, and it had almost 3 times as many people sharing the switch.

Also, the bandwidth hans't changed much, i still download/upload the same during the morning as i did during night and day.

 

[Koba1t]

Well, doesn't seem to be a memory problem either cuz i just installed 256 megs of RAM

 

[RDMustang1]

You say you got 900kb/sec, was that down or up? usually up is limited much more than down...

 

[Koba1t]

<< You say you got 900kb/sec, was that down or up? usually up is limited much more than down... >>



when i was back in my dorm, it was both... i'm on ethernet which is connected to OC-3... there's no assymetric upload/download like there is on cable modem/dsl.

 

[RDMustang1]

the ethernet at my school is asymetric.. we would get upwards of 10MB/sec down but a max of around 300kb/sec up..

 

[Ben]

<< Well, doesn't seem to be a memory problem either cuz i just installed 256 megs of RAM >>


<scratches head>

<leaves the room>