Would upgrading to Gigabit reduce network lag?

[jrichrds]

I am looking to speed up a scheduling program that keeps its database on a Win2K server. Setting the antivirus to not scan network drives helped reduce page flips (e.g. moving forward one day in the calendar) from 5 seconds down to 3 seconds.

I don't think there's that much data being transferred when flipping between days in the calendar, so I'm guessing it's network lag that causes the delay?

So my question is...would upgrading the network from 100mbps to gigabit help speed up the page flips? Or would such an upgrade only be beneficial for large file transfers?

 

[spidey07]

I can't fathom why it would. It does take 1/10th the time to put a frame on the wire with gigabit but if this matters then something is really wrong with the application and how it uses a network. Most times things like this are application/coding related and not actual network performance. But if the app is so poorly written that it "ping pongs", with hundreds of requests back and forth, back and forth to do a simple task then just maybe you could realize a performance increase. If that is really the case then it is the application that needs to be fixed, pronto.

 

[cmetz]

spidey07, for 1000BaseT, the serialization delay is 1/10th that of 100BaseTX. But the way the PHY works requires significant bufferring and signal processing, which gives you a net increase in latency on 1000BaseT vs. 100BaseTX in my experience.

jrichrds, spidey's right, this is probably a problem where, fundamentally, your app is broken. Look for an application layer fix.

 

[ScottMac]

I'd also vote for a server / application issue.

Load a client with WireShark (www.wireshark.com , it's free) and capture one or more series of transaction to the database.

Then find the start of a transaction (client request) and note the absolute time. Set WireShark to filter all but this specific TCP session/conversation, and turn on (if it's not already on) the "Delta Time" ... that will ultimately tell you if the server response time is slow, if the network is slow, if the client is slow / confused / crippled by bad code.

The server could also be crippled by bad code (i.e., crappy stored procedures). There might also be some congestion on the LAN/WAN.

The best (free) tool for this is Ethereal / WireShark. From this you will get absolute timing of each transaction, and clues that will (or won't) point to the network.