Judging by the number of times this issue appears across the internet, I figure I am not alone:

The speed of transferring/ writing from an XP pc to the SAMBA machine is excruciantingly slow. Around 7 minutes to transfer a 50M test file.

Data transfer the other way, ie reading from the SAMBA pc is fine.

I think at this point I have exhausted all the practical information I have been able to find on the Web. The suggested registry hacks that have been suggested have had no effect. And the very expensive & recommended book on SAMBA I have doesn't even touch on performance hassles/ troubleshooting

I have to assume the hardware is OK as I have replaced everything TWICE - essentially 100mbps NICS over a switch. There are three WinXP machines and one LINUX (Samba) PC.

The Linux PC was connecting to the dial up and then sharing the connection from there, using IP masq. with Guidedog. I thought maybe this had something to do with it so I have now moved the ICS to a windows machine. In any case it is much easier to configure & maintain there.

I don't know if it means anything, but a traceroute either way indicates a single hop from one PC to the Linux/ SAMBA PC.

Short of re-installing windoze (I'm kidding, calm down), if anyone has any practical advice on, or perhaps has a link to a resource that discusses the performance issues, I'd really appreciate it.

TIA

I find that copying large files to my linux box takes time too. But were talking 600 meg files. It takes about 7 minutes per file which is proabbly alot faster then what your getting.

It may help to see your main directives in your smb.conf file. You could also try copying something and doing a tail -f smb.log and see if there are errors there?

I found that converting one of my drives to resier from ext3 also help preformance as well. I can watch movies over my network from this drive without a problem.

How long does it take to copy that 50 meg file on your linux box from one part of the drive to another?

OK, I think you helped reveal a clue - I have just gone to the Linux/Samba machine, and copied the 50M test file from the WinXP PC to the Linux/ Samba PC.

Instant- blindingly fast as I'd expect from the hard ware I have.

However, when moving to the WinXP and transferring the file from there to the Linux/Samba PC, performance falls right off.

SO it seems both odd and interesting that the bottle neck appears only to the WinXP user and then only when writing to SAMBA.

I'm thinking WinXP problem (?)

The hard disk is ReiserFS, at least the one that I want to use for Samba storage.

I'll explore a bit more and report back.

Thanks

That's so weird... we must be thousands to experience this...

My fs is ext3 on the linux server, and I use Win2K pro on my client PC.

The problem must come from a "NT5" component, I mean by a component present in both 2K/XP versions of windows. We can clear out of responsibility those gadget modules added in XP.

I will have a try with smbclient FROM the server, but i'm sure i will find the same as you, Confused BOF

C'mon, i'm sure somebody already spotted/identified/solved this issue ! We have the most common setup in the world ! (Win2k/XP and Samba)

I am experienceing the same problem to a degree. Copying files from an XP machine while using my RedHat/Samba machine is fine. Copying files from XP to Samba machine while using XP is fine as long as they are smallish. Copying large files from my XP to Samba while using XP with large files (150mb+) seems to be very slow and then fails.

Has anyone found a workable solution?

Cheers,

nairnie

seems we are alone here

i have tried to search again, and i only find people who experience the same problem but nobody can give an answer...

Indeed. A google of this issue will find dozens, if not hundred of similar instances posted. Possible solutions of registry hacks, replacing hardware, tweaking network configurations (with no practical advice on what should be tweaked) etc simply did not work for me

We've had a Samba guru come to our office to look at the issue- he recommended new NICs and cabling. We did that but it made no difference.

We have bought FOUR books on SAMBA, not ONE touches on network performance issues in any great depth. In fact, none give information that you couldn't quickly get off the internet. One book in particular is nothing more than a plagiarisation of on line public domain documentation. Save your money.

We've given up now and Linux has been removed from our network and replaced with WinXP to act as a fileserver. Sure, it costs more, it is M$, but hey, it works first time - right click > share > set permissions > done!

In our experience Linux/ Samba it has a long long way to go. But at this point there seems little more to do than put it away and keep an eye open for answers.

BTW, we installed & tried SAMBA version 3 off the MDK9.1 distro. Had exactly the same poor performance issues.

Shame to remove Linux after all the hours, but there comes a time where you have to cut your losses, I think.

regards

Hi
i hade the same probs whe i was using samba 2.x i installed samba 3.x instead. and then i can transfer 9mbyte/s in both directions. Full Duplex!
But i cannot garante that it is the resolution for your problems....
=(


and that with NIC's that costed me 50 skr ~4.5 usd
RTL 8139 circuits on them =)

//d

I am pretty sure my problem has nothing to do with network cards as i have the same network cards in both machine (i also swapped them round just incase one was faulty) and got the same thing.

I have read both here and in other places that it is to to with NT5. If this is the case do people running NT4 or win 98 not experience these problems.

Hi again

but i also said that i Installed samba 3.x instead of 2.x and tha i got realy much better speed.
then to add i sad that i used realy cheap nics!
//d

Hello confused_bof

It's yet more disappointing to be forced to windows as it looks like it IS the guilty OS for this performance problem.
Would it be a strategic move from windows in order to get back some of their customers ? well if it is, they've had success with Confused_bof's company...

let's see if this issue is mentioned on samba.org forums/ML

Let me emphasise that I also believe this is a WinXP issue, not SAMBA.

The conspiracy theory had occurred to me, especially if one considers the likely losses M$ would experience if SAMBA did manage to perform within acceptable limits. Hypothesis - M$ does something to WinXP that slows a LAN Linux/ SAMBA connection right down. Unsuspecting COnfused BOF (UCBOF) spends endless hours & days trying to get it going. Usenet and forum groups tell UCBOF it's all UCBOF's fault because he's too stupid to set up Linux. UCBOF battles on. Spends bulk money on books, assistance, distros, replacement hardware etc.. Fruitless months go by.

Eventually UCBOFdoes the arithmetic- works out had he actually done some productive work instead of screwing around with Linux/ Samba, he could have have paid for M$ small office server seats.

Ergo, M$ wins. UCBOF , but gives in.

What's pityful is that i remember of having recently considered moving back to win2k as a server. The idea crossed briefly my mind. But i WON'T give up.

I searched in the samba forum yesterday, in vain.

You can't deny it's a doddle to set up.

I'm not giving up either- I'm just not going to waste any mor time, coz I cannot afford to. Wife and child expect to get fed

regards

Great news, boys and girls - my SAMBA connection is finally working like we knew it should. This is what worked for me:

Stuck MDK9.1 install disk into the CD and re-installed from scratch - reformatted everything.

DID NOT INSTALL ANY OF THAT INTERNET DIAL UP STUFF ON THE LINUX BOX (now sharing from the XP box).

COnfigured dual NICs - Designated the internet gateway access to one.

COnfigured SAMBA, set up shares etc. -

Works great!

Almost ready for one less WinXP box in the office.