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[Weewtow]

I am uploading files using FTP over a gigabit Ethernet connection and getting speeds of 82Mbs.  I have a pc with a gigabit Ethernet nic, a gigabit switch and cat 5e cable.  Has anyone been able to get faster speeds?  I would like to see 800Mbps.

Thanks.

[blindrage]

82 Mbps is about average for me.  You're not going to see any faster, really.  It's got an ARM9 processor and 32 MB RAM -- therein lies your bottleneck.

[Weewtow]

In wonder why the interface is advertised as Gigabit if it will never get there? 

Is there a better way then FTP to transfer files faster?

Thanks.

[gunrunnerjohn]

Are you talking about 82 megabits vs. megabytes.  If so, that is pretty slow, and not indicative of what you should be getting.
 

[gunrunnerjohn]

I just did a test using the Windows 7 FTP client and then copying a file with SMB using Windows Explorer.  The FTP was pretty slow, something I never noticed before!

Don't know why it should be so slow, but it's not just you.


ftp> get "ubuntu-9.04-desktop-i386.iso"
200 PORT command successful
150-Connecting to port 54231
150 715732.0 kbytes to download
226-File successfully transferred
226 94.399 seconds (measured here), 7.40 Mbytes per second
ftp: 735562899 bytes received in 94.39Seconds 7792.72Kbytes/sec.


Copy with Windows Explorer using SMB comes in at 17.84 Mbytes per second.

[JoeSchmuck]

Here are my results using FTP Commander on Vista and using 9K jumbo frames, EXT3 formatted RAID 1.

From computer to NAS: 1132Kb/sec (Slow)
From NAS to computer: Failed  Don't know why just yet, never had that happen before.
From NAS to computer with IE : 4.89 MB/sec (Not great but not awful)

FTP is not the way to go with this NAS for large amounts of data.

-Joe

[gunrunnerjohn]

I use 4K jumbo frames, I found that 9k actually slowed me down a bit.  I agree, FTP is not the way to go.  Figuring my upstream ISP speed is 5mbit, I don't worry about external FTP, the speed of the NAS isn't the limiting factor.

[JoeSchmuck]

I think I'll try the 4K jumbo packets.  Maybe that will help me out as well.

[gunrunnerjohn]

It's worth a shot.

[Ryder]

To Joe and G-R-J, I've done some reading on jumbo frames and it seems that jumbo frames in general can slow you down somewhat. I'm gathering that it is very dependent on the actual chips in your various devices as to whether or not you will get an increase or if you will degrade your speeds. If all the chips match, then you are good to go, but if you have one in the bunch, in the 321 or router/switch or motherboard, then you can actually hurt your performance.

I can't prove this with my own hardware, I can't get jumbo frames to enable on my 321. I enable it, hit the apply button and it just locks up solid, I have to hit the power switch to get any functionality back. And when I check, jumbo frames was not saved.

But, this might be something for you both to try, disable jumbo on all your devices and see what you get for speeds then? Can't hurt to try, right? 

Ryder

[gunrunnerjohn]

I have jumbo frames (4K) enabled on all my wired gigabit workstations and the two NAS units, the DNS-321 and the DNS-323.  In all cases, they improved my transfer times significantly.

[Ryder]

I have jumbo frames (4K) enabled on all my wired gigabit workstations and the two NAS units, the DNS-321 and the DNS-323.  In all cases, they improved my transfer times significantly.

What are you using for a switch/router? Sounds like you have all your pieces in harmony if it all works for ya gunrunnerjohn.

Ryder

[gunrunnerjohn]

I have a Linksys and D-Link gigabit switch that all devices connect through.  My router is not a gigabit model, it's the Verizon FiOS supplied Actiontec, but it's not in the path for LAN traffic.  Yes, all devices in the path support jumbo frames, that's a requirement if you want it to work at all.   You can, however, mix machines that support jumbo frames with ones that don't, they'll just get slower access.  I have wired and wireless connections from various sources connecting to the NAS boxes, they all work just fine.  Obviously, the wireless connections do not support jumbo frames, they work with normal 1500 byte Ethernet frames.

[JoeSchmuck]

Ryder,
  Your NAS should not lock up is you enable jumbo frames and has nothing to do with any other network items being able to support jumbo frames or not.  Are you using version 1.03 of the firmware?  Maybe you will need to do a reset of the firmware?  I do think you should investigate this problem since if you have this one, what else do you have just waiting to get you some day?

  Like GRJ, I too have a similar setup.  My network switch is a Linksys, Wireless Router is a D-Link with third party software (DD-WRT).  My modem which goes to the internet is also an Actiontec but my NAS and computer connect directly to the switch, not the router or modem.  The only thing I have connected to my router is the switch and my laser printer and of course the modem connects to the router.

 On my computer (Windoze Vista) I had to adjust my ethernet connection setting to allow jumbo packets (I'm using 9K at this moment).

  And as for improvement, I can state for a fact that changing from no jumbo packets to 9K jumbo packets significantly improved throughput on my network.  I can see 4K maybe being optimal if you transfer a lit of different file sizes but 9K optimal if you primarily transfer large files.  I still need to test out 4K to see if it works better for my use.

  The last thing about files transfer speeds, when you format your drives on your NAS, EXT 2 is faster by about 25% than EXT 3 but you lose some safety if you lose power during a write operation causing a corrupt files system.

  I would not recommend FTP at this point for this device as the primary vehicle to move data to and from your NAS.  If you need remote access and it's over the internet, this may not be a deal breaker however on a local network I would think it is.

[Ryder]

Joe, I completely agree that enabling jumbo should not be affected by other network devices in any way at all. But, it does happen on my 321, and I have no idea why. I have run all the firmwares from 1.0 to the current 1.03, all with the same effect. I have done resets, reboots and anything else that could possibly help, all with no luck. I am more or less convinced that it is hardware that is causing the problem, probably limited to my own 321, not in general.

My hardware consists or a few desktop PCs connected to a Netgear GS108-T, along with the NAS and Canon multi-function unit. That Netgear connects to my Motorola ADSL modem which also serves as my wireless connection for my laptops. Everything is gigabit except for the modem, and all my wiring is CAT-6. I also have 3 HDTVs connected directly to the modem. So nothing in that mix should affect the 321's ability to switch to jumbo frames.

As for FTP, I agree, not the fastest method of moving files. But the only time I move files to the 321 is on a schedule, once a day when I'm sleeping. Then I copy newly acquired files to the NAS from 1 wired PC for backup purposes and to let select others download things I have placed in their accounts on the 321. My transfers without jumbo are about 9.5 MBps to the NAS and 12.5 MBps from the NAS. I too thought that the transfer rates should be higher, but they aren't, so I have accepted that and moved on to other issues.

My network is completely Microsoft with 2 laptops on Vista and 2 desktops on XP, one of the laptops soon to be Win 7 when my disc arrives.

So, nothing odd, nothing out of the ordinary on my network, and all the PCs and laptops can enable jumbo with no problem. But the 321, well, that's my only bad link in the whole setup for jumbo frames.

Thanks for your suggestions though Joe, anything is worth a try.

Ryder