Can't transfer large files without network or permission error

[russell16688]

Hi,

This is my first NAS build and I've run into a small problem in that my NAS works but only for very small files, such as 1mb images.

My setup is an ASrock E350M1 board and 4gb RAM. I have around 4TB of storage in the NAS too.

I know the components aren't server level but I simply want the NAS to be a general file back up and media access point for my house.
The NAS is hardwired into the router and I am accessing the router/NAS through WiFi in the house.

The error messages I get are error 0x800703b from Windows or I get messages that I don't have permission or it simply wants to keep re-writing over itself after a few MB's.

Is there something incredibly simple I'm missing or is this an inherent problem?

 

[gpsguy]

Accessing FreeNAS via a wifi connection is generally sucky.

ZFS on FreeNAS (only choice with 9.3), requires a minimum of 8GB of RAM to work reliably. It doesn't matter whether you only have 4TB of storage or 20GB (like I use for testing). Besides the RAM issue, you motherboard is old and slow. Access via CIFS would be slow, even on a good day.

 

[Bidule0hm]

And guess what? the NIC is a Realtek RTL8111E...

@russell16688 If you want the network to work properly use an Intel NIC ;) But as stated by gpsguy you have bigger problems with your hardware, you should solve that first.

 

[Ericloewe]

Ar-Tee-Ell-Eight-One-One-One. May Lord Cthulhu banish you to his Great Bit Bucket in the Sky and the world shall be free of atrocious GbE controllers.

The only advantage of 10GbE not being popular is that there isn't a descendant to the disgustingly half-assed Realtek 8129/8139 and the much improved - but still worthless - 8111 series.

For those who have yet to read it, here goes a link to the if_rl.c FreeBSD driver source for Realtek Ethernet controllers. At least, what it looked like in 1998.

A small excerpt:

Code:

/*
* The RealTek 8139 PCI NIC redefines the meaning of 'low end.' This is
* probably the worst PCI ethernet controller ever made, with the possible
* exception of the FEAST chip made by SMC. The 8139 supports bus-master
* DMA, but it has a terrible interface that nullifies any performance
* gains that bus-master DMA usually offers.

 

[Bidule0hm]

Code:

* ... it looks like
* doing too many memory mapped access back to back in rapid succession
* can hang the bus. I'm inclined to blame this on crummy design/construction
* on the part of RealTek.

Oh god, this is so poorly engineered and so funny :p

Edit: and it gets better:

Code:

/*
* Here's a totally undocumented fact for you. When the
* RealTek chip is in the process of copying a packet into
* RAM for you, the length will be 0xfff0. If you spot a
* packet header with this value, you need to stop. The
* datasheet makes absolutely no mention of this and
* RealTek should be shot for this.
*/
...
/*
* The RealTek is brain damaged and wants longword-aligned
* TX buffers, plus we can only have one fragment buffer
* per packet. We have to copy pretty much all the time.
*/

 

[Ericloewe]

Code:

* ... it looks like
* doing too many memory mapped access back to back in rapid succession
* can hang the bus. I'm inclined to blame this on crummy design/construction
* on the part of RealTek.

Oh god, this is so poorly engineered and so funny :p

Edit: and it gets better:

Code:

/*
* Here's a totally undocumented fact for you. When the
* RealTek chip is in the process of copying a packet into
* RAM for you, the length will be 0xfff0. If you spot a
* packet header with this value, you need to stop. The
* datasheet makes absolutely no mention of this and
* RealTek should be shot for this.
*/
...
/*
* The RealTek is brain damaged and wants longword-aligned
* TX buffers, plus we can only have one fragment buffer
* per packet. We have to copy pretty much all the time.
*/

I'm sure it's very well engineered... to be the smallest, cheapest nominally 100Mb/s-capable Ethernet controller around and all else be damned.