Low Data Transfer Speed FreeNAS-9.2.1.9-RELEASE-x64 (2bbba09) version

[Vishimtar]

Hello,


First of all, sorry if i made a copy of another thread but could not find solution to my problems.

I have done some research about the data transfer speed for my freenas system because of my problems.


My problem is, the data transfer speed is not getting over 100mb/s while i am having 1Gbits network over iscsi cross cable. Freenas reports about my disks that its only 5mb/s of write speed to my disks.


The system base on,

software : FreeNAS-9.2.1.9-RELEASE-x64 (2bbba09) version,

cpu : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz

mainboard : ASUS P5Q Deluxe

ram : 8gb ddr2

HDD(s) : Wersterndigital 3 TB Red NAS SATA3 (6 of them)


mainboard specs : https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P5Q_Deluxe/specifications/

cpu spces : http://ark.intel.com/tr/products/29...rocessor-Q6600-8M-Cache-2_40-GHz-1066-MHz-FSB

HDD specs : http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=810#Tab3


the mainboard supports SATA2 only though.


so this data writing and data transfer speed is normal ?

How can i improve the data transfer speed and writing speed ?


Thanks,

Kind Regards

 

[BigDave]

Look at your network first, FreeNAS is plenty fast "out of the box" if you
follow best practices.
You have two Marvell Yukon controllers, one of them (88E8001) is not listed
on the compatable hardware list for FreeBSD 9.2
The other controller may be supported (not sure about this).
Suggest you first test both ports, if that does not result in improvements,
try adding an Intel NIC to one of your board's expansion slots.
Intel chipsets are best for FreeNAS, search the forum for more info.
See also the Recommended Hardware sticky, fewer problems with server
grade hardware, more problems with desktop hardware, the choice is yours...

 

[gpsguy]

Since I saw BigDave was online, I hoped he would supply an answer.

I realize English is probably a foreign language for you. I'm having trouble understanding what you mean by "iscsi cross cable".

Do you mean a cross over cable connecting a workstation directly to the server, or are you trying to use FreeNAS as a iSCSI target for something like VMware's ESXi?

 

[solarisguy]

How much of the Volume space is used? 20%? 50% 75%?

Do you have RAID-Z2 ?

Are you in a testing phase and could try a different setup?

 

[Vishimtar]

Look at your network first, FreeNAS is plenty fast "out of the box" if you
follow best practices.
You have two Marvell Yukon controllers, one of them (88E8001) is not listed
on the compatable hardware list for FreeBSD 9.2
The other controller may be supported (not sure about this).
Suggest you first test both ports, if that does not result in improvements,
try adding an Intel NIC to one of your board's expansion slots.
Intel chipsets are best for FreeNAS, search the forum for more info.
See also the Recommended Hardware sticky, fewer problems with server
grade hardware, more problems with desktop hardware, the choice is yours...

@BigDave,
Mainboard shows my ethernets for 1gb connection, but I am using TP-Link 1gb ethernet in my FreeNas system.

ifconfig
msk0: flags=8802<BROADCAST,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> metric 0 mtu 1500
options=c011a<TXCSUM,VLAN_MTU,VLAN_HWTAGGING,TSO4,VLAN_HWTSO,LINKSTATE>
ether xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
nd6 options=9<PERFORMNUD,IFDISABLED>
media: Ethernet autoselect
re0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> metric 0 mtu 1500
options=8209b<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,VLAN_MTU,VLAN_HWTAGGING,VLAN_HWCSUM,WOL_MAGIC,LINKSTATE>
ether xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
inet xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
nd6 options=9<PERFORMNUD,IFDISABLED>
media: Ethernet autoselect (1000baseT <full-duplex>)
status: active
sk0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> metric 0 mtu 1500
options=80009<RXCSUM,VLAN_MTU,LINKSTATE>
ether xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
inet xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
nd6 options=9<PERFORMNUD,IFDISABLED>
media: Ethernet autoselect (1000baseT <full-duplex>)
status: active
ipfw0: flags=8801<UP,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> metric 0 mtu 65536
nd6 options=9<PERFORMNUD,IFDISABLED>
lo0: flags=8049<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST> metric 0 mtu 16384
options=600003<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,RXCSUM_IPV6,TXCSUM_IPV6>
inet6 ::1 prefixlen 128
inet6 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx prefixlen 64 scopeid 0xd
inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xff000000
nd6 options=21<PERFORMNUD,AUTO_LINKLOCAL>

Since I saw BigDave was online, I hoped he would supply an answer.

I realize English is probably a foreign language for you. I'm having trouble understanding what you mean by "iscsi cross cable".

Do you mean a cross over cable connecting a workstation directly to the server, or are you trying to use FreeNAS as a iSCSI target for something like VMware's ESXi?

@gpsguy,
iscsi : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISCSI
I am using iscsi with cross over cable between FreeNas Server and Windows Server.

How much of the Volume space is used? 20%? 50% 75%?

Do you have RAID-Z2 ?

Are you in a testing phase and could try a different setup?

@solarisguy,
How much of the Volume space is used?
- It is over 85%
Do you have RAID-Z2 ?
- I have RAID-Z.
Are you in a testing phase and could try a different setup?
- I can not test on this environment.

 

[BigDave]

Do you know which chipset the TP-Link NIC is using? FreeNAS loves Intel chipsets and they're only $32 US
If the TP-Link NIC is either Realtek or Marvell chipset based, you'll find these to pretty much suck!

How much of the Volume space is used?
- It is over 85%

This is your number one "slow speed" issue, FreeNAS slows way down as the volume fills past 80%

Are you in a testing phase and could try a different setup?
- I can not test on this environment.

Make immediate plans to backup your data and re-configure or expand your pool, and I suggest
adding some redundancy to a new configuration.
Read the following links for more details;
FreeNAS love of Intel NIC drivers explained - https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/hardware-recommendations-read-this-first.23069/
The FreeNAS Manual is a must read. (version 9.3.x) and legacy manuals for older versions as well

 

[solarisguy]

@Vishimtar, thank you for your answers.

RAID-Z2 would not improve your speed, but RAID-Z2 might save you from loosing all the data.

With 85% space utilized only some data operations are not slowed down. Unless some ZFS guru had verified for you, that with your usage patterns the threshold could be above 80%, I would highly recommend staying at below 80% or lower.

Please tell us about your data usage, more about your data in general. It might be that for your needs, space utilization should be no more than 50%.

 

[gpsguy]

While 8GB is the minimum amount of RAM needed for a general purpose FreeNAS server, for iSCSI use, one generally needs a minimum of 32GB of RAM.

For best performance with iSCSI, striped mirrors offer best peformance. Consider 3-way mirrors if you need additional redundancy.

And, it's recommended not to exceed 50% of your storage space.

Here's a similar thread to this one - https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/performance-estimate.41448/#post-265008

iscsi : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISCSI
I am using iscsi with cross over cable between FreeNas Server and Windows Server.


How much of the Volume space is used?
- It is over 85%
Do you have RAID-Z2 ?
- I have RAID-Z.

 

[Sakuru]

Try a different cable. 100 mbps sounds like the NICs weren't able to negotiate a 1 gbps link.

 

[Mirfster]

So what I see is this (Correct me if I am wrong):

1. Running 8 GB RAM (minimum recommended for normal/light usage)
   
2. Running RAIDz
3. Pool is over 85% full
4. Running iSCSI
5. Using questionable NIC(s)
6. Using Desktop components
7. No ECC Ram (or even supported by components)
8. Motherboard and CPU are FSB

All that is going against you... No offense, but is it even worth troubleshooting at this stage?

 

[Vishimtar]

Thanks for the answer.
I will do this week to upgrade the system, it would have solved the problem.