Optimizing for CIFS performance

[richardb]

Hey all, I am running a FreeNAS 9.1.1 server, and I want to optimize it for CIFS performance. It runs with multiple windows clients around the place, and it struggles with larger files and directories with lots of files in it. I'd like to do some upgrading to improve performance, and am wondering where I should focus my efforts.

The system info is as follows:
Platform Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU D525 @ 1.80GHz (on a Jetway motherboard)
Memory
4065MB (DDR3)

I am running six WD 2TB drives in an 8.4 Tb ZFS volume. I have turned off services other than CIFS, SSH and Rsync (the device grabs files from a remote server regularly).

Should I be upgrading the CPU, more memory or both? I know that CIFS needs a good chunk of memory, but the CPU usage and physical memory usage both show that there is processor and memory to spare, so I am not sure where the bottleneck is. Any thoughts?

 

[DrKK]

Sir

This system is badly under-spec'd across the board.

Your CPU is a horrifyingly bad choice for CIFS sharing. You almost certainly have non-ECC RAM. *AND* you have approximately half of the total RAM you'd need to make an 8.4TB pool even remotely stable and good.

Basically, there is no way to make a Jetway motherboard with an Atom on it suitable for an 8TB ZFS pool on FreeNAS.

So, I think it's not a matter of upgrading sir.

But maybe someone else will have a different opinion.

 

[richardb]

DrKK, thanks for the feedback. Replacing the entire motherboard and RAM is an option: I have some other spare systems that I can run this on. But, if the system is so under-specified for this, why is it not showing processor or memory spikes in the reporting?

What is the reccomended spec for a system to run CIFS more reliably (processor, RAM, etc).

(and you don't need to call me sir).

 

[cyberjock]

There's a few stickies in the hardware section that lists recommended hardware that's inexpensive and plenty powerful for FreeNAS both now and for the forseeable future.

 

[richardb]

Cyberjock, thanks. I shall take some time to read that and look into some upgrades. I believe my systems was considered up to spec, but I also jsut realized that this was several years ago, and things have moved on since then.

Cheers,

Richard

 

[DrKK]

Richard:

FreeNAS 9 is mostly for server-grade/enterprise-grade equipment. It's not the only file server solution out there. NAS4Free, Turnkeylinux File Server, etc., are all viable options on lower spec'd equipment.

 

[Yatti420]

Just FYI.. Go with a server grade board.. ECC & long term reliability being what you want.. SuperMicro get's alot of good mentions here.. I went and ordered one.. Can't wait...