Upload Speed Issues

[lanky8804]

Hi

I am currently running freeNAS on a Microserver n54l with 2gb RAM.

I have a single 1tb HDD set in a ZFS Stripe, this is used solely as a Time Machine for my iMac.

However when i am trying to backup using Time Machine my upload speeds are awful. I am averaging 4-7mb with constant dropouts in connection. The max upload speed i have managed to achieve is 10mb when copying over a film. All over the forums people are saying that they are achieving 60mb + easily.

The time machine is using an AFP and everything is connected by a gigabit ethernet.

Whats going on??? Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[gpsguy]

ZFS on FreeNAS needs a minimum of 8Gb of RAM. With just 2 Gb you are flirting with a disaster.

That being said, based on your performance, my guess is that you have a 100 Mb link between your Mac and your FreeNAS server. The NIC in your FreeNAS server is gigabit capable. But what about the other parts, ie Mac, switch/router, etc


Sent from my phone

 

[lanky8804]

Yes I know 2gb isn't recommended and I am looking at upgrading to with 8gb or 16gb in the near future. That being said I would have thought a higher speed would have still been achievable.

My mac is 1000baseT. I have a Cisco gigabit router configured as a switch (internet provided through different router).

 

[jgreco]

It isn't a matter of "isn't recommended." It isn't even expected to WORK.

 

[lanky8804]

What would you recommend as a good priced ECC 1x8gb of RAM to purchase?
If it is a single stick then can upgrade it slowly.

 

[jgreco]

Per the hardware sticky, this is a question best posed to a memory mfr's compatibility tool. I'm partial to Kingston, but Crucial, etc etc also offer tools. Bonus: unlike Internet forum hearsay and misinformation, errors on the part of a mfr's tool may get you more serious attention from their tech support.

 

[gpsguy]

I don't know what the part number for a single stick would be, but here's the 16Gb kit I put in my N54L.

Kingston 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
ECC Unbuffered Server Memory Model KVR1333D3E9SK2/16G

 

[lanky8804]

gpsguy thanks this was the kit i was looking at just got to try and find the money for it.

I have tried replacing all cables with no positive affect on speed.

Which is the most likely to be causing this issue RAM or NIC in microserver?

 

[gpsguy]

RAM will definitely be a factor. With less than 4Gb of RAM for FreeNAS (say 6Gb of RAM in the machine), caching (pre-fetch) will be disabled. That can have a substantial negative impact on performance.

The NIC is a Broadcom, and while not an Intel, it's not bad. Certainly not in the class of most Realtek NIC's.

 

[jgreco]

Oh I'm an illiterate idiot who cannot read. I totally missed that you were for the Microserver. That takes up to 16GB of ECC. Regardless of what HP says. As do the N36L and N40L.

As gpsguy points out that is Kingston KVR1333D3E9SK2/16G or equivalent. You can also get a single 8G module which would be... um, remove the "K2" (Kit of Two) and look for maybe KVR1333D3E9S/8G. There are some minor variations that throw a few more letters in there but no need to get fancy. I strongly suggest not buying any other size of module; with only two slots, any future upgrades would require you to pull a module. You don't want it to be a module you just bought a little while ago!