Slow NAS? Slow Switch? Other?

[jnfehl]

Hey guys, could use some help with this one. I have a construction company that uses estimate software to do drawings etc (the files they access are usually under 50mb). They have 2 machines that were sharing the data p2p basically. I installed a NAS (WD Mycloud 4TB, GB Ethernet) and moved all of the local data into one share on the NAS. There is 10 second delay when they access the file (there was also lag BEFORE installing the NAS but I'm not sure how much), even drawing a line on the screen (think AutoCAD) causes these lags. The machines have GB ethernet also, and hardware specs are very beefy. I've watched the performance on the NAS and on the PC's and I'm not seeing any indication that there are performance issues on either. The software company (Planswift) says 50% of their customers use network storage for these "big files". All cables look good as well. The two PC's and the NAS are connected to a 10/100 TP Link switch, that's it besides the router and modem. Could it be the switch bottlenecking or is it the NAS? I'm just blown away that making edits on 50mb files over LAN (even 10/100 switch) would cause lag like this. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[KenZ71]

2 clients? Why have a switch at all? Why not use the router, assuming it has 4 ports.

If all ports on the router are used by printer, phone, etc drop an 8 port gigabit switch in, they can be had for about $20.

 

[sfx2000]

Could it be the switch bottlenecking or is it the NAS?

It's probably the NAS that's holding you back...

 

[jnfehl]

The original setup had these 2 clients sharing these files with each other wirelessly through the router. Plus two other laptops, a pc, and a printer that are all in the office (all wireless). An IT consulting company came in and put a 10/100 switch for the two pc's sharing these big files in order to be wired vs wireless, this helped, but it still lagged. Then I installed the NAS.

Unless I'm incorrect on switching vs routing this company made the right call putting in the switch because this somewhat isolates the traffic at the switch so the router doesn't have to do as much "routing." I just don't know why they didn't put in a gigabit switch. BUT, I worked back in the day when all we had were 10/100 and we worked with files of this size without this kind of issue. I'm leaning toward what sfx2000 has said....it has to be the NAS. Unless perhaps the switch is just garbage. Do I look into a better NAS at this point?

 

[sfx2000]

Check the client PC's - see if they have GB ethernet cards (most desktops these days do), if so, replace the 10/100 switch with a gigabit switch first - I missed that particular item first - as this is your first bottleneck.

For a simple 8 port unmanaged switch, don't pay more that $50USD, TP-Link, Netgear, Linksys, D-Link and many others offer these at very good prices...

 

[jnfehl]

Check the client PC's - see if they have GB ethernet cards (most desktops these days do), if so, replace the 10/100 switch with a gigabit switch first - I missed that particular item first - as this is your first bottleneck.

For a simple 8 port unmanaged switch, don't pay more that $50USD, TP-Link, Netgear, Linksys, D-Link and many others offer these at very good prices...

I've confirmed that the switch, the 2 pc's and the NAS are all gigabit. I don't get it. I posted something on the software company's site and in so many words they said that it is somewhat of a software limitation....

 

[sfx2000]

I've confirmed that the switch, the 2 pc's and the NAS are all gigabit. I don't get it. I posted something on the software company's site and in so many words they said that it is somewhat of a software limitation....

I took a brief look at the Plansoft web site, and yeah, it's similar to other CAD/CAM software, and yes, it might be a SW limitation (big linked lists). About the only thing I would suggest is maybe working with a sync solution where work is done on the local file system and pushed back to a central repo when the file is saved.

Wish I could help more.

 

[jnfehl]

I took a brief look at the Plansoft web site, and yeah, it's similar to other CAD/CAM software, and yes, it might be a SW limitation (big linked lists). About the only thing I would suggest is maybe working with a sync solution where work is done on the local file system and pushed back to a central repo when the file is saved.

Wish I could help more.

Thank you for looking into this and replaying SFX. Helpful.

 

[Shabbir Rao]

Check out Synaman for this. It is a file transfer tool a very good replacement for FTP because it is completely web based you just need a browser to use it. Moreover personally I have never seen any bandwidth throttle whenever I am transferring huge size files through it. It is the best tool if people are working at different locations on a same project where sharing files is very easy for them.