Question

Mac slow opening files from SBS2003

Asked by: pogojim

I have a Mac and some PCs on a network with Small Business Server. The PCs all pull files off the server fast as you like but the Mac is dawdling. For example, opening a 65kb PDF takes about 2 minutes.

You can copy the same file to the desktop of the Mac and it's fast. And then you can open that file and it is fast. It's only when you open files (and I'm talking .doc and .pdf mainly) that the crawl begins.

The Mac accesses the server through Finder. That is, you open Finder, the server appears in the list there and then you click on that server and open the files from there.

The Mac has the latest Mac OS.

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Asked On
2009-06-03 at 15:38:30ID24461959
Tags

mac

,

sbs

,

network

,

slow

Topic

Apple Networking

Participating Experts
2
Points
500
Comments
9

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Answers

 

by: strungPosted on 2009-06-03 at 17:25:59ID: 24542633

Antivirus software maybe?

 

by: strungPosted on 2009-06-03 at 17:26:57ID: 24542640

I have also seen a suggestion to turn off IPV6 in the Mac network prefs, although why that would matter escapes me.

 

by: strungPosted on 2009-06-03 at 17:29:49ID: 24542654

 

by: pogojimPosted on 2009-06-03 at 17:31:20ID: 24542660

AV was a concern. When I got there the server had no AV installed. I have since added AV and done a full scan. No problems there.

I have also seen comment about IPV6 on the Mac. Not sure how to turn it off on a Mac but I guess that's what Google is for. Will give it a go.

 

by: strungPosted on 2009-06-03 at 17:34:55ID: 24542683

Turn off IPV6 by going into the Network prefs, click Advanced, then TCP/IP.

What happens if you temporarily turn the AV off? Do the Macs load files quickly then? Might be a conflict between the AV software and the Macs. If, so contact the AV manufacturer.

 

by: renazonsePosted on 2009-06-04 at 04:36:31ID: 24545711

Sometimes disabling the TCP chimney will resolve slow SMB issues. Run this from the command line: netsh int ip set chimney DISABLED

Also, it may help to disable SMB signing even though Leopard supports it:

Adjust these two group policies under the Domain Controller Security Policy:

Microsoft network client: Digitally sign communications (always) set to disabled
Microsoft network server: Digitally sign communications (always) set to disabled

 

by: pogojimPosted on 2009-06-12 at 18:01:38ID: 24617248

Thanks for the suggestions about disabling IPv6. That has in the main cured the problem. An issue does remain however with Word files. They are still quite slow to open (though no longer in the 2-3 minute bracket, more your 1 minute-type slow).

There are some compatability issues between the various iterations of Word being used, those being Word 2003 for PC, Word 2007 for PC and Word 2008 for Mac. For instance, a picture in the header can't be seen on the Mac until it is converted to Word 2007 mode.

The real issue that remains though is the opening speed of the Word docs on the Mac. Any input would be gratefully received.

 

by: strungPosted on 2009-06-12 at 18:34:51ID: 24617372

Try temporarily turning off the AV software just to see if that is the problem.

 

by: pogojimPosted on 2009-08-11 at 15:14:15ID: 31614498

Some files were still slower on the mac than on other pcs in the network. This solution helped a great deal but did not fully solve the problem.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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