ryan_horman
asked on
Windows Server 2003 file access is slow!
Accessing files from our Windows Server 2003 system is very slow, and it seems it has always been like this. However, doing a little research online I have stumbled upon a problem with using a single server as a domain controller and a file server. (http://www.petri.co.il/forums/showthread.php?t=391)
Looking into this a little more I researched on Microsofts web site and came upon this (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/328890). However, I did add the key and changed the value, and noticed no difference then went to this article which was referenced from kb/328890 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/815230). Being that the hot fix needed to be downloaded from Microsoft with approval first, I decided to call them to see if they could speed up the process and e-mail me the direct HotFix for this problem. So, without further ado, they e-mailed me the hotfix& for Service Pack 1& I called them back and explained I have Service Pack 2 installed. The Microsoft Rep then informed me that this hotfix has been applied in Service Pack 2.
After I added the key TcpAckFrequency to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\
Any thoughts of how to fix this problem? I need to speed up the file access between my Windows Server 2003 Standard Server and my Windows XP Professional workstations.
Thanks,
Ryan
Looking into this a little more I researched on Microsofts web site and came upon this (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/328890). However, I did add the key and changed the value, and noticed no difference then went to this article which was referenced from kb/328890 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/815230). Being that the hot fix needed to be downloaded from Microsoft with approval first, I decided to call them to see if they could speed up the process and e-mail me the direct HotFix for this problem. So, without further ado, they e-mailed me the hotfix& for Service Pack 1& I called them back and explained I have Service Pack 2 installed. The Microsoft Rep then informed me that this hotfix has been applied in Service Pack 2.
After I added the key TcpAckFrequency to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\
Any thoughts of how to fix this problem? I need to speed up the file access between my Windows Server 2003 Standard Server and my Windows XP Professional workstations.
Thanks,
Ryan
I'm sure that you have thought of this, but have you defragmented the server drive lately? I have seen applications (in the medical industry) that cause serious fragmentation issues due to the way that they store temporary data.
ASKER
Yes, I have tried that and still no luck. Any other ideas?
Thanks,
Ryan
Thanks,
Ryan
Is this problem occuring with files of all sizes, or only larger files? How many pc's are connecting to this server?
ASKER
This is occurring with files of all sizes, and approximately 10 XP Pro machines.
I know for a fact it's something in the Windows Server network settings because I tried the same file access with a Windows XP Pro machine and timed the download. That's how I know it's an issue / problem with my Windows Server 2003 Std.
-Ryan
I know for a fact it's something in the Windows Server network settings because I tried the same file access with a Windows XP Pro machine and timed the download. That's how I know it's an issue / problem with my Windows Server 2003 Std.
-Ryan
I looked over the articles that you referenced above. I'm not sure where to go from here if those procedures didn't make any difference. I will try to do some digging for you.
ASKER
Thank you, I would really appreciate that. Did you find it interesting that it says the problem occurs when the Domain Controller and the File Server are the same machine?
how are you accessing the files? i came across a problem recently when browsing network shares etc is slow and painful and constantly halting,
On the XP machines in question, did the following
Windows Explorer - Tools - Options - View (i think - I am on Vista) there is setting there that says something like, scan or search for printers and shares - disable that and problem dissapeared
If not that then we can look deeper
On the XP machines in question, did the following
Windows Explorer - Tools - Options - View (i think - I am on Vista) there is setting there that says something like, scan or search for printers and shares - disable that and problem dissapeared
If not that then we can look deeper
ASKER
Yes, I have noticed that as well. However that didn't solve my problem. The readers digest version of it is I have a program that access's files from a shared network drive and when the file server does not reside on the same machine as the domain controller, it is much faster. I believe there is a setting or something I am missing in Windows Server 2003 that I need to change? Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Ryan
Thanks,
Ryan
did this problem start after the SP2 upgrade?
ASKER
The server came installed with SP2, so I can't say.
i'm having almost the same problem with my server which happened after the SP2 upgrade. i'm on the phone with microsoft now, i'll let you know what they tell me.
ASKER
That would be excellent! Thank you so much!
After about 6 hours with Microsoft it's still not resolved. I'm on the phone with them again today to see if we can get it worked out. They did make a few changes so far that improved speeds by about 30%...
HKLM\System\CurrentControl
EnableTCPA = 0 (REG_DWORD)
EnableTCPChimney = 0 (REG_DWORD)
EnableRSS = 0 (REG_DWORD)
Basically we have this issue after installing SP2. The clients have very slow downloads from the server, and when trying to copy the SP2 upgrade (390MB) from the server to the workstations it said 199 minutes. After applying these registry keys and rebooting it went down to 60 minutes. However, when copying a large file TO the file server from the workstation (1GB) it only took 3 minutes. The problem defiantly has something to do with the TCP/IP driver changes in SP2&
Ill keep you posted when I have a solution&
HKLM\System\CurrentControl
EnableTCPA = 0 (REG_DWORD)
EnableTCPChimney = 0 (REG_DWORD)
EnableRSS = 0 (REG_DWORD)
Basically we have this issue after installing SP2. The clients have very slow downloads from the server, and when trying to copy the SP2 upgrade (390MB) from the server to the workstations it said 199 minutes. After applying these registry keys and rebooting it went down to 60 minutes. However, when copying a large file TO the file server from the workstation (1GB) it only took 3 minutes. The problem defiantly has something to do with the TCP/IP driver changes in SP2&
Ill keep you posted when I have a solution&
ASKER
Thanks a lot! I will try those changes now.
ASKER
I tried that, and noticed a little difference. Did you ever hear anything else back from Microsoft?
Thanks,
Ryan
Thanks,
Ryan
believe it or not, still working with them. we have a dell poweredge 2950, brand new, with dual broadcom cards. after hours of packet sniffing while transferring files they found that the server was resending packets because the clients never acknowledged the prior packets. they said its the NIC, so i've got dell coming out to replace the motherboard today, and microsoft's calling me back tomorrow. They wanted me to install a differnet NIC but i said that's not an option because it's a brand new server. i'll let you know what happens... is yours a poweredge server as well?
ASKER
Yes, ours is a Dell Power Edge SC1430 brand new. Thanks for keeping me posted. Let me know how that swap goes and if it is any difference.
Thanks,
Ryan
Thanks,
Ryan
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ASKER
Thanks. I did try everything. Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. I have been working on this problem on and off till now. We returned the server and ordered another one to test it out. Thank you for all your help!
Thanks,
Ryan
Thanks,
Ryan
Ryan, did the new server fix the problem?