Gigabit switch does not seem faster on osX with afp! (other trouble with smb)

Hi All,

I'm having some trouble.
I've installed a new gigabit switch (d-link 1024 gigabit).
Connected my linux server (Fedora 4 - 2.6.14-1.1653_FC4)
- marvel technology 88E8001 Gigabit ethernet controller (rev 13)
All mac's and some pc's are also connected on the gigabit switch.

And opening files on mac osX workstations is somewhat faster but saving
takes ages!!
I'm using netatalk 2.0.2-3 (worked decend on 100M switch)

So I started testing connecting through smb on osX. (more pain!!)
- But then illustrator crasshes more!

- Sometimes when they save a file they receive an error that it could
not saved, so they save as a new file... but then when they work on it
and do a normal save again everything seems ok. but the file is gone on
the server !!

- Linked files on the same server (eps, psd) also don't update within
illustrator.

I hope offcourse that all these problems are caused by adobe, and not
the linux server.
But I want to be sure!
How can I test this?
And what are the possible sollutions?

Kind regards,
And thanks for your time!
Gerry.

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I'm having some trouble.
> I've installed a new gigabit switch (d-link 1024 gigabit).

Not familiar with this switch. Specific model and a link to a user
manual needed. Any runtime stats available from it? Is it managed?

> Connected my linux server (Fedora 4 - 2.6.14-1.1653_FC4)
> - marvel technology 88E8001 Gigabit ethernet controller (rev 13)

What driver are you using? This chip's driver is in a state of
(in)complete flux. See this:
http://www.gossamer-threads.com/list.../kernel/607197

> All mac's and some pc's are also connected on the gigabit switch.

At what speed? PCs running XP? All drivers updated/current?

> And opening files on mac osX workstations is somewhat faster but saving
> takes ages!!
> I'm using netatalk 2.0.2-3 (worked decend on 100M switch)

Been several years since I _played_ with Netatalk.

> So I started testing connecting through smb on osX. (more pain!!)

No experience with this setup. Pain sounds likely ;-)

> - But then illustrator crasshes more!

Error messages?

> - Sometimes when they save a file they receive an error that it could
> not saved, so they save as a new file... but then when they work on it

Error messages must be communicated _exactly_ and verbatim as they
appear. Cut-n-paste works well. Googling the quoated error -- or the
"generic" portion of it -- together with the OS will often take you
directly to much needed help.

> and do a normal save again everything seems ok. but the file is gone on
> the server !!

>From here down, need to know just what setup you're using. Ie.,
Netatalk? SMB?

> - Linked files on the same server (eps, psd) also don't update within
> illustrator.
>
> I hope offcourse that all these problems are caused by adobe, and not
> the linux server.
> But I want to be sure!
> How can I test this?
> And what are the possible sollutions?

Have you tried using 100 Mbs connections to check performance/errors at
this slower rate?

First you can confirm the speeds that the boxes are connecting with
when the interface comes up. On Linux just check the output of $
ifconfig. OSx and XP?

$ ifconfig will also report on link level errors. Cut and paste
command and output from an X console. Same thing using $ netstat -s -t
and check $ netstat -s -u for details about TCP and UDP traffic. $ man
netstat for the numerous other options and some help with the output's
meaning.

GigE is still a very picky beast to get working well -- it is _not_
plug-n-go fullsteam ahead. First thing is to check that the
hardware/drivers are not producing signal errors before going on to
"tune up" efforts. GigE is _very_ picky about hardware errors. And at
these speeds they accumulate quickly.

Once you can confirm a "clean" hardware setup, you can move on to
tuning settings. I'm not sure if ethtool is available for your Linux
driver. In fact, need to confirm _what_ Linux driver you are using and
how it is setting up the nic. Specific chipset and form factor likely
needed also (ie., onboard or PCI or PCIe). GigE cards have many more
setup options/tweaks than 100 Mbs cards.

Also need more complete picture of your network setup. What speeds are
the various computers using? Is the link from Linux to switch the only
GigE links? Any other boxes running GigE? Any network/link errors
reported on the other boxes? Is the Linux box acting as a file server
only? Offering any other network services?

Till you get a clean link from end to end, there is no use tuning
anything. We can save that for stage 2.

good luck,
prg

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I'm having some trouble.
> I've installed a new gigabit switch (d-link 1024 gigabit).
> Connected my linux server (Fedora 4 - 2.6.14-1.1653_FC4)
> - marvel technology 88E8001 Gigabit ethernet controller (rev 13)
> All mac's and some pc's are also connected on the gigabit switch.
>
> And opening files on mac osX workstations is somewhat faster but saving
> takes ages!!
> I'm using netatalk 2.0.2-3 (worked decend on 100M switch)
>
> So I started testing connecting through smb on osX. (more pain!!)
> - But then illustrator crasshes more!
>
> - Sometimes when they save a file they receive an error that it could
> not saved, so they save as a new file... but then when they work on it
> and do a normal save again everything seems ok. but the file is gone on
> the server !!
>
> - Linked files on the same server (eps, psd) also don't update within
> illustrator.
>
> I hope offcourse that all these problems are caused by adobe, and not
> the linux server.
> But I want to be sure!
> How can I test this?
> And what are the possible sollutions?
>
> Kind regards,
> And thanks for your time!
> Gerry.
>
I don't want to say anything really obvious, but you do realise that
whereas 100M ethernet uses two pairs of wires, Gigabit ethernet uses all
four.

Robert

It might be good to eliminate filesystem stuff from the equation for a
while. Try running something like netperf TCP_STREAM and/or TCP_RR
and see what sort of performance you get. Very latest netperf2 bits
can be slurped via subversion from:

http://www.netperf.org/svn/netperf2/trunk/

and they are known to compile under Debian, should compile under just
about any linux, and while the specific top of trunk bits haven't been
compiled under OS X yet, I did compile a couple revs back on 10.3.9.

The suggestions to look at the network stats are spot-on - look at
both ends, and on the switch too if you can.

rick jones
--
oxymoron n, commuter in a gas-guzzling luxury SUV with an American flag
these opinions are mine, all mine; HP might not want them anyway...
feel free to post, OR email to rick.jones2 in hp.com but NOT BOTH...