Slowing down file copy on Windows Server with 10Gbit

Discussion in 'Windows Server' started by Bob.D, Jul 27, 2021.

  1. Bob.D

    Bob.D MDL Junior Member

    Mar 22, 2010
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    fghfg.png

    Target is a Windows Server 2019 or 2022, the problem is always the same, the file copy over 10BaseT is going down and up and is not steady. Source is a Windows 10 machine, no AD is used. One NIC has an aquantia chip, the other one is an intel.

    The other way around there is no problem and also there is no bottleneck anywhere. Anyone got some idea?
     
  2. ch100

    ch100 MDL Addicted

    Sep 11, 2016
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    Try this from a cmd as Administrator
    netsh interface ipv4 set global taskoffload=disabled
    netsh interface ipv6 set global taskoffload=disabled
    Reboot.

    To revert, replace "disabled" with "enabled"

    A different approach to obtain the same results is to go into the advanced settings for the NIC and disable LSO but this comes under different names depending on the NIC, there is a v2 which if exists is the one in use, there are flavours for IPv4 and IPv6 as well, all should be configured if you follow the hardware path.

    I am recommending the software registry (command line) approach which covers other offloading technologies but do not have significant impact in small implementation setups.
     
  3. Bob.D

    Bob.D MDL Junior Member

    Mar 22, 2010
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    Hi ch100. I tried like you said, but it didn't help.

    Clipboard01.jpg
     
  4. ch100

    ch100 MDL Addicted

    Sep 11, 2016
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    The speed is reasonable for a virtualised machine. Do you run Citrix without AD?
    What hpyervisor solution do you use? VMware Workstation, ESXi?
     
  5. Bob.D

    Bob.D MDL Junior Member

    Mar 22, 2010
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    #5 Bob.D, Jul 28, 2021
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2021
    (OP)
    @ch100 This is all bare metal, from and to nvme, I just used a vmdk-file from my "workstation" because of its size.
     
  6. ch100

    ch100 MDL Addicted

    Sep 11, 2016
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    Hard to say then. Check network switch speed and duplex setting assuming NIC is configured on default settings.
    There is also RSC - Receive Segment Coalescing State which you might try to disable.
    netsh interface tcp set global rsc=disabled
    It is trial and error, normally the settings which I provided you in the first post would make a difference in certain configurations. If those do not change your speed, then it is difficult to pinpoint the exact issue.
     
  7. Bob.D

    Bob.D MDL Junior Member

    Mar 22, 2010
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    @ch100 For sure. I am not the only one having this issue but finding the cause is hard. Someone else fixed the issue for them by not using Windows but some arch version I think as the SMB host.
    RSC didn't help either but now the max speed is less then before. Yeah...
     
  8. acer-5100

    acer-5100 MDL Guru

    Dec 8, 2018
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    Are you 100% sure it's a network thing? What about a local copy from NVME 2 NVME?
     
  9. JeepWillys58

    JeepWillys58 MDL Addicted

    Nov 6, 2010
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    Hi dear @ch100

    First of all, I hope you, all our colleagues of MDL and all your friends and family are well and healthy now and always...

    Is it possible to use this command to speed up any communication within a normal gigabit windows network?

    If yes, is there any way to implement this through the windows registry when it is using a setupcomplete routine on installation?

    Thanks in advanced.

    Regards
    @JeepWillys58
     
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  10. Bob.D

    Bob.D MDL Junior Member

    Mar 22, 2010
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    Yes.
     
  11. leebo_28

    leebo_28 MDL Senior Member

    Jun 12, 2011
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    looks like cache filling up to me
     
  12. Bob.D

    Bob.D MDL Junior Member

    Mar 22, 2010
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    #12 Bob.D, Jul 28, 2021
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2021
    (OP)
    Cache of what?
    That is the target drive (local):
    Capture.PNG
    Interesting, it has less headroom then expected, the same nvme in my system was faster I think...
    The target is completely free, nothing stored on it.
     
  13. leebo_28

    leebo_28 MDL Senior Member

    Jun 12, 2011
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    how much memory on target system?
     
  14. Bob.D

    Bob.D MDL Junior Member

    Mar 22, 2010
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    Over 30 Gigs free (64 GB RAM).
    CPU load 1-3%.
     
  15. leebo_28

    leebo_28 MDL Senior Member

    Jun 12, 2011
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    yeah,scratch that,always thought nvme depended on system ram for cache. I couldn't duplicate the issue with a larger than my memory file transfer.
     
  16. ch100

    ch100 MDL Addicted

    Sep 11, 2016
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    For the ipv4 command the equivalent in registry is

    Code:
    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
    
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters]
    "DisableTaskOffload"=dword:00000001
    
    
    
    For ipv6 I don't know if there is a reliable way to configure it in registry, but if you do your own research you might come with your own solution.

    Please be aware that out of the box ipv6 is the primary protocol and if you only configure ipv4, the configuration might not apply if it is not done for ipv6 as well.

    There are a lot of variables and ipv4 and ipv6 can be prioritised further, but if you are looking for a simple solution and don't understand all dependencies, you are better off by leaving the default configuration and only change the settings which I provided if they resolve an issue.

    The configuration can be done in Group Policy as startup script but I don't want to be dragged into a discussion about an enterprise setup as this is not the purpose of MDL.
     
  17. acer-5100

    acer-5100 MDL Guru

    Dec 8, 2018
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  18. ch100

    ch100 MDL Addicted

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    Because you mentioned SMB, you could try to enable/disable SMB1 and see if this resolves the issue.
    If anyone else reconfigured oplocks you might find some tuning available there.
    Normally oplocks should be enabled if they don't cause any issues and this is default.
    Sorry I don't have the settings readily available but you can find the relevant information in Microsoft documentation.
     
  19. ch100

    ch100 MDL Addicted

    Sep 11, 2016
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    Windows always use RAM as read-cache and most likely as write-cache but this depends on the configuration of the drive in Device Manager.
    For most purposes and safety of data, the default settings are optimal.
    The DRAM on-board of hard-disks and/or RAID controllers is used independently of Windows controlled by the firmware although Windows can enable/disable it if the configuration is made available by the firmware.

    I don't think caching has anything to do with the issue described by OP as it is common to many configurations and it is not a fault as such.
     
  20. Bob.D

    Bob.D MDL Junior Member

    Mar 22, 2010
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    I set up both machines in a homeserver style setup, changed nothing other than the cache-size in the NICs. SMB1 I don't touch either and not want to anymore. Both sides are an up to date Windows anyways.
    And I am not the only one with that problem. Maybe cabling is not optimal, maybe two brands of NIC isn't. Maybe it is just a setting in WinServer, but I don't think that anymore.
    Thank you for your suggestions.

    I think if not someone else had the same problem and had solved it, there is not much to be done left.