Windows -> Samba = way too slow?

[swordfish1]

I am getting seriously annoyed with my home network ... I have a linux file server and when I try to browse files on it from my windows box, sometimes it is unbearable slow! You click on a directory and you wait like 3 minutes to get some response, the windows explorer hangs during this period ...

anyone have any idea what the problem is?

I am using windows 2000 + fedora core 4 + gigabit network

and no, restarting samba doesn't help ... restarting windows sometimes does help, sometimes not, so far I think it is rather random

thanks

 

[graviti]

post your /etc/samba/smb.conf file!

May be a config problem. I've never had a problem on a properly configured server. Please add what network card you are running as well please.

 

[The_Unbeliever]

Might be way off-topic, but do you have your Linux box set as one of your DNS servers?

Had this same problem on my network at work (win2k3 server with AD) where the workstation was very slow and unresponsive, until I added the win2k3 server as one of the dns servers, then there was a huge improvement.

What sorts of speeds do you get when using local FTP transfers? If these are slow as well, then it might be a problematic switch/hub or NIC.

 

[graviti]

Not a DNS issue with Linux. Generally just a config problem. Just Post the file, and we can check. But also NB is the card being used. Fedora sometimes applies a generic driver if the driver is proprietary, and sets it to 10Mbps, half duplex. I.E really damn slow. You would need to ensure that the network driver is the one supplied by the vendor if they do supply one. Also Samba can be set to do network slowing, and so can the Firewall. All these are factors. Very unlikely it's a DNS issue, and just as unlikely a switch issue I think

 

[swordfish1]

post your /etc/samba/smb.conf file!

May be a config problem. I've never had a problem on a properly configured server. Please add what network card you are running as well please.

hi graviti, the conf is huge, I don't think it is a good idea to post it here, it is pretty much the default stuff for fedora core 4, except that I have added some shares and I have "host allow" to restrict the allowed hosts

the thing is that sometimes it works fine, sometimes it is very slow, so it is not completely broken, also I have noticed very weired thing, that if I map a share as a mapped drive in windows, then it seems to be fine, problem occurs only when brosing through the Network Neighbourhood, so it most likely a windows thing ...

 

[swordfish1]

Might be way off-topic, but do you have your Linux box set as one of your DNS servers?

Had this same problem on my network at work (win2k3 server with AD) where the workstation was very slow and unresponsive, until I added the win2k3 server as one of the dns servers, then there was a huge improvement.

What sorts of speeds do you get when using local FTP transfers? If these are slow as well, then it might be a problematic switch/hub or NIC.

FTP is lightening fast ... something like 30 MB/s, cant go faster because the hard drive can't cope

I have caching DNS on the linux box, the windows box is using that DNS, I am using stock standard named install with the option for caching and forwardig

I have no issues with internet browsing ever, the internet works just fine at the same time as it hangs on the shares, so it is unlikely to be the DNS ...

also I have noticed that transfering files via the shares is between 2 and 3 times slower than doing so via FTP

 

[noswal]

FWIW disconect from the internet, turn off all firewalls and try again.