10G SMB connection is slower than expected

[Colourspace]

I've just setup a TVS-872XT-I5-16G 8 Bay and am getting disappointing speeds over 10G ethernet.

I attach via Thunderbolt 3 and get 1100MB/s write and 1435MB/s read.

I attached via 10G and get 530MB/s write and 570MB/s read.

I'm testing with a 2018 MacBook Pro, connecting directly to the NAS using an OWC Thunderbolt 3 10G Ethernet Adapter (Aquantia AQC107 controller) and a Cat6a cable.
I'm connecting via SMB and have checked that signing is off, macOS is 10.14.3. Jumbo frames is on for both the MacBook and the NAS.

I also tried with an old MacPro5,1 using a Sonnet Solo 10G 1 Port PCIe Card and got 396MB/s write and 228MB/s read.

Is there anything I can try to speed up the 10G connection? I want to keep the NAS in the server room, so a Thunderbolt connection is not ideal for me.

[storageman]

Maybe try this, then it's Qnap's job to fix.
https://www.qnap.com/en-uk/product/qna-tb-10gbe

[Bob Zelin]

did you disable SMB signing on your Mac ?

create this file on your Mac -
sudo vi /etc/nsmb.conf
inside this file, enter this info -
[default]
signing_required=no
save this file with :wq!
reboot your computer.
Try again.
If you have a static Volume with all 8 drives in a single RAID 5 or RAID 6 volume, you should be getting much greater speeds.
Bob Zelin

[Colourspace]

SMB signing is disabled and confirmed with smbutil statshares -a

I have a static volume, RAID6, that's fast when connected via thunderbolt.
I'm not sure what else to try, might do a clean install of macOS.

[schumaku]

Maybe try this, ...

Same or very similar Chipset and Apple built-in drivers in use.

[Bob Zelin]

Hi Schumaku -
yes, the Aquantia AQC-107 is the same chip used in the iMac Pro.
OK - I have an important question ! - are you using 7200 RPM drives (or slower 5400 RPM drives, like WD RED, which are 5400 RPM instead of WD RED Pro or Seagate Ironwolf, which are both 7200 RPM).

If you want, I can remote into your system and take a look.
Bob Zelin

[iam@nas]

You could try another cable just to make sure that there are no errors (unless you have access to a managed switch which shows no network related errors from/to both devices).

[Colourspace]

I had success today and am now getting 1020MB/s write and 896MB/s read.
I simply held the reset button for three seconds, then re-configured the static IP, turned on Jumbo Frames, all okay now!

Is it unusual to have faster write speed than read speed?

Thanks everyone who has replied to this thread, it's great to know people are willing to help and share ideas.

[storageman]

If you are getting slower read speed than write this can be down to the host performance.

[Colourspace]

The QNAP is going slow again now.

I was running a speed test and was writing to the server at around 950MB/s, the speed test then froze for around 7 seconds, then started going again but at around 500 MB/s. Once that happened I could never get much more than 500MB/s.
Restarting the NAS fixes the problem but then it returns, it can return minutes or hours later.

Once the NAS is in this slow state the connection speed is reduced for both the Macbook Pro and the MacPro 5,1, both connected via 10g ethernet.

I've also noticed that when it is in this slow state, it takes longer for the web browser to find the NAS when I enter the IP. After a restart the web browser goes to the login screen almost instantly.

I've logged a ticket with QNAP support and am waiting for a reply.

Bob Zelin you mentioned in a previous post you could log in and take a look, I might take you up on the offer if I don'y have any luck with support. I'd be happy to pay for your expertise.

Let's see how it goes, any ideas are welcome!

[iam@nas]

If you have shell access run "ifconfig -a" and check the error counters. Running it a few times you should help identifying which counters are increasing if any.

[Bob Zelin]

Hi Mr. Colourspace -
I would be happy to take a look, and it's free (not unless you have done a nightmare of an installation on the QNAP) -
just send me your email - my email is in my signature.

Bob Zelin