Slow Read Speeds on TVS-h1288X

[david116]

Hello QNAP NAS Community Forum,

I have set up a new TVS-h1288X with 8x 6TB WD Red Pro and 2x 1TB Samsung 980 NVMe drives.

The two SSDs are setup in RAID1 as pool 1 for the system and the HDDs in RAID10 as pool 2 for files. The NAS will be used for video editing on 2 connected workstations. Both on Windows 10. The NAS is on QuTS hero h4.5.4.2138. No snapshots, no SSD caching.

When I copy a file with Windows Explorer or run the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test I get expected write speeds of around 900-1000MB/s. But the read speeds from the NAS to the PC are at 300MB/s max. However, the speed fluctuates a lot, sometimes as low as 150MB/s. This is well below the performance this setup should have. In theory, the read speed on RAID10 should be higher than the write speed. I am of course aware that the speed is limited at around 1000MB/s due to 10Gbit network speed.

What I have tried so far:

iperf3 speed test from one Workstation to NAS - approx 7Gbit sender and receiver.

Different LAN cable - both CAT6A

Different Ethernet port on NAS

Other PC - transfer speeds even slower with 500MBs write and 120MBs read - both use a TP-Link TX401 network card

Tests with Pool 1 and Pool 2 - Both show exactly the same behavior/speeds - So it can't really be the HDDs or the RAID configuration

Transfer via FTP - Exactly the same behavior - So it can't be SMB

Jumbo frames - tried different configurations - changing this only made things worse, left it on 1500 in the NAS and disabled on my Workstation

Direct LAN connection between NAS and PC - Same behavior, so it can't be our Switch

I'm at the end of my wits now, I hope someone can help me on this!

Thanks in advance!

Kind regards

David

[dolbyman]

I would switch to RAIDz2 (RAID6) more space and better failure resistance (you need sequential throughput..not random)

Make the switch and test again..I have plenty of throughput from my 1288x

We have also discussed the video editing setup of 1288x a couple of times already (forum search)

[Bob Zelin]

Hello David -
Storage Pool 2 - all 8 drives in a single RAID 6 configuration, thin provisioning.
Feel free to update your QuTS OS to QuTS 5.0.0 (not a beta version).

The 10G card in your PC must MUST be in a x4 lane PCIe slot.
Make sure you are not sharing the 10G connection with the internet - no matter what happens, no matter what the conditions are.
On the TVS-h1288X, make Ethernet port 5 (10G Port) static IPv4 Address 192.168.2.3, subnet mask 255.255.255.0. MTU 9000
On the computer's 10G port that is connected to Ethernet port 5 on this QNAP - make the IPv4 address of the 10G port on the PC STATIC IP> IPv4 192.168.2.11, subnet mask 255.255.255.0, MTU 9000
on the computer, open CMD, type in ping 192.168.2.3
do you see a connection ?
Now, on the computer -
\\192.168.2.3
maps the network volume (The QNAP).
Run Blackmagic Disk Speed Test. You should now see very fast speeds. If you are getting 150 - 300 MB/sec, it is my opinion, that you are in a x1 lane PCIe slot with the 10G card in the PC.

now, for your second PC -
on The QNAP, make Ethernet port 6 (10G) - IPv4 STATIC. 192.168.3.3, subnet 255.255.255.0, MTU 9000
Make the PC 10G port that connects to ethenret port 6 (10G) a Static IP, with an IPv4 of 192.168.3.11, subnet mask 255.255.255.0, MTU 9000
on the PC - click on the RUN window
\\192.168.3.3
map the network volume,
and do the same speed test.

Let me know your results.
I don't want to hear about your internet routers, other switches, etc. Make this a direct connection and do these tests. Let me know.

Bob Zelin

[dolbyman]

[...]
Make sure you are not sharing the 10G connection with the internet - no matter what happens, no matter what the conditions are.
[...]
I don't want to hear about your internet routers, other switches, etc. Make this a direct connection and do these tests. Let me know.

Bob Zelin

Hey Bob,

Was wondering have you had bad experience using non dedicated 10GbE networks?

I have a bunch of people using a TS-853BU on a shared managed 10GbE switch (with single uplink port to the gateway network) and they can use it all the way up to the throughput limit of the NAS.

When I had my 1288X in that network (before I took it home) I connected it up to the same switch and could pull files with the full speed (from one of the 10GbE CAD clients).

The traffic between NAS and client (as long as both are connected to the dedicated switch) should never leave to any other network hop.

[Bob Zelin]

Hi Dolby -
oh boy - it's a good thing I saw it was you, because I have been drinking this evening (what a surprise) and I was going to have a rude reply -

You want an honest answer - I don't know. I ALWAYS do a dedicated network - to avoid any conflicts with speed. I have a LOT of pro IT guys give me a hard time about this (because they don't want to run a separate network) - but even if I am on the SAME network (with a separate VLAN) - I use a dedicated switch (like a Ubiquiti UniFi Enterprise XG24 switch) - and if it's a small system, I use a dedicated
QNAP QSW-M1208-8C, so I don't have any interference from another network.

Have I "occasionally" done this - where I have some clients on the same 192.168.0.xxx network, where The QNAP 10G port is on that subnet - yea, I certainly have. But it opens "pandoras box" of possible problems. The whole point of running an isolated network, with a separate switch, is that you KNOW, that you are not going to get into trouble - it' s a dedicated network, with all 10G connections, and no other traffic - so you will always get fast speeds.

I am always facinated by the "pro IT guys" that refuse to do this - simply because they do not want to run a second ethernet cable to each computer (or use WiFi).

Bob

[dolbyman]

Haha .. You can be rude to me .. I can take it

I was just asking because you might know of some particular irksome clashes with video editing and/or Mac environments.

Anyways, putting the 10GbE+ transmission in a separate network sure reduces troubleshooting issues with in these mixed environments.

I am normally also an advocate to separate your networks, I usually split (physically or vlan) data/internet/phone/wifi into their own networks

But as you said, sometimes customers do not want to pull dedicated wires for data AND internet in place.

Cheers

[Flexerl]

@david116 Has the issue ever been resolved? I am encountering a similar lack in read performance, but can't pinpoint the issue...