Slow NFS Performance (TS-212 Server/Linux Mint Client)

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drake0
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Slow NFS Performance (TS-212 Server/Linux Mint Client)

Post by drake0 »

I am struggling with some painfully slow performance with an NFS mount of my QNAP server. My download speed from the server is about 1.5 megabytes/second and listing the contents of a directory of 1000 items takes about 60 seconds. I am a networking and linux newbie so I'm looking for some insight on how I can troubleshoot this problem. Hopefully someone has seen a similar problem before.

I'm working with a QNAP Ts-212 server, the client is a ThinkPad T440p laptop running Linux mint 18.1 Cinnamon, and the router is a Netgear R6300v2. I mounted the server using automount rather than fstab.

Thanks for any help you can provide.
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dolbyman
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Re: Slow NFS Performance (TS-212 Server/Linux Mint Client)

Post by dolbyman »

wired or wireless connectiin?
drake0
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Re: Slow NFS Performance (TS-212 Server/Linux Mint Client)

Post by drake0 »

The client is wireless. I have the TS212 wired to the router though.
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dolbyman
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Re: Slow NFS Performance (TS-212 Server/Linux Mint Client)

Post by dolbyman »

try the speed with a wired client ..so you know it is not the wifi
drake0
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Re: Slow NFS Performance (TS-212 Server/Linux Mint Client)

Post by drake0 »

You were definitely right. After I hardwired everything, speeds went up to 60-65 megabytes per second. So what could restrict the NFS and other networking protocols over wifi that doesn't seem impact my Internet connectivity as well?

Thank you so much for your help! Feels good to make some headway after running in circles for hours.
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dolbyman
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Re: Slow NFS Performance (TS-212 Server/Linux Mint Client)

Post by dolbyman »

is the wifi transfer speed better, when a single large file is moved ?

check if there is qos activated on the router (some qos have static speed limits)
drake0
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Re: Slow NFS Performance (TS-212 Server/Linux Mint Client)

Post by drake0 »

dolbyman wrote:is the wifi transfer speed better, when a single large file is moved ?

check if there is qos activated on the router (some qos have static speed limits)
There doesn't appear to be a noticeable difference between transferring one large file or many small files. I also reviewed the QoS settings on my router and they allow you to prioritize certain activities over others (like FTP vs NFS) but don't allow static limits. I did assign NFS a "High Priority" but there was no impact on performance.
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schumaku
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Re: Slow NFS Performance (TS-212 Server/Linux Mint Client)

Post by schumaku »

drake0 wrote:There doesn't appear to be a noticeable difference between transferring one large file or many small files. I also reviewed the QoS settings on my router and they allow you to prioritize certain activities over others (like FTP vs NFS) but don't allow static limits. I did assign NFS a "High Priority" but there was no impact on performance.
Of course not. A consumer router with QoS handling on the GbE switched ports :lol: Or do you mount NFS over the router public IP address and using NAT loopback?

Start with a wired GbE network connection. WiFi performs great in marketing numbers only.
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dolbyman
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Re: Slow NFS Performance (TS-212 Server/Linux Mint Client)

Post by dolbyman »

schumaku wrote: A consumer router with QoS handling on the GbE switched ports :lol:
Not between the switched ports, but between wired and wireless clients, some manufacturers have network boosts that promise guaranteed DLNA bandwidths etc. .. many of them are closed source by the radio chip manufacturers (Qualcom,Quantenna,etc.) so what (and if :lol: ) they do .. is a mystery
drake0
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Re: Slow NFS Performance (TS-212 Server/Linux Mint Client)

Post by drake0 »

schumaku wrote: Or do you mount NFS over the router public IP address and using NAT loopback?
Not that I know of. I just set it up with a static ip on my network and I don't think its accessible via a public ip.
schumaku wrote:Start with a wired GbE network connection. WiFi performs great in marketing numbers only.
I already have the server connected via Gbit ethernet but hardwiring the client isn't feasible because I don't have an ethernet port near my desk. I also like to sit on my couch browsing on my laptop while its also acting as a server for media that I am watching on TV so being untethered is preferable. I understand that I will never get close to the marketing 300mbit numbers but I feel like 80 - 100 transfer rates should be a reasonable expectation and this would also make it more than usable on a daily basis.

Here is another interesting development. The slowdown seems to impact more than just my NFS transfer rates. When I start from a fresh reboot I get usable internet speeds of about 30mbit. Once the automount starts and I start browsing files on my server though, everything slows down to between 1 and 5 mbits per second (this includes internet). If I restart the network-manager service my internet speed goes back to less than 5. I have repeated the process multiple times to verify.
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