Copying files from server

[rcorn]

We recently seem to have a problem with copying files from our Novell 5.1 server, it takes ages to copy files to the workstation and the CPU utilization is high during copying. We can copy files up to the server fine without any delay.
Can anyone help me on this one, I've rebooted the server but no change.

Regards

Richard

 

[TheLad]

Have you got a virus scanner on your server that is scanning reads? Maybe the scanner is scanning every file as it is read? -----------------------------------------------------
"It's true, its damn true!"
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[TheLad]

The same applies to your workstation thinking about it. Is your workstation scanning every written file? -----------------------------------------------------
"It's true, its damn true!"
-----------------------------------------------------

 

[creslan]

Are you copying files from a volume with compression on? I think compression is on by default, and files will be compressed after several days without being accessed. I've observed high utilization (80%) and long waits when copying large files off a server if they have been sitting on there long enough to have been compressed. Once they've been accessed once or twice (it depends on the server settings), they remain uncompressed until they sit for the required number of days. To test this, you could copy a group of files, noting the utilization and speed, then copy them again, and maybe a third time. If it gets faster after a couple times, that may be the answer. Make sure to move enough data to be sure it's reading off the disk - I don't know how much might stay in memory. Concerning the previous answers, I also disable my PC antivirus scanner when I'm copying a large amount of data to or from the server - it makes a noticable difference.