File server performance

[rwong]

Hi everybody,

I have a Windows 2000 server that I use as a File server too.
Is there a limit of how many users can run an executable file remotely? and how does that affect performance?
I also have noticed that when the file is larger than 5 or 6 mb it becomes significantly slower to open, it happened to me with the norton antivirus update file. Since definitions are larger everyday, these files have grown up from 4.15 megabytes to 9 megabytes.
When I try to open the older definition file the response is immediate, but a recent definition file takes up to 30 seconds. Both files are in the same drive and partition, and the behavior is exactly the same from any client.

Where can I find more information about this subject?

thanks,

Rick

 

[neutec]

I think the first place to start is to run the Performance-monitor for awhile an see whats going on in the backgroud.
Take a look at the link below for more on performance-monitor. You should be able to see where the bottle neck is coming from. Hope that helps

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Key-Performance-Monitor-Counters.html

 

[Seaspray0]

when a client clicks on an executable in a network share, it's the client PC that's opening it. To the server, its the same as if you were opening a text file. The server provides the data to the client and the client determines how to handle it by it's file extension... in this case open and execute.

The network is slower than access from a local hard drive. You can expect it to take longer to open files over the network. Stuff like 5mb executable is small potatoes to a 100mb network. If you want to see a network suffer, try downloading a 4gb image to 40 pc's simultaneously. That will push it to full use.

A+/MCP/MCSE/MCDBA

 

[ITPangaeaArchitect]

what o/s are the clients?

-Brandon Wilson
MCSE00/03, MCSA:Messaging, MCSA03, A+
almost got a paragraph there

 

[rwong]

Hi everybody,


I put the performance monitors but I don't see a bottleneck, the server runs just fine, but the remote apps lose performance if I put several stations to run the same executable file.

Brandon: The client stations are all Windows 2000 Professional (just in case: SP4),

thanks

Rick

 

[ITPangaeaArchitect]

see if you have 893066 installed o these machines....if you do, google 893066 and get the file versions from the article and ensure you are at the newest version.

i could also see a mismatch in security settings potentially causing a delay.

the big one on issues like these though is typically the AV....typically they scan whatever you are opening, so if you open a 20MB file, they will scan 20MB before allowing you to interact with the doc typically....

if you grab msconfig off of a 2003 or XP box and put it on the workstation (start client side)...go to services tab, check box to hide all microsoft services...click disable all button, then click ok, then reboot, then retest on client side....
if that shows as a no go...
perform the same action on teh server, so both have 3rd party svcs stopped now....reboot the server...test again from the client

if we still have issues after that, it pretty much ensures our problem is not with any 3rd party application.


also, are these DFS shares we're talking about?
are tehse shares set for offline caching at all?

-Brandon Wilson
MCSE00/03, MCSA:Messaging, MCSA03, A+
almost got a paragraph there

 

[xmsre]

Oplocks, I've seen this many times on W2K.

 

[ITPangaeaArchitect]

yep...very easy possiblity

there are also quite a few others though which is why we need the dfs or offline folders info....



-Brandon Wilson
MCSE00/03, MCSA:Messaging, MCSA03, A+
almost got a paragraph there