Q: Client Beachballs on OSXS
TL;DR: Server connections slow down to a crawl for clients, no apparent reason.
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Server: Final model Intel Xserve, quad Xeon 2.26 GHz, 12GB RAM, running El Cap 10.11.6/Server 5.1.7 with all updates from factory internal SSD. Served files are on separate drive. Bare metal system install and reconfig a few months ago (server previously ran Snow Leopard). Our only enabled services for clients are File Sharing and Time Machine. OD is off since we don't use any services that require it.
Network: Wired cat 6 GigE through HP managed switch, plus wireless for mobile devices. About 60 total network connections at any time. Xserve has bonded ethernet link (i.e. double GigE) to switch. Internet connection via Comcast Business is theoretically 150/20 Mbps down/up but very variable in practice.
Clients: About 30 Macs, recent OS versions (except one with 10.6.8). Some connected via AFP, some SMB. About 8 core users mostly on 27" iMacs with lots of RAM launch Adobe CC files from the server over the network and work that way. Remaining users are typically connected to the server but not actively using it most of the time.
Problem: Periodic drastic slowdowns for core users. Normal activities such as saving or opening files over the network now take place at a glacial rate, accompanied by the dreaded spinning beachball. All core users are affected when this happens. Affected apps are Adobe CC (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), but that's what these core users work with almost exclusively, so may not be significant. However these apps are said to be fairly chatty (phone home, autosave, etc.). Often but not always occurs toward the end of the day.
Observations: Restarting the server usually clears the problem...until the next time. Then sometimes we're OK for a few days, sometimes not. No apparent correlation with AFP or SMB connections. Server logs don't show anything that catches my eye, but they're cryptic enough anyway for mere mortals. Stats in Server.app show very light server loading for cpu (<20%), memory (<6GB), network (<25MB/s). Activity Monitor shows no runaway processes. Server drives SMART status is good. Basically our Xserve hardware is in good shape and just loafing along most of the time.
At this point I'm desperate for any ideas, or suggestions for a methodology to arrive at a solution.
Xserve, OS X Server, El Cap
Posted on Aug 24, 2016 9:22 AM