Ok, I´ve had the AFP problem AND the Logout Freeze Problem. So I´m posting my solution in both threads because I think the problems are directly connected. Why? Well, if I have less user connected to the server, the chance that the machine freezes when a user is logging out really decrease.
First of all my "hood"
1x MacPro, running 10.5.6 Server
LDAP OD Master, 300 user (all with home directorys on the server)
Services: AFP, OD, Software Update, iCal
no external RAID
1x DNS/Mail Server (Redhat)
50x machines (all intel, but MacPros, MacMinis, etc.) running 10.5.6
all with CS3, Office 2004, etc.
The mess:
After updating Server and clients to 10.5.6 the problems starts with machine freeze at logout. The afp-problem was not noticed in the beginning because the user didn´t recognize the slow behaviour at first.
So first of all I was searching for the logout problem. After days of searching, I realized that the logouts freezes and the high AFP load are maybe two different problems, but only two sides of the same medal.
possible solutions/workaounds
- increase ram
no solution and can´t be really serious - my server runs with 6GB RAM 😀
- kill the afp by hand or with script
no solution because in an enviroment like mine, lots of angry users will loose files and there mailclients will go crazy.
- Turn off spotlight
I´ve tried this. Well, not the effect I was hoping and without spotlight usability; no solution
- turn off applications, go to stanby, wake up, then logout....
try to use this in an environment with 300+ user. hehe. no solution
- disabled Allow Host Cache Flushing
no effect
- Disabled auto-disconnect in AFP after idle time
no effect
-Disabled kerberos for AFP authentication
no effect and no option cause of security issues
first of all, the solutions I´ve posted as followed are brought together by searching, reading, and testing.
Anyone who find his own hints inside - thanks so far. "Charles Wiles", Rob@Bis etc.
I don´t want to adorn myself with borrowed plumes.
working solution:
Setting new thresholds
I do this like that:
sending all machines over ARD the unix command:
defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.AppleShareClient -dict-add afp
wanthreshold -int 1000
defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.AppleShareClient -dict-add afp
wanquantum -int 131702
checking it by sending:
defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.AppleShareClient
If the systems returned the correct data, fine. 😀
You may set these thresholds in the global file, but I decided to set them this way.
My AFP load reduced to 60% max. load with 80-100 user in dayly business at our environment
but still having logout freeze, so there seemed to be another problem.
After searching, the problem seemed to be combination of fonts and some kind of heavy load through caches.
get rid of the fonts
I´ve don ethe following steps:
1. delete all the useless fonts in the font folder of the users. For 300 user, well lot of work. But you can make it easy.
Go to the terminal on the server, use the following commands to delete the fonts in the folder ~/Library/Fonts/>
sudo rm -r
/Library/Fonts/
make sure you´re in the right direction. In my environment, we have three folders, containing user, named studis, doz, verw. So I have to do the job three times.
Maybe you run into problems if you have many users. Maybe you get an "argument list too long" this is a unix based limitation. You can write a script to avoid the problem, but if you´re not firm with unix, use the easy way and do it in steps. use it this way:
sudo rm -r [a-z]
/Library/Fonts/
There have to be square brackets around the letters and an asteriks before and behind the /Library/Fonts/
you can than use the command in the first step with [a-c], than [d-f] etc. Easy workaround. 😀
You can do this also with the MCX redirector in WGM, but if you´re not firm in it, better use this method. For me it´s best cause I´m a fan of "hardcoded" solutions. kill the fonts the right way. 😀
After all, don´t forget to check if any home directory has the .TemporaryItems-folder becaus if not, MS will always get you an "Word cannot save this document due to a naming or permissions error on the destination volume."
You can see this invisible folder if you use the above way and navigate through your folders by terminal. If the Folder dont exists:
$ sudo mkdir .TemporaryItems
in the right directory. And don´t forget to check if the permissions for the folder are right.
Now I changed the Folder in the Microsoft programm folder itself. This folder contains the fonts, MS is installing again maybe after an update of the office package. To avoid installing the problem fonts again I throw all fonts out of the fonts folder excepting: Arial rounded Bold, Wingdings 2, Wingdings 3, MS PGothic.ttf. (BTW: The font format is not the problem)
Why this fonts? Well, i´ve tried it, but if I delete them although, Word, PP etc. always made errors and anoying popups.
I´ve done this the easy way, using ARD and the copy command. I´ve than taken my local fonts folder from microsoft, containing only the four fonts and copying it with the replace command.
BTW. Also when you´re not using Office, the user fonts folder can be a problem. fonts inside this foder seems to conflict with something on the logout process. So try clearing this folder.
redirect the folders
After that, I thought about making the redirecting safe. If you´re firm with the WGM and the MCX-redirect, you can use it. But the easy way seems to be the use of the ready NHR scripts. Install it to all machines - thats it.
This steps, made seven days ago, and the system runs stabel and speedy. Machine runs at 40% load at 80 simultanuous connections, no freeze at logout and the whole behaviour aof my machines seems to be much faster. Well, my students said that. 😀
So, Step-by-Step
1. changing Thresholds
2. delete fonts Folder
3. installing NHR for decrease the AFP load
Don´t forget to do this also with the server, cause mine has office installed and after all the work I was at home, restarting the server over vpn and ... well, it freezes cause I´ve forgotten to delete the fonts an do all the other things. 😉
P.S.: I gave up in trying to bring the correct commands and good text formatting to the apple forum. If anybody knows how to format the text correct, please let me know. Sorry for that. 😟
