NETserver, mDNSResponder, syslogd using up large processing power, why?

Ditto here on the Brother issue.

Snow Leopard fully up2date... Brother MFC 7820n printer/scanner.. problem began as soon as I installed the brother utility, inspected the NetServer process to see what files it was using and indeed it is Brother related.

Firewall is off as well... only solution so far I've found is removing the /Library/Printers/Brother directory completely and manually killing NETServer, LOGINserver and USBserver.

Hopefully brother will come up with a fix.

I have talked to Brother tech support and and escalated support (level 5) engineer. His advice was to make sure the newest driver(s) were installed; this means NOT the driver on the CD. I got rid of everything, used software update to get the current driver from Apple, then downloaded the additional components (control center, etc) from the Brother site. I also went to Security in the Sys Pref and specifically allowed Net Server to cross the firewall. I am still getting 75% CPU utilization by Net Server on a new Mac Pro after a few hours of no use (no scanner, no nothing). ????

I haven't talked to Brother.
My experience, so far, has been very inconsistent.

When I first wrote, I'd had the problem for two days in a row -- the problem would manifest itself in the middle of the night, and NetServer would be running at high utilization in the morning.

Each morning, after I discovered that, I logged off and logged back on, and the problem stopped. Then my Mac went about two weeks without the problem returning. It came back last Wednesday or Thursday night, and I forced NetServer to quit. The problem hasn't returned since that day. I normally do not log off or shut down. I didn't do a restart over the weekend.

I use the printer often. I haven't used the scanner, though, in the past month.
I have not been able to identify a pattern of what kicks off this process.
Chuck

Friends:
Since upgrading to Snow Lep. on my MBP, I too have been experiencing the same problem(s) with NETServer. I have, however, been able to get NETServer to cease its noxious behavior by blocking all of its connections with Little Snitch. This does not seem to have affected my ability to print, scan, or fax (going on 1 week now) – but I do so from Control Center, not using the printer’s buttons (MFC-7820N).

Of course, this is a less than ideal solution – and using another program to lobotomize Brother’s crap drivers/app/whatever, let alone one that costs $30, is not exactly a comfortable work-around. Nonetheless, it does work and LS is a great app which I find to be worth the $30 anyway.

BTW, I too have not spoken to Brother, but I really don’t need to call Mumbai to be told to download the latest drivers and reboot my computer.

Hope this helps a little…

I haven't had the problem since I switched my User account back from "Admin" to "Standard". However, this could just be a coincidence as the problem was so infrequent in my case.

This possibly makes sense (???) because those services calm down by merely logging out and back in again—you don't need a real restart.

If you try running as a Standard user, the worst that can happen is that it won't fix the Brother problem, but you will learn to run in this more secure mode.

Same problem here, a Brother MFC and a Brother Laser in the wired network
System log shows (too many open files):

user/Library/Printers/Brother/Utilities/Server/NETserver.app/Contents/MacOS/NET server[317]: dnssd_clientstub deliver_request: socketpair failed 24 (Too many open files)
Oct 20 10:41:49: --- last message repeated 499 times ---
user/Library/Printers/Brother/Utilities/Server/NETserver.app/Contents/MacOS/NETs erver[317]: * process 317 exceeded 500 log message per second limit - remaining messages this second discarded *


This helped:
com.apple.launchd.peruser.501[228] ([0x0-0x1c01c].com.brother.utility.NETserver[317]): Exited: Killed
😉

Thanks, Brother, for having a look at the problem

I emailed brother. They asked me to jump through the normal uninstall/retinstall drivers blaming everything on Apple.

***Update***

So, of course b/c I went and posted my bit about Little Snitch on this thread, I came home yesterday to find my MBP's fans whirring along and NETServer topping out at around 72% of my CPU. Great...

So, I killed NETServer, zipped up the app (located in /library/printers/brother/utilities) and threw away the uncompressed copy. Let’s see that puppy try and run now!

I have no idea what ill effects this will have, or whether trashing the program will be worse than letting it run.

I manually ran all the available updates from the Brother website. ... worked fine for a few hours. But now the problem is back again. Had to kill NETserver again after it was using around 72 % CPU ....

Trashing NETserver.app seems to have worked (or so it seems so far).

My 7280N now says "Check Cable" when I try to scan by pushing from the unit's front panel. Pulling scans from the computer's Control Center still works fine as does the Bonjour add printer ability.

Side note...pushing scans from the unit has become less and less reliable over the past few months anyway, so killing this app is no loss.

If I find this fix is 100% effective on my Mac Pro, then I will put Snow Leopard on my MacBook.

I just zipped NETserver and left it in /Library/Printers/Brother/Utilities/Server (where I found mine). Killing the active process was both helpful and fun - I watched the CPU bars drop in Activity Monitor and my fan slowed... it was very satisfying. Now to see if it fixes the problem long-term...

Not to add anything new except to confirm I'm having the same issue and indeed do have networked Brother printers. Except my memory is after updating to Snow Leopard, I did indeed reinstall the latest Brother driver and utility package. And I can't identify a triggering event - just today, suddenly, with no new interaction with the printers or the Brother utility, NETserver and its friends started consuming the entire CPU capacity.

Another sad NETserver "consumption" issue. Have a Brother MFC-8890DW, latest drivers from Brother. VERY frustrating and the finger-pointing between Brother and Apple belongs in the Windows world.

Anyone with a fix that retains all functionality?

Trashing NETserver.app seems to be a totally effective fix (see previous posts for details).

Is loss of ability to scan by the scanner's buttons a big deal? It should only be a problem if you do lots of scans to a computer in a different room. All other functions including scanning from the "Control Center" utility remain.

Ironically, Brother just came out with some new Windows drivers (probably prompted by Win 7).

Actually, some of us bought this printer specifically FOR the ability to initiate scans from the printer, to one of any target Mac on the network. Brother should pay close attention to such clear problems affecting its Mac customers... imho.