Slow SMB using Wireless

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Level 1

8 points

Slow SMB using Wireless

Ever since upgrading my MBP to Snow leopard, connections to SMB/Windows servers are very slow when using the wireless network.

I'm connecting to a SMB NAS device as well as Windows Servers, the issue appears in both cases.

When browsing in Finder, it takes 30s plus to display folder contents, and copying files takes way too long, even a small 10 Mb file will take upwards to 5 minutes to copy down.

Browsing folders and copying files is fine when using the wired network.

I tried using pathfinder to see if this was a Finder issue, but this shows the same symptoms.

Has anyone else experienced this - can you offer any advice please?

Macbook Pro 17", Mac OS X (10.6.2), MacBookPro4,1

Posted on Mar 5, 2010 5:26 AM

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Answer 1

asoesman Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 7, 2010 1:29 PM in response to asoesman

Bump...

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Answer 2

Mailman42

Level 2

245 points

Mar 7, 2010 5:06 PM in response to asoesman

You do know that doing anything over a wireless network will be slower than hardwired?

Depends on your wifi network, the a/b/g/n version of the 802.11 you are using. The neighbors (what channel you are using).

Also depends on your wifi router.

Too many variables and not enough info

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Answer 3

asoesman Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 8, 2010 12:07 AM in response to Mailman42

Sure, I am well aware that a Gbit LAN connection will be much quicker than a 54Mbps WLAN, but this is not the issue here.

Displaying the contents of a folder with 10 items in it should not take 30s plus, even on a wireless network, and a 10 Mb file should take a few seconds, to copy even on a wireless network.

Browsing the same folders on my Powerbook G4 does not show the same problem, and this has only started on my MBP since the upgrade to SL.

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Answer 4

Apr 26, 2010 2:49 PM in response to asoesman

I've got the same problem with my SMB NAS. Reading directroy contents takes up to a minute.

The fun thing is that Windows XP on Parallelis Dektop virtual machine does the same job in 2-3 seconds. On the same machine, at the same time and in emulation mode - which should be slower. So, router is not the cause, Airport is not the cause. Only SMB configuration on MacOS X is the problem.

I did try sysctl mantra, but it doesn't help:
sudo ifconfig en1 down
sudo sudo sysctl -w net.inet.tcp.delayed_ack=0
sudo sysctl -w net.inet.tcp.mssdflt=1460
sudo sysctl -w net.inet.tcp.sendspace=65535
sudo sysctl -w net.inet.tcp.recvspace=65535
sudo sysctl -w net.inet.tcp.newreno=1
sudo ifconfig en1 up

I also did a tweak to smb.conf:
socket options = IPTOS_LOWDELAY TCP_NODELAY
it increased transfer speed twice, but the problem with reading directory contents was not solved.

Message was edited by: pablomedok

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Answer 5

Jul 9, 2010 6:29 AM in response to pablomedok

Same issue on gigabit ethernet, slow to display files on OS X, no problem with Win 7 in VM on the same machine...

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Answer 6

satcomer

Level 4

1,593 points

Jul 10, 2010 8:54 AM in response to asoesman

Some people have reported that if they add the host of the SMB machines in their Main level /etc/hosts file and add their SMB server IP and the name of the server, it fixes their SMB issues. It might help your situation.

Plus if you are keeping a lone Mac in a Windows Domain then bookmark the site MacWindows.com. For SMB sharing look at their Snow Leopard and File Sharing Tips and Reports. Many smart System Administrators post on these boards regularly and come up up very quickly with cross platforming tricks and work arounds.

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