Hello,
I'm running Samba 2.0.6 on a Sun Ultra1 as a file and print server for a
GIS teaching lab. Samba has solved a bunch of problems for us but one
serious one remains. Getting a large directory listing from within two
applications, ERMapper 5.5 and ArcView 3.1 running on win95, is a factor
of 10 slower than getting the same listing from a local drive or a win95
machine serving SMB. Transfers with other applications and Explorer are
fast.
I haven't yet used tcpdump-smb, but snoop shows the same number and
approximate size of packets to get the same listing from the win and
samba servers. About 1800 packets are sent for a listing of about 200
files, and the average packet size is around 100 bytes.
Both applications were written in the days before windows provided a
uniform file dialog, and implement this themselves. I think they are
choosing their own method of getting the directory listing and are doing
this in a way that establishes several connections to get each file's
entry.
Why is this so much faster with Win95 serving the files, and more
importantly, how can I improve the performance with Samba?
thanks!
-Brett
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Brett Longworth
Systems Manager
Department of Biology
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003
Tel: 413.545.0216
Fax: 413.545.3243
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"Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate"
-William of Ockham
