---------------------------------------------------- Server : Athlon 64 3000+ ; 512MB Ram ; lots of disks ; nforce3 chipset ; integrated nvidia gigabit NIC. Gentoo 2.6.15 linux 64-bits ; Samba 3.0.14a-r2 ---------------------------------------------------- Clients : Laptop with Centrino Pentium-M, 100 Mbps NIC, running Windows XP Family Desktop with Athlon 64 3200+ ; 1G DDR Dual Channel RAM ; nforce4 chipset with gigabit NIC ; Windows XP Pro SP2 ---------------------------------------------------- The situation : The server is connected to the desktop or the laptop with a crossed cable. Laptop has only a 100 Mbps ethernet cable. Between server and laptop, Samba performance is excellent. Actually I have never seen it running this fast. It uses about 90% of the wire speed. Congratulations ! Samba performance between Server and Desktop is the problem : With TCP Delayed ACKs enabled : - Browsing is uber slow - Transferring files Server -> Desktop is abysmally slow (about 0.1% wire speed) - Transferring files Desktop -> Server is sometimes slow (about 1% wire speed), sometimes at normal speed (about 30-40% wire speed). So it can do it ! But only when it wants. So frustrating. With TCP Delayed ACKs disabled (TcpAckFrequency=1) : - Browsing is correct - Transferring files Server -> Desktop is slow (about 5% wire speed) - Transferring files Desktop -> Server : same as above. The laptop has delayed ack's anyway and it's very fast... This is with the Desktop connected through its nvidia onboard gigabit NIC. I added a trusty old Realtek 100 Mbps NIC and redid the test : same results, same speed. Last week, everything worked well, but I had to reinstall windows due to a harddisk suicide (so sad...). Why is the new windows so, so, so slow ? ---------------------------------------------------- Lets's test the connection : Both Server and Desktop have a Gb ethernet card ; so transfer speeds on FTP, HTTP, or netcat are extremely high : netcat from server to desktop : - about 75% of gigabit wire speed - linux server CPU at 50% system) - windows client CPU at 100% (nearly all "kernel") netcat from desktop to server : - about 95% or gigabit wire speed - linux server CPU at 100% (system) - windows client CPU at 50% (nearly all "kernel") I'll spare you the tests with HTTP and stuff, basically it works. Testing in 100 Mbps mode with the realtek card on the desktop also works well. ---------------------------------------------------- Conclusion : - the link, cable, cards, etc. work. - as the problem presents itself with 2 different NICs, it is probably not a driver issue. - as it exists on 1 windows PC and not the other one, it is probably not an issue with samba itself, but rather the configuration on the desktop PC. ANYBODY HAS ANY IDEA WHAT I CAN DO TO MAKE IT USABLE ? Thanks a LOT to anyone who can help. I've been googling for 2 days without result. ---------------------------------------------------- some tcpdump in the good case (server -> laptop) 12:25:31.491714 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: . 873043:874503(1460) ack 3319 win 16080 12:25:31.491720 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: . 874503:875963(1460) ack 3319 win 16080 12:25:31.491737 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: . 875963:877423(1460) ack 3319 win 16080 12:25:31.491928 IP 192.168.0.4.1028 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 867203 win 65535 12:25:31.492173 IP 192.168.0.4.1028 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 870123 win 65535 12:25:31.492198 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: . 877423:878883(1460) ack 3319 win 16080 12:25:31.492203 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: . 878883:880343(1460) ack 3319 win 16080 12:25:31.492209 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: . 880343:881803(1460) ack 3319 win 16080 12:25:31.492215 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: . 881803:883263(1460) ack 3319 win 16080 12:25:31.492420 IP 192.168.0.4.1028 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 873043 win 65535 12:25:31.492666 IP 192.168.0.4.1028 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 875963 win 65535 12:25:31.492690 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: . 883263:884723(1460) ack 3319 win 16080 12:25:31.492695 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: P 884723:884906(183) ack 3319 win 16080 12:25:31.492913 IP 192.168.0.4.1028 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 878883 win 65535 12:25:31.493158 IP 192.168.0.4.1028 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 881803 win 65535 12:25:31.493413 IP 192.168.0.4.1028 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 884723 win 65535 12:25:31.493525 IP 192.168.0.4.1028 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: P 3319:3382(63) ack 884906 win 65352 12:25:31.493606 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: . 884906:886366(1460) ack 3382 win 16080 12:25:31.493613 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: . 886366:887826(1460) ack 3382 win 16080 12:25:31.493619 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: P 887826:889065(1239) ack 3382 win 16080 12:25:31.493984 IP 192.168.0.4.1028 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 887826 win 65535 12:25:31.494176 IP 192.168.0.4.1028 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: P 3382:3445(63) ack 889065 win 64296 12:25:31.494286 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: . 889065:890525(1460) ack 3445 win 16080 12:25:31.494292 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: . 890525:891985(1460) ack 3445 win 16080 12:25:31.494297 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: . 891985:893445(1460) ack 3445 win 16080 12:25:31.494303 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: . 893445:894905(1460) ack 3445 win 16080 12:25:31.494310 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.4.1028: . 894905:896365(1460) ack 3445 win 16080 ---------------------------------------------------- some tcpdump in the slow case (server -> desktop, TCP Delayed ACKs enabled) 12:30:16.772552 IP 192.168.0.2.1037 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 1040040 win 2920 12:30:16.772563 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: P 1040040:1041500(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.772568 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: . 1041500:1042960(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.772981 IP 192.168.0.2.1037 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 1042960 win 2920 12:30:16.772991 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: P 1042960:1044420(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.772995 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: . 1044420:1045880(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.773411 IP 192.168.0.2.1037 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 1045880 win 2920 12:30:16.773423 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: P 1045880:1047340(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.773428 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: . 1047340:1048800(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.773843 IP 192.168.0.2.1037 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 1048800 win 2920 12:30:16.773855 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: P 1048800:1050260(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.773860 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: . 1050260:1051720(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.774271 IP 192.168.0.2.1037 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 1051720 win 2920 12:30:16.774281 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: P 1051720:1053180(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.774285 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: . 1053180:1054640(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.774702 IP 192.168.0.2.1037 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 1054640 win 2920 12:30:16.774714 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: P 1054640:1056100(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.774718 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: . 1056100:1057560(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.775131 IP 192.168.0.2.1037 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 1057560 win 2920 12:30:16.775141 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: P 1057560:1059020(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.775145 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: . 1059020:1060480(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.775561 IP 192.168.0.2.1037 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 1060480 win 2920 12:30:16.775572 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: P 1060480:1061940(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.775576 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: . 1061940:1063400(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.775993 IP 192.168.0.2.1037 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 1063400 win 2920 12:30:16.776007 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: P 1063400:1064860(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.776012 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: . 1064860:1066320(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 12:30:16.776420 IP 192.168.0.2.1037 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 1066320 win 2920 12:30:16.776431 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1037: P 1066320:1067780(1460) ack 1765 win 4140 ---------------------------------------------------- some tcpdump in the slow case (server -> desktop, TCP Delayed ACKs disabled) 13:22:37.402457 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1025: P 8304035:8305467(1432) ack 16002 win 8428 13:22:37.402872 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 8305467 win 2920 13:22:37.403960 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: P 16002:16238(236) ack 8305467 win 2920 13:22:37.404094 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1025: P 8305467:8305574(107) ack 16238 win 8428 13:22:37.404424 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 8305574 win 2813 13:22:37.404449 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: P 16238:16314(76) ack 8305574 win 2813 13:22:37.404621 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1025: P 8305574:8305646(72) ack 16314 win 8428 13:22:37.404841 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 8305646 win 2741 13:22:37.404898 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: P 16314:16388(74) ack 8305646 win 2741 13:22:37.404945 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1025: P 8305646:8305726(80) ack 16388 win 8428 13:22:37.405270 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 8305726 win 2661 13:22:37.406297 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: P 16388:16624(236) ack 8305726 win 2661 13:22:37.406386 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1025: P 8305726:8305781(55) ack 16624 win 8428 13:22:37.406765 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 8305781 win 2606 13:22:37.406791 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: P 16624:16669(45) ack 8305781 win 2606 13:22:37.406983 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1025: P 8305781:8305820(39) ack 16669 win 8428 13:22:37.407040 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1025: P 8305820:8305927(107) ack 16669 win 8428 13:22:37.407190 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 8305927 win 2460 13:22:37.407253 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: P 16669:16745(76) ack 8305927 win 2460 13:22:37.407480 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1025: P 8305927:8306031(104) ack 16745 win 8428 13:22:37.407614 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 8306031 win 2356 13:22:37.407643 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: P 16745:16821(76) ack 8306031 win 2356 13:22:37.407695 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1025: P 8306031:8306133(102) ack 16821 win 8428 13:22:37.408043 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 8306133 win 2254 13:22:37.408069 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: P 16821:16897(76) ack 8306133 win 2254 13:22:37.408111 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1025: P 8306133:8306237(104) ack 16897 win 8428 13:22:37.408473 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 8306237 win 2150 13:22:37.408813 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: P 16897:16971(74) ack 8306237 win 2150 13:22:37.409472 IP 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds > 192.168.0.2.1025: P 8306237:8306317(80) ack 16971 win 8428 13:22:37.409499 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: . ack 8306317 win 2070 13:22:37.409666 IP 192.168.0.2.1025 > 192.168.0.100.microsoft-ds: P 16971:17034(63) ack 8306317 win 2070