NFS and kernel cache



I'm copying a big chunk of data to a single file on an NFS server (in
this case, using ntfsclone to back up a NTFS partition). Both the
client and the server are on gigabit ethernet, and both are running FC6.

I see the disk LED come on solid for several seconds, then start
flickering, then go out for a second or two. If I watch the network
switch, it does the opposite: no traffic, then a burst of traffic.
Because of this, my total throughput is only about 200Mb/s.

My guess would be that the NFS client is letting a bunch of data queue
up, and that it doesn't start sending it until the disk has almost
filled the kernel buffers, so then the reads from the local disk stop
until the NFS client has written enough data to the server.

I also tried doing (the tr is in there to prevent a sparse file):

$ dd if=/dev/zero bs=1024k count=5000 | tr '\0' '\1' > /mnt/test/testfile

I can see the network start and stop on this. I do get about 320Mb/s,
but that's still a long way from what it should be.

Is there anything I can adjust to smooth out the network flow (and keep
this running to fill the network as much as possible)?
--
Chris Adams <cmadams@xxxxxxxxxx>
Systems and Network Administrator - HiWAAY Internet Services
I don't speak for anybody but myself - that's enough trouble.

--
fedora-list mailing list
fedora-list@xxxxxxxxxx
To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list



Relevant Pages

  • Errors writing large files via NFS
    ... files larger than a certain size to a NFS server. ... client systems, although the definition of "too large" varies. ... network paths involved, I'm pretty sure we're not seeing a network problem. ...
    (Tru64-UNIX-Managers)
  • Re: Mount linux filesystem
    ... >>NFS can do so many more things that SMBfs is just not capable of doing. ... the server auths against the PDC, ... Makes adding another server to a network simple. ...
    (comp.unix.sco.misc)
  • Re: kern/130628: [nfs] NFS / rpc.lockd deadlock on 7.1-R
    ... Subject: kern/130628: [nfs] NFS / rpc.lockd deadlock on 7.1-R ... which are using NFS to mount homedirs form the freebsd server to the ... When the problem appears, the sever cannot be pinged, an other network ... rs form the freebsd server to the fedora client, ...
    (freebsd-net)
  • Re: [opensuse] NFS client/server problems when an NFS server is offline
    ... of a NFS sever not being available, essentially pushing the mount ... and silently mounting the NFS when the ... server comes available? ... Well it's better not to design your network like this, ...
    (SuSE)
  • Re: Fully parallel Scheme-based language w/ evaluator
    ... Windows Server 2003 and networks in simple - and irreverent - terms. ... If networking really is a big deal, ... Concepts and Terminology in Part I, and The Design and Deployment of Network ...
    (comp.lang.misc)