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NFS Performance Slow


ianw1974
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Having problems with an nfs share I just created. The idea was to use this share to install Mandriva to a machine that doesn't have a DVD drive, to save me downloading CD-ROM ISO's.

 

Already tried FTP, and it hung on install downloading the hdlist.cz and lost the connection to the FTP server and couldn't get it back.

 

However, now I decided to try NFS. First I installed NFS, then I used mcc and the Manage NFS Shares. This actually works better than FTP, as it passes the downloading hdlist.cz problem I had with FTP.

 

The problem is, that NFS is extremely slow. To start running the GUI installer took ages to download from the machine and run it. Is there anything I can do to speed up NFS? This is the contents of my /etc/exports file:

 

cat /etc/exports
# generated by drakhosts.pl
/home/nfs/mandriva *(no_all_squash,async,secure,ro)

 

The install is going to take ages otherwise, and I'd really like to resolve the speed issue so that I can get the network install running. The speed issue never existed with FTP, it's just that it never was able to continue through the installation for some reason. And my internet link is only 256kbps, so to download and install using external FTP's, isn't a solution.

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I'm kind of presuming this might be a feature of NFS.

 

I had a rough idea that it was trying to read data at about 1mbps or thereabouts. My internet link is 256kbps so completely unusable for what I was trying to achieve for a network install.

 

As it happens, I'm now downloading CD ISO images for the machine I have without a DVD-ROM drive, which will get me around this little problem. Is a shame really, since I'd have preferred this method over NFS or FTP at least. Just wouldn't work.

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:D

 

True yes, but I really couldn't be bothered with this, too much hassle :P

 

I thought I'd try and learn more and try a few other methods. I have the downloads now, since I downloaded at work, much faster link. So I'll just drop on my removable HDD and take back home, burn and away we go :beer:

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:D

 

True yes, but I really couldn't be bothered with this, too much hassle :P

 

I thought I'd try and learn more and try a few other methods.  I have the downloads now, since I downloaded at work, much faster link.  So I'll just drop on my removable HDD and take back home, burn and away we go :beer:

Erm I get 12MB/sec across a 12.5MB/sec (100Mb/sec) NW...

 

I have used it across GB network in the past without any problem of speed restriction via NFS ..

 

Of course I have no idea how MCC sets it up... I doubt it does it very well ...

 

I just add this to the /etc/exports

 

/mnt/media1 192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0(rw,async,all_squash)

/mnt/media2 192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0(rw,async,all_squash)

/mnt/250 192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0(rw,async,all_squash)

/mnt/hdb1 192.168.1.0/255/255/255/0(rw,async,all_squash)

 

(You can add a no_atime option to stop it writing access times to the disks if you prefer which can help if you are readoing lots of small files)

 

Then

 

mount 192.168.1.2/media1 /mnt/media1 -t nfs -o no_atime

 

Where my network is in the subnet 192.168.1.x and the server is 192.168.1.2

 

exportfs should show exports and options

exportfs -ra should reread and reexport the /exports

 

you should have portmap running and whatever mandriva call the nfs server on the server and nfs client of the client whihc is native in the install.

 

Note there is a kernel space based server and a usermode one it may be mandrake are using the usermode one... either way Id set this up by hand to be sure what its doing exspecially if you are finding it painfully slow.

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OK, this is my /etc/exports file:

 

cat /etc/exports
# generated by drakhosts.pl
/home/nfs/mandriva *(no_all_squash,async,secure,ro)

 

so, do I just add no_atime option so it appears like this?

 

cat /etc/exports
# generated by drakhosts.pl
/home/nfs/mandriva *(no_all_squash,async,no_atime,secure,ro)

 

I'm using reiserfs as my file system, which is where the /home/nfs/mandriva is located.

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no-atime is specified in the mount options ...

 

However i would probably look at other options earlier. This shouldn't make a huge difference anyway and for read-only shouldn't matter1

Your performance isnt a little bit off it is offscale bad so it would appear to be something else.

 

As you know I am not a fan of the MCC and this is why I stopped using Mandr####

I remember having problems because of some security stuff mandr-can't-actually-develop-for-peanuts added and as usual forgot to document ...

 

My experience is mandriva rarely tests things like NFS and pushes stuff like Samba instead.. but using the MCC triggers a whole set of undocumented half assed attempts at various stuff.

 

I had to use NFS mounts for installing the 9.1 64 bit edition which hung on install (no surprise there) but it worked fine from whatever distro i used to host it.

 

I would say the chances are the MCC misconfigures NFS or invokes some undocumented security stuff which is blocking it.

 

You can also try a http install.... btw... just mount the CD using loop and link to /var/www/install or something...

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OK, I'll get http installed, and give that a go. FTP was fast, but failed with the hdlists download to the machine, and the machine lost it's ftp connection. Maybe http will work better. NFS certainly didn't. I've been editing the /etc/exports file manually. And I then enabled the following services:

 

netfs

nfs

nfslock

portmap

 

as I know these are related to nfs. But still didn't help. Initially I thought it was because netfs wasn't enabled, as I had originally forgot this one. But it wasn't the case.

 

I do have the CD images now, so I could toy with http just for the fun of it, and if no go, then use the iso's after that.

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