NAS slow and clunky

[copenhagen69]

I have the Netgear ReadyNAS 104 and am less than impressed with it. It is my first NAS setup so I do not know what to expect with something like this, but I would assume it could be lots better.

Accessing the drive takes about 20 seconds to open a folder
Drag and dropping files inside takes another 20-30 seconds
If I try to drag and drop multiple files in multiple folders it kicks me out of the folder and put me back on the main menu
Loading images that are in the folder takes minutes to show like 5-6 rows of pictures about 15 wide. Pics avg about 1MB

This happens whether I am in local network or across the world like I am now. The speed seems about the same in Thailand as it is when I home in Texas.

I am curious if I should be expecting better than this? Would a QNAP or Synology fix this issue? Am I asking too much from this system? I am not expecting the snappy feedback like a computer when drag and dropping or opening a folder, but this is driving me crazy

 

[ne6togadno]

what hhd drives you've put in it.
http://www.trustedreviews.com/netgear-readynas-104-review-performance-value-and-verdict-page-2
it isnt fastest nas on the market but shouldnt be that bad.

 

[copenhagen69]

right now I am running 4x3TB Toshiba PH3300U

I was going with WD Reds, but I figured the price and speed was not worth the extra $$ since they are almost equal

 

[ne6togadno]

7200 drives shouldnt perform so bad.
check smart data of drives and temps of nas. if it is too hot it may underperform.
other thing is to dig deep into nas options and see if there is something that cause slowdowns. what kind of raid you have setup

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, @copenhagen69

I think it might be a good idea to start the troubleshooting by testing the HDDs in your NAS using their brand-specific diagnostic tool or their status through the NAS dashboard interface.
How big are the files you are dragging/dropping? Usually transferring a large amount of small files or copying GB-large files could significantly slow the transfer speed.
I'd also suggest you to check the Network status of the NAS and make sure it shows 1000 Mbps. It could also be your Ethernet adapter, their speeds vary depending on the quality and line issues.
If possible, you could also try using a Gigabit Ethernet Switch to improve the transfer rate within the whole local network (including your computers).

Keep us posted.
SuperSoph_WD

 

[copenhagen69]

7200 drives shouldnt perform so bad.
check smart data of drives and temps of nas. if it is too hot it may underperform.
other thing is to dig deep into nas options and see if there is something that cause slowdowns. what kind of raid you have setup

Drives are in the low 40C
Yes, I am hoping it is some stupid check box or something that I miss. I have looked a couple times, but I am not a fan of Netgears interface when it comes to the admin side.

Hey there, @copenhagen69

I think it might be a good idea to start the troubleshooting by testing the HDDs in your NAS using their brand-specific diagnostic tool or their status through the NAS dashboard interface.
How big are the files you are dragging/dropping? Usually transferring a large amount of small files or copying GB-large files could significantly slow the transfer speed.
I'd also suggest you to check the Network status of the NAS and make sure it shows 1000 Mbps. It could also be your Ethernet adapter, their speeds vary depending on the quality and line issues.
If possible, you could also try using a Gigabit Ethernet Switch to improve the transfer rate within the whole local network (including your computers).

Keep us posted.
SuperSoph_WD

Thanks SS! I will grab their diagnostic tool and see how that goes.
Files at the moment are pictures ranging from 100KB to 2MB ... I am dragging and dropping maybe 10-15MB at most each time because I am separating the pics into folders. Nothing anywhere close to GB size transfers.
I will take a look and see what the speeds are for the NAS and see if something happened there with that.

 

[ne6togadno]

Drives are in the low 40C
Yes, I am hoping it is some stupid check box or something that I miss. I have looked a couple times, but I am not a fan of Netgears interface when it comes to the admin side.




Thanks SS! I will grab their diagnostic tool and see how that goes.
Files at the moment are pictures ranging from 100KB to 2MB ... I am dragging and dropping maybe 10-15MB at most each time because I am separating the pics into folders. Nothing anywhere close to GB size transfers.
I will take a look and see what the speeds are for the NAS and see if something happened there with that.

check also cpu temps not drives only. nases typicaly use SoC cpus with passive cooling or some times even w/o cooling and have only 1-2 small fans on case.
make sure that mb, cpu and ram arent full with dust and their temps are within the limits.
also not the size of the data but the number of files is what cause slowdowns. if you are copying 1 20gb avi file nas will perform faster then if you are copying 2000 10kb files.
try test it with 1-2 big size files and see how it will perform

 

[Mussels]

Drives are in the low 40C
Yes, I am hoping it is some stupid check box or something that I miss. I have looked a couple times, but I am not a fan of Netgears interface when it comes to the admin side.




Thanks SS! I will grab their diagnostic tool and see how that goes.
Files at the moment are pictures ranging from 100KB to 2MB ... I am dragging and dropping maybe 10-15MB at most each time because I am separating the pics into folders. Nothing anywhere close to GB size transfers.
I will take a look and see what the speeds are for the NAS and see if something happened there with that.

since you said pics - small files will ALWAYS be slower for these transfers. try with larger files and see if performance improves.

 

[newtekie1]

I'll tell you right now, you aren't going to be able to fix this from halfway around the world. In fact, the performance will likely always be absolute shit from anywhere outside your local network. Any time you open a file it relies on the upload speed of your home's internet connection, as well as every link between your home and you. When you open a folder full of pictures, your computer has to look at every picture to generate a thumbnail, so it is going to take forever over the internet. Same thing with saving files to the NAS, that is going to rely on the upload speed of the internet connection wherever you are, as well as every link between you and your home. Since you are going over and ocean, the speed isn't going to be that great, and most internet connections(at least in the US) have really crappy upload speeds.

Also, that NAS is very underpowered. The CPU is a single-core 1.2GHz, it just really isn't up to the task of handling data transfers. The NAS is more designed as an archive, not something that is accesses frequently. It is meant for you to drop your files on it and store them for safe keeping.

As for ways to fix the issue, I would drop the NAS idea completely. I've never liked them, they are slow and limited. Just put together an actual file server, and use FTP to access the files over the internet and network shares to access the files on your local network.

 

[Mussels]

i actually didn't notice he was using the NAS remotely and was thinking local file transfer. woops.


yeah long distance NAS use is not going to be great - you should use some form of cloud storage for that, and then download from the cloud to the NAS later.

 

[copenhagen69]

since you said pics - small files will ALWAYS be slower for these transfers. try with larger files and see if performance improves.

True, but I am not talking thousands ... maybe 10-20 at a time

I'll tell you right now, you aren't going to be able to fix this from halfway around the world. In fact, the performance will likely always be absolute shit from anywhere outside your local network. Any time you open a file it relies on the upload speed of your home's internet connection, as well as every link between your home and you. When you open a folder full of pictures, your computer has to look at every picture to generate a thumbnail, so it is going to take forever over the internet. Same thing with saving files to the NAS, that is going to rely on the upload speed of the internet connection wherever you are, as well as every link between you and your home. Since you are going over and ocean, the speed isn't going to be that great, and most internet connections(at least in the US) have really crappy upload speeds.

Also, that NAS is very underpowered. The CPU is a single-core 1.2GHz, it just really isn't up to the task of handling data transfers. The NAS is more designed as an archive, not something that is accesses frequently. It is meant for you to drop your files on it and store them for safe keeping.

As for ways to fix the issue, I would drop the NAS idea completely. I've never liked them, they are slow and limited. Just put together an actual file server, and use FTP to access the files over the internet and network shares to access the files on your local network.

Well, it is slow and clunky at home as well. I have not notice much slower speeds being in Thailand, it is pretty close to what I am used to at home. Uploads and Downloads from the machine are quick and fast, but loading folders and files inside is slow while it generates the thumbnail. Does it not cache it somewhere to help speed up the load? At the moment I do not access a lot, I do use it for just storage. The issue is when I upload my files and want to separate them into the appropriate folder is where I run into this and it takes a long time!

A file server huh? I was hoping to stay away from a bulky build since my home office is small. Is there a good article on home files servers that doesnt take up much room? I have not found anything too good that will hold the amount of drives I am looking for. So if you do know of something I would appreciate it!

i actually didn't notice he was using the NAS remotely and was thinking local file transfer. woops.


yeah long distance NAS use is not going to be great - you should use some form of cloud storage for that, and then download from the cloud to the NAS later.

Speed is about the same whether I am here or at home

 

[brandonwh64]

We have a Netgear readynas our previous IS admin purchased and its absolute junk! I built a NAS out of a spare PC we had in the office with a LSI RAID card that performs WAY better than the netgear did but we have moved on to 2x 45 Drive Storanator as well as a 60 drive Storanator and all are linked 10GBs in our network ring.

 

[Mussels]

maybe its the RAID setup you have? if its software RAID, it would explain the slowness. can you drop to a single drive for testing?