Topic: HELP - database speed issues from server !?

[Patrick Basile]

Hello everyone,

I need help!  I'm exeperiencing extreme speed issues when running my ACT! 2000 pim software with an ACT! (.dbf) database that is sitting on my SME5 server.  I have tested this by placing the database on my local PC, and it works great - no speed issues.  As soon as I place it in my 'efc' i-bay...it takes forever to open/use the database.

I have seen a few other posts about modifying the oplocks entry in the smb.conf file, and the ACT! support site said to set the following on a Samba server:

fakeoplocks = no
oplocks = no
level 2 oplocks = no

I made these changes in the '11oplocks' file in /etc/e-smith/templates/etc/smb.conf.  Is this the correct spot to make such a change?

Also, I set the 'strict file locking' to no in the '10global' file, in hopes that this was the issue.

I expanded the smb.conf file and restarted samba, BUT nothing has changed!?    What am I missing here?  I HAVE to get this database up on the SME5 server.

Any and all help is welcome...please.

Regards,
Patrick

[Patrick Basile]

Are there any database/SAMBA gurus out there running into this problem?  I'd love to hear from you, one way or the other.  Thanks a lot.

Regards,
Patrick

[Laurence Griffiths]

I think that I have a similar problem with a database application. Everything works OK off the workstation's own drive or when the server is a Windows NT4 server. But use a SME5 server and everything slows to an absolute crawl.

One of our local Linux gurus suggested that I might try to upgrade Samba to 2.2 and this I did by making use of Darryl May's excellent howto. There was no improvement!

One crazy thing that I have noticed is that the problem only occurs when the workstations are running Windows NT4 or Windows 2000 Professional, but NOT when they are running Windows 98 SE.

[Laurence Griffiths]

I have tried out our database application making use of an E-Smith 4.1.2 server. It works perfectly. - So it looks as if this problem is SME V5 related.

Should I report this as a bug?

[Patrick Basile]

Laurence,

I don't know if this is a bug, we'd probably need more responses from others running databases off of e-smith/SME servers.

Are both your SME5 and e-smith 4.1.2 servers running the upgraded Samba 2.2.1a?

Thanks for posting your thoughts/information here, as I am still trying to figure out why my ACT! database crawls on an SME5 server.

More responses on this topic from the rest of you would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

Regards,
Patrick

[Laurence Griffiths]

Patrick,

Only one of our SME V5 servers is running Samba 2.2.1a. The rest (including the E-Smith 4.1.2) are all absolutely standard and running Samba 2.0.x.

The server that is running Samba 2.2.1a is the one that I use for checking compatibility issues.

I hope that we can come up with a solution to this but, if not, I at least know that I can revert to E-Smith 4.1.2.

Regards

Laurence Griffiths

[Mark]

The following is my setup of ACT and E-Smith.

ACT 2000 db - 3.2MB

ESSG 4.1.2 - standard install, with a partial Hylafax installation

Win98SE client

The above works fine.  I can't really tell the difference whether the db is on the client machine or the server.

Good luck,
Mark

[Patrick Basile]

Laurence/Mark,

On any of your servers - have you modified your Samba configuration (smb.conf) file to adjust any of the settings relating to file locking or oplocks?

Regards,
Patrick

[Mark]

The only changes, at all, on my system were the result of my attempt to install Hylafax.  To the best of my knowledge, the Hylafax install made no changes to any of the "oplock" settings.

[Laurence Griffiths]

The only change that I have made to smb.conf is one to enable a guest user for any attached printers. Nothing further!

[Patrick Basile]

Hey everybody,

Here's my update:

I just installed ESSG 4.1.2 on a different machine.  I didn't make any changes to the server, except for switching the workgroup to reflect my current client settings, and also created an 'efc' i-bay to place my ACT! database files.  I copied over the database, and then mapped a drive from my Windows 2000 client PC to the 'efc' i-bay.  Then I launched ACT!, and viola - the database popped up in less than a second!?!

So, it works great in a 'Workgroup' setting on 4.1.2 without the Samba 2.2.1a upgrade.  Of course without the upgrade my server can't be the PDC for my Windows 2000 clients...which leaves me in a bind here.

I guess I'll go ahead and install 2.2.1a on this server and see if that causes the speed problems to re-appear.

Regards,
Patrick

[Laurence Griffiths]

Patrick,

That is exactly what happened when I tried using E-Smith 4.1.2. - Everything worked well. I wouldn't be at all surprised if your upgrade to Samba 2.2.1a doesn't cause any problems. Please let us know what happens.

Regards

Laurence Griffiths

[Patrick Basile]

Ok, here's the latest:

I upgraded my "test" ESSG 4.1.2 server to Samba 2.2.1a using the Darrel may instructions located here - http://myezserver.com/docs/mitel/samba-upgrade-howto.html.

The upgrade went fine, no problems.

BUT when I stopped and then restarted the SMB services....my speed issue did indeed return.  When I launched ACT! it took forever (like 2 minutes) to open the database!?!  So I guess there's a problem with 2.2.1a ?

I guess the only way to know for sure will be to remove 2.2.1a and go back to the 'original' version which came with ESSG 4.1.2.  I'll need some help with that process as I'm just learning Linux, but I'll give it a try.  I'm stumped by this problem.

Hope others see these posts and jump in and offer their two cents.  Mark and Laurence - thanks for your help here!

Regards,
Patrick

[Laurence Griffiths]

Patrick and Mark,

It looks like we have TWO problems. - One with Samba 2.2.1a and the other with SME V5. I originally noticed those speed problems with a totally unmodified SME V5.

Let's see what the rest can come up with.

Regards

Laurence Griffiths

[Craig Foster]

I'll pitch in with this one...

I see the same slowdown when looking at Z:\ or H:\ under 2k & XP running 2.2.1a over 100baseT switch full-duplex.

It pauses for up to a minute, but there is nothing in /var/log/samba/log.pc-craig, log.smb, or log.nmbd and nothing in /var/log/messages

Open My Documents (h:\My Documents) wait 20 sec.. OK finally done. Close and then re-open. 'nother 20 sec. Not sure what's happening.  I only started seeing this after I upgraded both Samba 2.2.1a & WinXP at the same time

Regards,

Craig Foster

[Morten U. Hansen]

I have recently installed the SME 5.5, which is great, but I really suffer from slow writes (copy/move) from Win2K Pro to the server shares. When I read (open folders and execute files) on the shares there is virtually no delay. This tells me that there is practically no network delay - right?

What might cause the write slowdown - and what should I be looking for?

I would really like to keep SME-Server 5.5 as I think that it is a neat and tidy package, with a great GUI. This is very convenient for me (my UNIX SysAdmin is a little rusty).

[Morten U. Hansen]

I have recently installed the SME 5.5, which is great, but I really suffer from slow writes (copy/move) from Win2K Pro to the server shares. When I read (open folders and execute files) on the shares there is virtually no delay. This tells me that there is practically no network delay - right?

What might cause the write slowdown - and what should I be looking for?

I would really like to keep SME-Server 5.5 as I think that it is a neat and tidy package, with a great GUI. This is very convenient for me (my UNIX SysAdmin is a little rusty).