Slow File Transfers between clients and Server 2003

deneb829

I have 2 Windows 2003 servers, one with R2 with SP2, and one with just SP2. The client computers are Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista Business. The problem is that file transfers initiated from the client to the server are really slow. A 4MB files takes 5 minutes and a 20MB file just locks up the client. File transfers from Server to server happen at normal speeds.

I have Replaced the MB on the server. Since it is happening from so many clients, I don't think it is hardware at the client level and since it happens on 2 different servers, I no longer think it is hardware on the server level at all.

On the server, I have disabled all 'extra' features on the network card - including the known netsh chimney issue that can cause problems like this. I have manually forced speed and duplex to 100mb full to match the switches on the client and the server. I have also moved the connection to different switches, and plugged the server directly in to 2 separate switches. I have updated all the NIC drivers on the machines involved.

Has anyone else run into file transfer speed problems with XP/Vista clients and Server 2003?

dynamik

Can you configure any settings on your switch ports? Mine lets me choose server, desktop, etc.

One of my machines was somehow configured to "other", and it slowed that desktop down to a crawl.

Also, you might want to capture some traffic from the servers in order to make someone isn't sucking up all the available bandwidth.

undomiel

Check your ipsec policies as well and see what the cpu usage is doing on the clients. There's a small chance it could be on the client side instead of the server side.

hypnotoad

Does it happen in XP SP2? Does SP3 have the differential file copy thing like vista tries to do (I'm not that familiar with SP3)...but my experience with file copying in general in vista has not been good.

If you boot up a linux live CD and or WinPE and try to copy a file, does it do the same thing? If it doesn't, you'd know it's not the NIC, the PC, the server's HDs, or the switching.

RussS

I have had occasion to find a failing controller card to slow down read/write access to SCSI disks by 50% or more. I have however had more issues with Vista machines causing network slowdowns or a bad port on a switch - usually a link port to the switch the servers are on.

My first question would be - what is overall network performance like?
nl has given you a great first thing to try. Depending on the size of the network if it is still slow I would try isolating off portions of the network to check it is nothing flooding.

deneb829

I don't think it is the disk, since I can get a normal speed file transfer to another W2K3 server. I don't think that it is the switch, since I have tried a few different switches. These are unmanaged switches, but I don't think network traffic is an issue since I can do a normal speed transfer from another server. I will try the boot to a live CD and see if that effects it.

Thanks to everybody!