GS108E Gigabit Actual Network Speed

[Netgearer]

Hi all,

I realise this one depends largely on individual network setup and components but I'd still like to ask your advice here:

I have just switched (what's in a name) from a non-brand 10/100 switch to a Netgear GS108E v2 switch, expecting considerably higher transfer speeds.

On the 10/100 I had about 65-70 Mbps (8.xx MB/s) but now on the Gigabit connection, although a bit higher, I only have about 100-110 Mbps (12-13 MB/s). That is disappointing to me.

There is also another Netgear switch in the connection, I go from computer -> GS608 FS -> GS108E v2 ->device (Popcorn Hour A-300, Gigabit).

Anyone any ideas?

Thanks!
Hans

[Netgearer]

Adding to my post: my network is Cat 5E, router is Netgear WNDR3700v1. I have set the GS108E to dynamic IP but have already tried allocating a set IP. Doesn't make any difference. Are there any settings on this switch or on the Realtek network adapter that may be linked to this?

Thx
Hans

[StephenB]

Are you measuring the speed on the A300? There's a post on the PCH forum (http://www.networkedmediatank.com/ar...tml)suggesting that it's CPU maxes out around 15-20 MB/s.

Just got my A300 and after a stuttering start, reboot of switches and router seemed to fix that, I'm getting 17MB/s via SMB. On the 200 I get around 11MB/s. I'm expecting more and will keep trying.

If you have another gigabit PC or Laptop, try hooking that up to the GS108. jperf is a good tool for measuring link speed.

Though the speed you are seeing is more than fast enough for BluRay.

[Hans_18T]

Speed, Highly depend on the HW of the computer, I also use the GS108E. Inside the various PC's I do however use the same PCI card. For reference I used my NAS. Samba is twice as slow as FTP. My quad core has an average throughput of about 700 Mbit/s (FTP) whereas an Pentium 4 pushes something like half. Laptops are really dissapointing and look similar to the numbers you see.

[Netgearer]

Ok, I've done some more testing. First of all, my computer should not offer that much of a bottleneck (new setup, cpu 2600k), maybe the Realtek Gb chip on the MSI GD65 is (specific settings?)? Also, I'm not so much looking to stream video over the line but when putting video on the A-300, I like it to be swift and with a Gigabit connection I do expect this to be considerably faster than 10/100 (which it isn't really).

Anyway, moving files with Windows Explorer Win7 (moving them to the A-300's share) gets me the fairly low transfer speeds (about 12 to 13 MB/s = 100 to 110 Mbit/s).

I have now also tried this with FileZilla FTP. Gets me an improvement: 20 to 21 MB/s.

Is this the speed I should expect and be happy with?

Thx
Hans

[Netgearer]

Old: FTP...I have now also tried this with FileZilla FTP. Gets me an improvement: 20 to 21 MB/s.

New: Make that somewhere between 16 and 21 MB/s...going up and down...seems to be very inconsistent.

Originally Posted by Netgearer

Ok, I've done some more testing. First of all, my computer should not offer that much of a bottleneck (new setup, cpu 2600k), maybe the Realtek Gb chip on the MSI GD65 is (specific settings?)? Also, I'm not so much looking to stream video over the line but when putting video on the A-300, I like it to be swift and with a Gigabit connection I do expect this to be considerably faster than 10/100 (which it isn't really).

Anyway, moving files with Windows Explorer Win7 (moving them to the A-300's share) gets me the fairly low transfer speeds (about 12 to 13 MB/s = 100 to 110 Mbit/s).

I have now also tried this with FileZilla FTP. Gets me an improvement: 20 to 21 MB/s.

Is this the speed I should expect and be happy with?

Thx
Hans

[StephenB]

Originally Posted by Netgearer

Ok, I've done some more testing. First of all, my computer should not offer that much of a bottleneck (new setup, cpu 2600k), maybe the Realtek Gb chip on the MSI GD65 is (specific settings?)? Also, I'm not so much looking to stream video over the line but when putting video on the A-300, I like it to be swift and with a Gigabit connection I do expect this to be considerably faster than 10/100 (which it isn't really).

Anyway, moving files with Windows Explorer Win7 (moving them to the A-300's share) gets me the fairly low transfer speeds (about 12 to 13 MB/s = 100 to 110 Mbit/s).

I have now also tried this with FileZilla FTP. Gets me an improvement: 20 to 21 MB/s.

Is this the speed I should expect and be happy with?

Thx
Hans

I don't have an A300, but this might be as fast as it happens to get. At least the postings at http://www.networkedmediatank.com/ say your numbers are in the ballpark of what other folks are seeing. It is more than fast enough for BluRay (which shouldn't exceed 54 mbits, so anything over 70 mbits has reasonable headroom).

Anyway, on the realtek, look at the advanced settings under device manager (not control panel)

(1) make sure jumbo frames are OFF because the A300 doesn't support them.
(2) If there is a setting for flow control, make sure it is on. (might be labeled as 802.3x, or pause frames).
(3) turn interrupt moderation off.
(4) Disable all the "offload" settings.

If the speed is still less than 15 MB/s for CIFS, you might try turning off the firewall on the PC (assuming it is on), and see if that is slowing things down.

Beyond that, it is hard to see how further fiddling with settings on the PC will help much. Though you could experiment by turning on interrupt moderation and the offload settings one at a time, and see if they help anything.

[Netgearer]

Thanks Stephen, speed is definitely up now.

I've applied the settings that you suggested for the Realtek chip. No flow control that I could find though.

Still, I'm back to 21.7 MB/s transferring a big file by TCP (1 min average).

Should be ok for now I guess.

Hans

[Netgearer]

TCP = FTP

[dragonstar]

The hard drive in your computer/other network device may not be fast enough to push more than that. ive tested with 2 ram disks one in 2 different computers and can hit 90+MB/s but averages about 60-70MB/s depending on load but when i use my hard drives my one computer can't handle writing more than 20MB/s