Slow data transfer on DS1812+

[hedcase]

After this latest update my network speeds are much more inconsistent. I used to get 50/60mbs and now I get 3/40mbs. Anyone else getting this behavior?

Also, is there a way to roll back to a previous DSM version?

[dodge]

Yes, I'm getting this behavior too after update. The transfer speed is jumping much more up and down than before.
I don't know how to roll back though.

[Ettepet]

I'm also on the latest firmware, and even though speeds can reach 100MB/s for a while it mostly drops to (and remains at!) 10MB/s. Somewhere in the chain something switches to a very consistent 100Mb connection in stead of 1Gb connection, at least in my setup.

Update:

Solved it by removing the few applications I had installed in my DS1812+ (SABnbz, Python, Virus scanner). I also disabled the Webserver and rebooted the NAS. Now steady again at 80-110MB/s.

[sifuhall]

I recently purchased a DS 1812+ and was very excited to finally get it.

However, my transfer speeds have been so slow it is unusable.

When transfering files I typically am get about 5mg/sec or less on larger files.

My specs:

• My DSM is version 4.0.2228.
• I am running 4 x Seagate ST3000DM001-9yN1 3tb in RAID 10.
• I have a Zyxel GS1510-16 switch.
• I am connecting to a Dell 2950 that has a 2 port Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme II BCM5708 NIC built in.

Troubleshooting steps taken:

• I have removed the 2gb expansion memory chip from my DS1812+ (that I bought at the same time) so now I am running the default 1gb.
• I have replaced all network cables with new cat6 cables.
• I have disabled all nic teaming and link aggregation as well.

Here is an example of copying a 5gb file:


What could be going wrong?

[Ettepet]

Did you have the problem from the get go? Mine worked fine for a while, but recently would stay mostly at a steady 10MB/s on my gigabit setup. Resetting my router etc. didn't help, but removing the few apps I had installed on my DS1812+ gave me back very dependable 80MB/s - 110MB/s speeds.

I would try a very basic setup first and move from there.

[sifuhall]

Thanks for the reply.

I plugged the DS1812+ directly to my computer and am able to transfer consistently at 95 megabytes - 105 megabytes per second.

I know the issue must be with my switch or somewhere else in the network.

I'll continue to troubleshoot.

[kneighbour]

IPv6 is set to "AUTO" by default in DS1812+
I tried to disable IPv6 then I found no help at all for improving data transfer speed.
When copying large files, the average speed still goes around 80MB/s
I gotta admit that I'm extremely disappointed in those numbers because the over 100MB/s (advertised speeds) was the only reason I bought DS1812+ in the first place.

Same here. I am VERY disappointed in the DS1812+. I would be fairly happy with 80MB/s. In actual fact I am getting around 10-15MB/s transferring TV shows and movies. ie 300M-700meg files. Truly awful.

[kneighbour]

Still only getting 100-120 MB/s though :/

Wow!! only.... I am getting 10-15MB/s. I constantly consider returning the damn thing for a refund. Ah well, will try for a bit longer to see what is wrong.

[Ashkaan]

Still only getting 100-120 MB/s though :/

Wow!! only.... I am getting 10-15MB/s. I constantly consider returning the damn thing for a refund. Ah well, will try for a bit longer to see what is wrong.

Time isn't going to help you.

Start switching out components until you get my speeds or faster.

Try plugging a laptop straight into the NAS. Then, the both of them into a gigabit switch with nothing else attached to any component. Move up from there until you find the problem.

[kneighbour]

Start switching out components until you get my speeds or faster.

Try plugging a laptop straight into the NAS. Then, the both of them into a gigabit switch with nothing else attached to any component. Move up from there until you find the problem.

Yep, good ideas. Will do. I have already removed all the packages except the Virus scanner. Turned off IPV6 also.

[kneighbour]

It took a few hours of my life that I will never get back, but I looked a bit more at the terrible speeds my DS1812 is giving me. I usually average around 10-15 MB/s.

I disabled Link aggregation. I disabled what services I could. RAM usage is 10% and CPU usage 1% (or less). I copied a few movies to my local HDD on my I7 machine. All the network is gigabit network cards.

I connected the NAS directly to my main PC. I got transfer rates that started off at 35MB/s, which dropped back to 25MB/s. This is as shown on the Diskstation network monitoring screen, and as shown from my host machine (the copy software tells me the average speed).

I tried different cables. I tried going through a cheap DLink switch. All the same speed.

I used the same file each time (an 800 meg movie file).

My host machine is an I7 920, with 12 gigs RAM, on a P6T motherboard. All top of the line, supposedly very fast stuff. The network cards are on the motherboard, and are Marvell Yukon 88E8056 gigabyte cards. I use Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit as the OS. I have only one drive (at present) in the NAS - a Western Digital 1TB Caviar green drive (WD10EACS). This is in SHR mode, ext4 format. Not a fast drive, I am guessing, but this is just for testing purposes.

At this rate, the unit is going to be returned. It is totally hopeless - I get faster transfer rates to a USB stick.

[kneighbour]

It took a few hours of my life that I will never get back

It took me several hours as the damn DS1812 is so hard to 'find'. Connecting the thing to my main computer directly only took a few minutes. As did doing the speed tests. But when I reconnected it back to the main switch, the thing would not connect. It did the same exact thing when I first installed the machine out of the box. That took several hours as well. Not to install drives, etc. Just to get the thing 'seen' by the system.

The problem is the server does not show up in the Synology Assistant (nor anywhere else). At one point, it appeared in the Network list, but then I could not connect to it. Mind you - this is the exact same configuration as it was 15 minutes prior. I had not touched the DS1812 configuration, just moved cables around. So then I spent an hour or so rebooting, swapping network cables, using one port, then two ports, etc. Eventually, it just appeared, and it is all working again. At one point, the stupid thing changed one LAN card to DHCP and moved the IP address (well, it is DHCP). I have both LAN cards set to fixed IP address. Why would it switch all by itself?

Honestly, I think the Synology connection software/drivers are flakey. There could be a hardware problem there, I guess.

In comparison - my two Dlink NAS units have ALWAYS worked (they are $130 each). Never a configuration problem. They are ALWAYS listed in my Network, and the mapped drives ALWAYS work. Never a connection problem. Mind you, they are slow - around 10-15MB/s. This just happens to be the speed of my new, high speed, $1000+ Synology DS1812, so go figure. This Synology unit is awful by comparision.

[kneighbour]

Here is a funny thing.... I am still trying to work out why the DS1812 is slow - or rather, why transfers to it are slow. I am still rebuilding one disk, so I am not up to full speed yet.

But I have discovered one thing. I am copying across movies and shows from several other drives. Maximum transfer rates so far have been what I said earlier - around 10-15 MB/s.
The thing is, I can do 4 or 5 transfers at the same time. Each one is around 10MB/s. But they all add up to around 60MB/s at the NAS. In fact, the DSM is reporting around 50-60MB/s. Still not brilliant, but I can live with that sort of rate. So it looks like the NAS is not the bottleneck.

The question is - why? I am doing transfers from 4 different hard drives - so it is probably not the individual drive read speeds. This is all one one computer though - but it is (supposedly) a fast I7 920, 12 gigs RAM, running Windows 7 x64.

Any ideas?

[Ettepet]

I currently have no idea what is keeping your transfer rates as low as they are, but I do know why you get a bad connection after switching your network cables.

You can switch from one network port on the DS1812+ to another without problems, but if you connect anything to port 2 then port 1 will mostly disappear and stop working (port 2 stays working fine though). Apparently the only way to use both ports is through link aggregation, so either do that or keep using the same port. I would use a HP switch for link aggregation because they seem the most compatible (search the forum).

As for your poor transfer rates, I would use a different pc/laptop and if all else fails a direct connection using static IP-addresses to rule out any weak link in the chain. My speed problems were over after I discovered the various reasons my speed kept dropping. I still don't know why some package(s) kept my speed down to 100Mb/s though.

On a side note:

I since bought a DS3612xs + DX1211 and haven't been using the DS1812+ after that. Will do so soon. Hope to connect both devices through straight link aggregation. Have already transferred all data from the DS1812+ (with over 400MB/s !! ..many small files) by placing its drives into the DS3612xs and dumping all data into the DX1211 expansion unit. One of the reasons I bought the DS3612xs is its ability to go way beyond the ludicrously slow 100MB/s of Gigabit ethernet when you compare it to 15+TB storage facilities. I hope you reach these "ludicrously" slow speeds soon..

[kneighbour]

You can switch from one network port on the DS1812+ to another without problems, but if you connect anything to port 2 then port 1 will mostly disappear and stop working (port 2 stays working fine though). Apparently the only way to use both ports is through link aggregation, so either do that or keep using the same port. I would use a HP switch for link aggregation because they seem the most compatible (search the forum).

I still have not worked this one out. At the moment, both ports are working fine, so I am not touching anything. I have tried trunking, but if anything, that made it slower. I do connect through a HP switch, and as you suggest, it was painless to setup. But speeds were certainly not faster.

I note now though that the ports switch randomly. I can do a few transfers - and they might all be on LAN2. Then I can look some time later, and they will all be on LAN1. I don't know how it works out which LAN to use. It would be great if it could use both LANs at the same time, but that does not seem possible (unless you use trunking).

The only reason I stuff around with the ports is that twice now the unit has not been visible to the network. So I stuff around for about an hour each time - using one port, both ports, neither port, etc. Or first one port, then the other. Moving ports on the switch, changing cables, stand on one leg, etc. Then suddenly the unit appears, and then we are off and running. It seems to be that you should first boot the system with only one port enabled (Port 2 seems the best). Then once the system is up and running, and you have a drive initialised, plug in the other port. Then it seems to work just fine. I had to do this twice as I used an old test HDD first - just to see how it worked. Then I took that drive out and put in my real drives. Then I had to go through it all again. Really painful.