I recently purchased a new nas (Synology Ds712+) in order to improve my nas performance. I have tested the nas and get read and write speeds of 100MB/sec plus.
When doing file transfers from my pc to the nas using opus I noticed speeds of only 35MB/S read and 41MB/S write using a 25GB file. I then tested the same way including the same files using Windows Explorer and have read speeds of 80MB/S and write speeds of 80MB/S. I can't figure out why this happens and wouldn't have noticed this before with my old NAS as it was very slow. Do you have any ideas as to why this would be or any settings that I could change? Any help you can provide would be appreciated. Also, I am using Windows 8 but I have performed the same tests using a computer with Windows 7 with the same results.
Make sure the NAS has the latest firmware installed on it (and latest PC-side software if it uses that as well). We've seen several problems with similar NAS devices that were fixed by firmware updates.
It's also worth experimenting with the copy_buffer_size and copy_nonbufferio_threshold settings under Preferences / Miscellaneous / Advanced in case different settings work better with the NAS, network drivers, etc. Sometimes that can have a big effect. Try increasing the copy buffer size to, say, 1MB, as a first try.
You are a genius. That worked perfectly and solved the problem. Now the reads and writes are in the area of 80MB/S. Thank you very much. I really like Opus (have for a very long time) and hated to thing that I would have to resort back to Windows Explorer.
I think that I spoke too soon. The writes are about 80MB/S but the reads are about 45MB/S. In any case the results are drastically improved. I tried various settings for the copy_buffer_size and 1MB seems to be optimum. Any other suggestions would be appreciated but I am already elated with the results.
Just to answer your question regarding firmware and software updates, I do have the latest installed. This unit is advertised to get transfer rates 100MB/S and greater and I have seen it many times, test after test. The final buffer size that I found to be the best seemed to be 1MB/S I also tried the copy_nunbufferio_threshold setting and that didn't seem to have much effect.
I have done further research on explorer alternatives as I need the rated speed on my nas. I updated to another software and now I get 100MB/S read and write speeds. I have been with Opus a long time and hate to abandon it but I need the good speeds for the NAS that I have invested so much money in.
Without access to your exact setup (hardware, drivers, antivirus, etc.) there's not much we can realistically do to work out why they are processing data slower when it comes from Opus.
You are correct as to how the other programs are doing the copy function. It is using Windows Explorer to do it. Now that I have the button setup as you suggested the speeds both read and write are now the same as Windows Explorer. Is there any hope to identify the issue within Opus as the button works as you have suggested but it is not as nice as the drag and drop functions from within Opus. I understand where you are coming from and most people probably never see this problem as this is a very fast NAS and it shows up as a problem very easily. I sure would like to understand and hopefully get the problem fixed. I could provide you anything you wish if you have the time.
I did a lot of tests today and the alternate program copies files to and from the NAS at about 90MB/S. Directory Opus writes to the NAS at the same speed as Explorer or the alternate program. This change came about from the info you gave me on set the buffers to 1MB. So that makes writes to the NAS a non-issue. However the reads from the NAS are about 45MB/S using Opus whereas Explorer or the alternate program transfer at about 90MB/S. I don't know if that helps you or not but I have a lot more information now than I had. Now, if there was just something to change for the reads. Any ideas?
The same buffer size options as before are the only things that might change things, whether reading or writing, outside of external factors (antivirus, etc.).
I did some more testing on the buffer sizes and found that the optimum setting for the copy buffer size was 500KB (about 10% improvement over 1MB). I haven't found any settings that significantly affect the read speeds but did set the copy_nonbufferio_threshold at 0 was an improvement of about 10%on the reads (speeds now at about 45MB/S on the reads). Explorer gets about 95MB/S read and 105MB/S write.
Dear Leo:
Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate all the effort that you have provided to help me. The two changes that you gave me a workaround to the problem. Directory Opus is definitely the number one Explorer replacement. Many thanks again
With respect, jumbo frames is a bit of an odd suggestion to arbitrarily suggest... Enabling jumbo frames only accomplishes anything if every point between two devices is enabled for larger MTU. That means the network interfaces on each device (both the client PC "and" the server/NAS) as well as every "switch port" in between the devices. It won't do anything when changed on only one point/device in the data path...
Playing with JF was just a suggest which could speed up transfer (because I have better transfer rates with my sÿn) and it was not related to his problem directly. With respect, too, I do no need an explaination how JF works, but thanks anyway. I also assume that he uses GBitLan and Syn is fast enough to handle larger values.
Sorry - didn't mean to sound like I was "preaching" or anything... fact remains though that enabling jumbo frames on a PC without both the NAS and switch ports "also" being set for jumbo frames won't change the transfer size by even a single byte worth of data, even if he has a 10gbE LAN and an enterprise NAS array.
I think if bigger JF really would speed up under all circumstances this would be the standard value instead of an option . It was just an idea as I read this thread, maybe a bit offtopic.
I appreciate all the positive comments and ideas supplied. However, I do have all the proper hardware to do jumbo frames, switch, network card, etc. to accomplish the task and have tried that with mixed results. I even bought a new switch that handles jumbo frames and link aggregation. None of them solved the problem and provided little, if any, benefit. I believe that there is a problem within the drag and drop copy function within Opus that is causing the problem as I have been able to use either Windows copy function for full speed or the fix provided by Leo. I do hope that the software people will look into this as this really shouldn't happen. Opus is the BEST Explorer replacement on the market. This problem probably isn't visible to most users unless they have a really fast NAS like I do. Most people are use to slow copies on the network. I use to get about 20MB/S on my old NAS and this one does 100MB/S plus so it really shows up. I paid a lot of money to get here and must use that advantage. Right now I have two band aids to do it so can live with that for now. There is a second issue that COULD be part of the problem (doubtful) and that is that I am using Windows 8 Enterprise RTM. This is a fully completed version of Windows 8 so no betas or prelims here. Again, thanks for all the input. I do appreciate it. Any other ideas would be gratefully received.
Window 8 should not be the problem (I use is also, but Pro, w/o any issues), rather its faster!
To be honest I just my NAS now only for video-security and as personal cloud - doing backup to USB 3.0 HDD is a bit faster and there's not too much around (boot-time, sys-crash, internet-security, and so on).
. It was just an idea as I read this thread, maybe a bit offtopic.