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Severe Latency Issues

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by steve s.

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Problem: A WindowsNT 4 SP5 BDC (Compaq Proliant 6000 w/ 2 NICS for a total of 8 channels) server has a latency issue on downloads from the server to workstations. It also appears only to be happening with WindowsXP Pro. Example: To download a 1 MB file may take dozens of minutes. Also it takes the copy status bar window around 30 seconds to show. This is on a 100MBs full duplex low traffic network. But at times a file or folder will download properly, though it seems a little slow. We have other NT servers (and Win2K) with no problems.
We have already negated network switch and cable run as the problem by changing out with new equipment.
We have run out of ideas and really need this fixed; any and all suggestions are welcome.

14 replies

by maxwell edison

A couple of suggestions:

I've seen reference to a latency problem with XP Professional when (and yes, I know, it sounds crazy) the screen saver (on the XP machine) is activated.

Another thing to look at is to try to pin-point the exact lacation of the bottle-neck. Try to use traceroute to help you determine this.

See these articles on how to use traceroute to troubleshoot latency problems:

http://internetconnection.net/support/tech-network.shtml

http://www.sprintlink.net/faq/latency.html

REMOVE SPACES from the pasted URL.

by maxwell edison

>>> Troubleshooting latency problems <<<

Things that you can possibly remedy are:

Network configuration of the PC:
Poor latency can be caused by unnecessary network services or protocols being active in the PC (putting unnecessary traffic on the upstream), or by duplex mis-matches between the PC's ethernet interface and the cable modem's. See Network Configuration Tweaks for what you can do to minimise these effects.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/tweaks.html#cfg

(Network configuration Tweaks - too long to cut and paste - can be found about one-third down the Web page pasted above.)

Background applications in your PC putting traffic on the network without your knowledge. For instance, P2P applications can generate traffic even when they are just sitting in the system tray, and spyware might be totally invisible.

Cable problems with the ethernet or USB connection to the cable modem.

Cable problems with the CATV connection to the cable modem (tighten it).

Avoid hitting the upstream rate cap: the solutions are the same as the solutions listed to Simultaneous download and upload performance.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/tweaks.html#cfg

If your latencyproblems occur in online games, see On-line gaming performance issues.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/games.html

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The preceding came from a very thorough article, described and illustrated nicely, discussing troubleshooting latency issues:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/latency.html

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by chris

I would work with the XP machine you are having the issues on. You mentioned only XP is having the issues. You also mentioned you have tried replacing the network gear between the XP box and the server. On the same gear I would guess a NT box would work fine. Could you verify this?

First off, you should disable the AUTO/AUTO for the network settings - if it is set. I would hardcode the port and the NIC on the client (for testing) to 100/full duplex. I've seen the AUTO / AUTO cause lots of problems in the past, and if one side of the connection (port or nic) is set and the other is on Auto/Auto ... you end up with duplex mismatches.

Since I think this is a PC issue - could you try those ideas and respond?

by cactus pete

I haven't noticed this with XP, but with NT4 I used to observe this type of behavior if you were experiencing permissions conflicts. See if you have this same issue with various users from the same box, logged in through the domain and/or locally.

by an_it_guy

I had faced such performance issue with Win2K server recently and is now resolved. You can check the settings of the network adaptar that is installed on the Server. The key parameter to check is something called "Duplex Mode", which is usually to be set to 'Hardware Default' or 'Auto'. If it is set to Full or Half duplex mode, file access might give problems.
This worked in my case. If it doesn't work, I would recommend u the following :
1. Check on another network point,
2. Change the port on Switch/Hub the server connects to or
3. Install another 100/10 network adapter.
Best Luck.

by alpha-male

I have heard numerous comments about network latency with XP. Once of the suggestions that always comes up is this:

1. Open regedit.exe from Start->Run
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace
3. Under that branch, select the key {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}
4. Delete it

This key instructs Windows to search for Scheduled Tasks on remote computers. Unless you use this feature, which most people don't (for remote machines), it is safe to delete this key.

here are some reference sites that may help also:

http://users.bigpond.net.au/hutch/win2k/win982kbrowse.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q322097

http://www.betuwe.net/~avatar/speed.html

Delete any spaces in the URLS

Also, make sure you have the latest SP on XP. It apparently resolved a few glitches with connectivity speed (Netware in particular...)

Good luck, hope this helps!

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