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Slow file access on Server

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5 replies

by selaya

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Hi I have recently installed a small 5-user Local Area Network in my father's accounting office. The Server is a Pentium III 700 MHZ PC with 128 mb Ram and a 20mb 5400rpm IDE Hard Drive running Netware 5.0. The Server, as well the user's PCS, have10/100 NIC cards installed. And I have the entire office wired with Cat 5e Twisted Pair cable connected by 1 10/100 autoswitching hub.

Since the server has been installed I have noticed unusual delays running applications and retrieving files.For example, it takes an application like WordPerfect 6.1 several minutes to load if I run it off the Netware Server. I do not notice that same types of delays If I access files off the other users computers via Windows Networking so I believe the issue is not a hardware or wiring issue. My question is do I need to make modifications to my server configuration in order to significantly improve file access. I would appreciate your thoughts.

5 replies

by arg cio

But then you said Novell.. I was thinking MS, and 128MB RAM on a server.. NOT!! But, WP6.1 does require some memory, and isn't very clean about it, might not hurt anyway..

Good luck..

by selaya

Hi Thanks for getting back to me. Based on some information I gathered, I turned off file compression on the server and that made a significant improvement. I believe the problem was due to the file compression setting.

by csocci

Novell 5 on 128MB and what size Hard drive??

You need memory, at least twice your 128MB - and a good SCSI drive at least...

Memory is cheap. More, and A good fast SCSI card, and a good fast SCSI drive will make a radical improvement.

Also, kill any un-needed processes running on the server.

by luis_a_delgado

I noticed your network is small and if you're using netbios, then you're also contributing to the slow response on the server. Try using spx or ip (preferrably) and I believe you will see a significant improvement as well.

by luis_a_delgado

Although you have a small operation, your server may be overworked if you're using it as an Application server. I would have at least half a gig of memory on it. That would probably show considerable improvlement. Also, you need to check on the memory your workstations have. If you're using a P4 with half a gig of memory , it will be a lot faster than an older machine trying to load the same application from the server.

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