FTP Speeds?

[jimmywelsh]

Hello all. I currently have the 1mb fixed speed package on ADSL24. I have recently bought a NAS enclosure (which has samba, ftp, print server, etc) to store all my files and all is working fine. All outgoing traffic is enabled on my router and I have allowed the FTP service to have incoming access also.

I can log into the FTP server no problem and speeds when copying a file to it is around 100k, which is my regular download speed when at home. However, when I try copying files from it, the speed is a very poor 2k, which I would expect should be more like 30 or 40k.

Does anyone have any idea what the problem may be? I cant seem to figure out if its the router, nas or the isp. The nas drive is an "Icy Box IB-NAS4220-B" and the router is a "Netgear DG834G".

Thanks.

[James]

So I am guessing you are FTP'ing to the NAS from an outside internet connection, thus uploading to the NAS on the end of your 1Mb fixed connection?

What upload speeds do you get if you upload via FTP from your PC to your ADSL24 webspace?

James

[jimmywelsh]

Yeah, the nas is at my home address, where the 1mb fixed connection is. Usually I just transfer files via samba while I'm at home in the evenings, but sometimes I access the files remotely from work/friends houses, etc.

Not sure about my adsl24 ftp speeds, but I have my own website/hosting account and the speeds for that are as follows. Roughly 100k uploading to the server and 200k downloading from the server.

My nas is fine for uploading, as I can transfer files to my nas at roughly 90k, which is about the same as uploading to my web hosting. Downloading from the nas is where I notice the issue. From the nas is 2k, whereas from my hosting is 200k.

Obviously I don't expect speeds like 200k downloading from the nas, as my adsl connection at home (where the nas is) is only 1mb/256kb, but something more like 40k I would guess would be more correct.

[James]

I gather when you mention k you mean KB/s rather than kbps?

The easiest way to rule out if its a configuration/nas issue is to run an FTP server on your main PC instead of the nas as see what FTP speeds you get from an external connection.

James

[jimmywelsh]

Sorry, yes, when I referred to transfer speeds to and from the nas/ftp I meant kb/s.

[jimmywelsh]

Ok I installed FileZilla server on my desktop PC at home and have now tried accessing it with my laptop at work. Transfer speeds to the ftp was around 80KB/s and from was roughly 20. I then changed my router to point the ftp services to the nas instead and the transfers were 80 to and 2KB/sec from.

So transferring files from outside to either the server on my desktop or nas is about the same speed. But getting files from the nas to outside is about 10 times slower than getting from the desktop/fileziller server.

I guess this would mean it's not an ISP or router issue, but something to do with the nas, but there's nothing I can configure on the nas that relates to ftp. The only ftp options I have is permissions and enabled or disabled.

[James]

Yep, you've ruled out your line and connection, so it does have to be the NAS itself, but it's a strange one as there should not be anything limiting the speed apart from the NAS device itself.

Does anything change when the permissions are disabled (clutching at straws now).

The only other thing to try is a router or a different NAS/enclosure.

[jimmywelsh]

I'll try it without permissions when I get home later (i.e. with an anonymous user). Also, I'll test transfer rates to and from both servers internally. I have my test server set up on my desktop, so I'll log into both that and my nas via ftp from my laptop. Obviously the speed will be a lot higher due to it being the local network but just to see if theres any speed differences between nas and desktop ftp servers.

[jimmywelsh]

Right I've just connected to both servers internally (ftp on nas and ftp on desktop) and transferred files to and from each and noted the speeds. I'm using the filezilla client on my laptop.

To desktop ftp: 1.1MB/s
From desktop ftp: 1.2MB/s

To nas ftp: 2.7MB/s
From nas ftp: 2.7MB/s

So the to and from speeds for each were pretty much the same, but the speeds to and from the nas ftp were over double. So previous test rules out ISP and router, this test rules out nas internally.

Ok now I've just had a friend to log in anonymously and it's exactly the same as using a username and password. That is, copying to the ftp/nas from outside at 80KB/s and from the ftp to outside at 2KB/s.

That's pretty much ruled everything out. Unless it's an issue with the network. The only difference is that the desktop is wireless and nas is via ethernet cable straight into the router.