3500L NAS problems

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martin82
martin82's picture
3500L NAS problems

I just got my 3500L and hooked up 1TB USB drive to it.

The drive contains one large NTFS-partition with large (4GB+) media files.

 All files are accessable when using FTP. File sizes seem correct. Transfer rates are very low: 5 MB/s read and 1,5MB/s write...

Problem arrises when using samba share. Files sizes are all wrong (reported less than 4GB). My HTPC (XP and win7) is able to start some of the files, but hangs when trying to seek. Have not yet tried to see what happens when playing past the 4GB mark.

 Conclusion so far: The device is not delevering what I hoped. I thought it could eliminate the need for dedicated NAS for my media files.

 

Looking into dd-wrt now in hope for better performance. It seem not to be without problem either. Anyone have experience of USB performance with dd-wrt? Large files?

 

/Martin

martin82
martin82's picture
I just tried accessing the

I just tried accessing the shared drive using a WD TV Live. File sizes are all wrong and you get an error when seeking or FF.

Staj
Staj's picture
pOwnd!

pOwnd!

Schugy
Schugy's picture
Look at this post: http://www

Look at this post: http://www.myopenrouter.com/forum/thread/14074/WNR3500L-The-debate-on-Op...

 

The device doesn´t use Samba but a FTPish filetransfer utility.

 

My TP-Link TL-WR1043ND Gigabit-Router comes with Samba3 und works great.

Schugy
Schugy's picture
http://kb.netgear.com/app

http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/12418
ReadyShare Connect utility for windows.

martin82
martin82's picture
Um, I'm not using OpenWRT. I

Um, I'm not using OpenWRT. I'm (still) on Netgear's firmware. I access the drive directly with \\router_name\share_name from windows. I assumed Netgear is useing Samba for SMB, but I guess they could have gone for their own implementation (but not likely...)

Samba is stated as a present for netgear firmware in this featur matrix:
http://www.myopenrouter.com/downloads/file/109/WNR3500L_ThirdPartyFWFeat...

And this "ReadyShare Connect utility"...
Does it do anything besides open the normal "Map network drive" dialog box in windows??? You claim it use some alternative "FTP:isch" implementation???

I have been looking into migrating to dd-wrt. I think it comes with samba2, which have som problems with large files (in combo with vista and win7 only?), but it should be possible to get samba3 up and running as well.
Only thing that is stopping me is that the builds seem to be somewhat shakey, and I'm not sure about N support... Will look into it when there is more time. Now it's time to chill the champange and wait for the fireworks!

cheers

Schugy
Schugy's picture
I've overlooked that OpenWRT

I've overlooked that OpenWRT in the post because topic usually was how Netgear is doing any service to our community and FOSS.

But samba isn't mentioned on the following pages:

http://www.myopenrouter.com/article/13860/WNR3500L-Open-Source-Guide-Res...

http://www.myopenrouter.com/article/13378/Features-and-Specifications-NE...

 

If you want to know what software runs on it try to boot knoppix (or if you have dualboot Linux from HDD) and run

smbclient -U username -L 192.168.0.Y

Domain=[WORKGROUP] OS=[Unix] Server=[Samba 3.0.22]

 

I don't have a WNR3500L and I don't have windows to try the ReadyShare utulity.

 

Schugy
Schugy's picture
Is there a proprietary smb

Is there a proprietary smb server now on the "open source" router?

Schugy
Schugy's picture
Try this Paragon Networks

Try this Paragon Networks enabled firmware for NTFS support.

 The original firmware should contain Samba3.0.13 but it can't deliver proper files if the filesystem isn't supported correctly.

 

netgear_searcher
netgear_searcher's picture
Martin,

Martin,

I have been looking all over for a Netgear 3500L router, where did you get yours ?

Thanks,

netgear_searcher
netgear_searcher's picture
I apologize if the preeceding

I apologize if the preeceding question is not topic appropriate for this forum...

achilles
achilles's picture
netgear_searcher said:

netgear_searcher said:
I apologize if the preeceding question is not topic appropriate for this forum...

No u have chosen the rite forum ... may b the thread is a bit irrelevant  ;) ....

Anywaz have a look at the following thread  :

http://www.myopenrouter.com/forum/thread/15755/WNR3500L-will-be-availabl...

It may help u ...  

rws8258
rws8258's picture
netgear_searcher said:

netgear_searcher said:

Martin,

I have been looking all over for a Netgear 3500L router, where did you get yours ?

Thanks,

Newegg... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122334

Currently on sale for $105.28 (plus FREE Shipping!)

STL
STL's picture
Anyone seeing better NAS xfer

Anyone seeing better NAS xfer rates using ReadyShare USB on the WNR3500L? Here is what one person was getting with the Netgear WNDR3700 rotuer:

W7 64bit
Gibabit lan.
2,5" HDD connected to router via external powered 4 port usb hub.

FAT32 write = 11,5-12MB/s
EXT3 write = 9,5-10MB/s
NTFS write = 3,5-4MB/s

FAT32 read = 13,5-14MB/s
EXT3 read = 14,5-15MB/s
NTFS read = 11-12MB/s

DomiNET
DomiNET's picture
Hi there!

Hi there!

I'm a complete newbie when it comes to setting up computer networks, so please excuse me if I don't use the correct syntax or just seem stupid! :)

I recently bought the WNR3500L and a Samsung G3 Station HX-DU020EC 2TB USB HDD. I run the lastest netgear FW 1.0.2.26. When transferring files (drag 'n drop) larger than 1GB from my Stationary Computer WinXP32 thru the router to the Samsung HDD the files ending up on the HDD is 0kb and if you keep trying the router will eventully crash, thus needing a restart.

I bought the router very much for the possibility to add a USB-hdd to my home network, but with this file size limitation it is pretty much useless to me.

Any recommendations or suggestions?

STL
STL's picture
My recommendation is to

My recommendation is to return the Netgear WNR3500L and get a Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH. That is what I am in the process of doing.

Checkout the following thread for more info:
http://www.myopenrouter.com/forum/thread/19630/date-on-files-incorrect-o...

Kong
Kong's picture
@DominNet, if you switch from

@DominNet, if you switch from original Netgear Firmware to dd-wrt then you will be able to share your files without limitation + you get lots of other nice features.

There is a tutorial on myopenrouter that shows you how to flash dd-wrt, to enable filesharing, just download my dd-wrt mod which includes an easy to use webinterface for filesharing setup.

STL
STL's picture
Several people have reported

Several people have reported that flashing to DD-WRT on the Netgear WNR3500L makes the already slow USB network drive performance even slower.

With the Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH having better USB network drive performance (out of the box) and it being DD-WRT flashable too, I just saw no reason to stick with the Netgear. Not to mention the range is suppose to be far superior with the Buffalo.

After replacing the Netgear WNR3500L with my old Linysys WRK54G (note the lesser K version -- not the WRT) I was surprised to find the Linksys was just as fast at filesharing PC to PC (via both WAN and LAN) than the Netgear.

Kong
Kong's picture
@STL

@STL

Several people have reported that flashing to DD-WRT on the Netgear WNR3500L
makes the already slow USB network drive performance even slower.

Then you are not up to date:-)

With the Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH having better USB
 network drive performance (out of the box)

The Buffalo features a 400Mhz Mips CPU, while then wnr3500l has a faster broadcom unit. Therefore I would be surprised if transfer speeds are any better.
Someone over at dd-wrt forum reports around 5,5MB/s Write speed for the Buffalo without mentioning what filesystem he used and transfer method. If I transfer files via FTP to my connected flash drive with FAT32 I get 6.5MB/s write speed, with Ext3 it should be even faster.

As soon as I have time to setup a fast usb drive I'll create a performance test matrix with different filesystems using ftp/samba

Not to mention the range is suppose to be far superior with the Buffalo

Have you directly compared that? Both have Draft 802.11n there can't be much difference

P.S. If you have connected a drive with NTFS Volume to it, than you will have the lowest transfer speeds you can imagine. Because the ntfs driver for linux consumes a lot of cpu power.

STL
STL's picture
The Netgear processor is

The Netgear processor is rated faster (453 vs. 400 Mhz) so it looks good on paper, but the Buffalo appears to offer better NAS performance.  A friend of mine is getting around 8MB/s with his Buffalo WzR-HP-G300NH using a FAT32 (and it has none of the quirks I was seeing with ReadyShare).  Also, all the speed comparos I've seen for the WNR3500L (and the big bro 3700) show that FAT32 is faster than EXT3.

Surely you don't think all Draft N routers are the same when it comes to performance.  Both SmallNetBuilder and MaximumPC have tested the Buffalo, and they do attest to its increased range.  The latter one said, "Many of the routers we test can’t maintain a connection when the client is placed in our two outdoor locations (almost 100 feet from the router, with the signal passing through several insulated interior and exterior walls). The WZR-HP-G300NH, however, delivered TCP throughput of 22.1Mb/s in one location and 15.0Mb/s in the other. Now consider its performance when the client was in the media room: TCP throughput of 53.5Mb/s, compared to the rest of the field’s average throughput of just 9.2Mb/s."

BTW, I had a FAT32 formatted drive connected to my WNR3500L.

Kong
Kong's picture
Hi STL, well those 8MB/s can

Hi STL, well those 8MB/s can be anything, did he really test by copying a large file + calculating time, that's what I do. For example if I use windows task manager to see the network throughput then it often hits 8,5MB/s while transfering, but that is not the average transferrate.

"Also, all the speed comparos I've seen for the WNR3500L (and the big bro 3700) show that FAT32 is faster than EXT3."

Again, all these speedtests where done with a regular dd-wrt but not my dd-wrt mod.

STL
STL's picture
The 8MB/s with the Buffalo

The 8MB/s with the Buffalo was a average speed while transferring a large file -- not a peak reading.

Tell me more your WW-WRT mod. Would it apply to any router running DD-WRT?

Kong
Kong's picture
"Tell me more your WW-WRT mod

"Tell me more your WW-WRT mod. Would it apply to any router running DD-WRT?"

I usually only compile for routers with broadcom. Since I can only have a broadcom unit to test it, but my changes are not specific to any chip, so it could be compiled for any dd-wrt compatible router

By the way the fastest usb speeds that can be reached at the moment are with the wndr3700, by default you get about 14MB/s

STL
STL's picture
Thanks for the info. I might

Thanks for the info. I might have to get those tweaks from you when I make the switch to DD-WRT.

The WNDR3700 looks to be one a sweet router; its processor is quite speedy clocking in at 680 MHz. I guess that's why it is considerably more expensive than the WNR3500L and WZR-HP-G300NH.

DomiNET
DomiNET's picture
KONG:

KONG:

-Thanks for your advice! Could I ask you to specify which dd-wrt version I should download and how to activate/add you file sharing mod?

DomiNET

Felipe
Felipe's picture
Hello. I also notified very

Hello. I also notified very slow performance over samba, but i'm using Mac, so it's not his native protocol. I try using AFP, but first must enable protocol in my router. Anyone try using NFS?
Besides its only router and i think the better is using specialized NAS solutions. I use iOmega IX4-200D and have performance around 30MB/s

STL
STL's picture
@Kong

@Kong
Is this similar to what you are doing:
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Slim_samba2

Kong
Kong's picture
Nope, my mod has samba built

Nope, my mod has samba built in the firmware + webinterface and since it is samba3 it is comatible with win7.

Besides that Samba using optware sucks, because if the partition where optware packages are installed needs a filecheck, the startup scripts don't work and you have to manually start it or reboot after a file check.

Optware is generally a good thing and I also offer a whole set of optware packages that work a bit differently than the standard optware packages.

Paul T
Paul T's picture
Schugy - I have a TPLINK

Schugy - I have a TPLINK 1043ND router which I have already flashed with dd-wrt. The optware samba2 packages works for me but can't handle large files (like bluray ISOs). I tried optware samba3 packages but smbd does not seem to want to run (smbd -V provides version info so I have the correct binary for ar71xx), perhaps the directories, libraries, or config file isn't correct who knows.

So I was thinking, if you are still running the stock firmware, can you get the samba3 binary that it uses so I could try it out?

The TL-1043ND is also using the ar71xx family of chipsets like the WZR-HP-G300NH, so if anyone with a WZR-HP-G300NH has managed to get samba3 running I'll appreciate some help.

Kong
Kong's picture
Hi DomiNET,

Hi DomiNET,

just get it from the download section.