BlackArmor NAS Network Storage Server

[sfsdfd]

I just purchased a BlackArmor 420 NAS, dropped an additional hard drive into it (a Seagate Barracuda with the same product number as the two drives bundled with the machine), and formatted it for RAID 5. So far, so good.

My problems began when I started copying files to the device. Transfer rates are RIDICULOUSLY slow. Copying a terabyte of data to the drive took something like 48 hours. Worse, when copying data from the device, the transfer rates are on the order of 100 to 300 kilobytes per second. Yes, not megabytes - 100-300 KILOBYTES. That's the same speed as a fairly slow BitTorrent download.

My network setup and other devices are not to blame. In particular:

* The network is generated by a D-Link DIR-825 802.11n router. The BlackArmor NAS is connencted to the router via a wired ethernet cable.

* I've tried copying data from the NAS via multiple machines (some connected to the same router via wired ethernet, others connected wirelessly). These machines are regularly capable of receiving data in the range of 8 megabytes per second (sometimes more) from each other and from sites on the internet. Yet, the NAS isn't capable of pushing data to any of them faster than about 150K per second.

Obviously, this setup is not going to work. Please help me figure out what's going wrong and how I can fix it before I decide to sell the whole rig and never buy another Seagate device again.

[arth1]

Is the speed similarly slow for both reading and writing?

Is the speed similarly slow for both CIFS and FTP?

Possible causes of the problem might include a network that has been "optimized", either by changing the maximum packet size  to improve GbE speeds, or reducing the MSS (usually from 1500 to 14?? to get better speeds with PPPoE).  If either is the case, the optimizations should be reverted.

If it only affects CIFS, you may have a problem where the elected master browser is on the other side of the WiFi link, or you have two of them (because the WiFi was out when a system was started).  Or you might have a hostname matching a user name.

Or, you have hooked up both ethernet ports on the BlackArmor, which doesn't work unless you have a device at the other end who understands that kind of connection (a D-Link router won't), in which case unhooking one of the cables and then rebooting should fix it.

Or, you haven't given the device enough time for the RAID to rebuild.  For big drives, this can take quite a few hours, and while the RAID is operative immediately, it will run at severely reduced speed until done.

[sfsdfd]

Thanks for the troubleshooting help, arth1.

To answer your questions:

(1) Yes, it seems to be the same problem for both reading/downloading and writing/uploading.

(2) Yes, the problem persists via both CIFS and FTP. I just logged into the share via FTP and transferred some files, and observed the same poor speeds.

(3) The router settings haven't been changed (except for ordinary usage, e.g., some DHCP reservations and opening some ports).

(4) The NAS is only hooked up to the router via one ethernet connection. The other ethernet port isn't in use.

(5) The RAID was fully built last week, and I spent about 48 hours after that transferring 1TB of files to it. I'm now having trouble (a week and a half later) gaining access to those files with a reasonable transfer rate. Clearly, the RAID has been fully built and synchronized, so that can't be the solution.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[rnelson45]

I have a BlackArmor 440 and cannot get high spped network response.  If I plug 1 cable into either the router (Dlink DIR655) or a switch, I get about 3Mb/s.  If I connect the second port on the NAS to the switch, I get about 6Mb/s.  This is acceptable for many things but not for transferring large files. 

Any ideas for getting higher network speeds?

[afagolf]

the BlackArmor NAS does not play well with Dlink routers or switches. I have mine plugged into a Netgear 10/100 switch that then plugs into my Dlink DIR655, and I am now getting between 50-90 Mbs depending on file size and application. With the BA connected to the Dlink, I was getting your reported 2-3 Mbs.

[bluscarab]

These devices are not affected by the brand of switch/router/hub that its connected to. I tested the 420 and 110 on a Netgear 24port giga switch, then a dlink giga, then a belkin giga, then a trendnet giga, then after days of frustration, an effin first generation intel 100mb behemoth. Then i got delirious. I used a verizon router and then a linksys router (10mb). took it off of domain to see if it was some kind of name or service conflict - nada. To bolster my theory, i went and bought a seagate freeagent usb external drive. that thing is another oversized paperweight. Without a doubt, it is the crud firmware on these things. I bought these to offload user's personal files that were on our "real" and "working" and "incredibly efficient" dell and ibm nas servers. what happened to this once proud and shining brand??????

[bluscarab]

Confirmed!  It was the firmware that was installed from factory. Updated firmware to 0391. Speed problem solved.

[stilfoto]

I have the exact same problem - but with a BA NAS 220 - and I would really love if somebody have any suggestions on how to solve the problem...

/Stefan

[sfsdfd]

Hmm.

When I ask my NAS to check for new firmware, it reports that I'm using the latest version. However, when I checked the NAS firmware page, I found a much more recent firmware version than my NAS was using. Looks like the "check for latest firmware" feature is broken.

Nevertheless - upgrading the firmware didn't fix my problem. In fact, my transfer rate is slightly WORSE now (I didn't even think that was possible!)

Will continue trying to bang away on it next week, and will report back with results. Sadly, I'm not hopeful of finding a solution. The cause cited by Seagate tech support (my particular router) seems incredibly implausible, and I don't know what else I can even try to do to fix it. At the moment, I'm chalking this up to a lousy brand of NAS with lousy firmware.

[pauldeg123]

I'm having the same issue but only with CIFS - ftp is 6MB/sec or higher.

How do I resolve this issue you mention with having 2 masters?

I have a physical server connected into a adsl router and the nas also connected to the adsl router. The physical machine has 2 virtual machines which cannot write to the nas at any decent speed using cifs. using ftp is fine.

[Chuck Tribolet]

Search here on Dlink.