SBS 2008 Slow Network Performance with Windows XP Clients

Two months ago I completed an uneventful install of SBS 2008 for a company of
about 25 users on brand-new hardware. The only significance issues since the
install have been performance-related, specifically that browsing shared
folders on the server is very slow (displaying the contents of folders, for
example). Opening large documents and media files is also very slow, and at
least one server-based Visual Foxpro program which ran very fast under the
old Server 2003 server slows to a crawl with the new server. However, all
these woes disappear if the client is Windows 7 - the speed difference is
night and day! Is there something that can be done to tweak Windows XP to
perform better with SBS 2008? The client does not have the budget to
undertake a migration to Windows 7 at this time.

Should not be such (any) differences. Something else is going on. Is the
SBS the DHCP server for the LAN? Were all the computers joined to the domain
with the wizards.? Are all updates current? Do all devices use the same
switch?

Please post the results of the command:
ipconfig /all > c:\iptest.txt
from the server, and one each XP and 7 stations.

Please don't change anything, and please tell us which is which.

To answer your questions:

Yes, the SBS server is the DHCP server for the LAN

Yes, all the computers were joined to the network with the SBS wizard (as a
side note, it came as a big surprise that I had to install .NET on all the XP
workstations in order to use the wizard. The .NET version install was
version 3, then it was patched to the latest 3.5 -- latest as of late
November 2009 anyway. The process was incredibly time-consuming but yes, it
was done for every XP machine and the wizard was used in all cases).

Yes, I am fanatical about Windows updates on all machines.

No, not all devices use the same switch. There are four switches and there
is no correlation between which switch the user is tied to.

Below are the ipconfig results for the server (first) and an XP workstation
(second). Unfortunately I do not have a Windows 7 machine on the network and
I am not able to give you the ipconfig for that box. I do, however, have
that box here in my office and although I would not be able to connect to the
network we are talking about, I could certainly post the ipconfig for however
it comes up when not attached to the network - if you think that would be
helpful).

BTW I realize that having the second ethernet connection on the server
(listed first in the ipconfig.txt) enabled is not recommended, and in fact I
will be disabling it in the near future. It was only enabled as an
experiment in light of this network slowness problem. I can assure you that
the speed issue existed before that NIC was enabled, whcih was only recently.

One other note, early on I contacted Intel about this becuase of a hotfix
that Microsoft has concerning a problem with the I/O Acceleration technology
in some of their network adapters. They seemed to know nothing about it (and
this was the file server group at Intel) and pointed me back to Microsoft. I
never installed the hotfix in question becuase it did not specifically match
the set up the customer has nor the exact circumstances, although it does
sound very close. The issue is discussed on kb 968991. But perhaps this is
the area I need to revisit. I just got cold feet when Intel didn't even know
about something that seemed to me like it would be such a big issue out there
in the world.

Server ipconfig:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : RIVERSERV
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : rivernet.local
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : rivernet.local

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : rivernet.local
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/1000 EB Network
Connection with I/O Acceleration #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-15-17-89-B6-31
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . :
fe80::417f:5349:45e0:36ff%11(Preferred)

I'd verify that none of advanced networking stuff (TCP Chimney Offload,
etc.) is enabled on the server first, it tends to cause issues with older
PC's. Have you run the SBS BPA? Anything in the logs of the server or
clients?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/951037

The BPA pointed to several "advanced" networking settings that were enabled
and should be disabled:
Add-On Congestion Control Provider
Receive Window Auto-Tuning Level
Receive-Side Scaling State
Task Offload

Fix those first using the instructions given and see if it helps. Also look
into the other settings (Firewall is disabled?).

No, I don't think so. BTW - Do not disable IP6 on SBS, that *will* cause
issues.

Look into the device manager at the advanced properties of your SBS's NIC
and ensure none of the advanced offloading is enabled in there. I'm not
sure it matters if disabled in the registry but it couldn't hurt (ensure you
reboot). I'd also check the slow PC's NIC settings.

Have you verified it is not a network switch issue? Any "pattern" to the
slowness w.r.t. how the PC's are connected to the server?

Not sure what else to suggest. You may want to post to the SBS08 specific
group, you need to join first:
https://connect.microsoft.com/

To answer your questions:

1) In regard to "advanced networking stuff" I'm not sure where/how to find
that kind of thing. I guess I can poke around. In calling Intel about this
I woudl have thought they could/woudl point me in this direction (if needed)
since both the server NIC and the workstation NICs are Intel (actually that's
not strictly true, one of the worst performers under Windows XP has a Realtek
NIC). But, yes, what you are suggesting has been on my mind ever since I ran
across that KB 968991 article that I mention elsewhere in this (rather long)
posting - problem with that 968991 article is that it doesn't strictly apply
to my circumstances. But it talks about Intel Advanced I/O stuff which is
what you are pointing me to. Why Intel wouldn't have known about such an
issue is a mystery to me and for these various reasons I have therefore held
off on applying the 968991 hotfix - do you think I shoudl do it?

2) In regard to the SBS BPA I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I had not run
it. Why? Because with the BPA for the Exchange piece built right in to the
O/S, I guess I assumed that the BPA tool for SBS would be built right into
the SBS console alongside all the other error checking that tool constantly
does. Anyway once I saw your note I immediately downloaded the SBS 2008 BPA.
Right off the bat I did show the only critical error (expected), which was
that the DNS A resource record was pointing to both NIC's on the server. As
mentioned elsehwere in this mammoth post, the second serve NIC got turned on
recently only as an experiemnt and it did not change things at all. Anyway
this mornign I shut off that second NIC again and ran BPA again and the
critical error is gone for DNS. There are no critical errors. The remaining
non-critical issues are, of course, of concern but I have no idea where to
focus/get started -- I need to solve the slow network problem before I do any
of the more refined fine-tuning stuff - as I'm sure you can appreciate. But
perhaps the key to my performance issus is in these issues, and I have posted
them below (below my next and last answer to your questions) -- if there is
any feedback you can provide I would most appreciate it.

3) You ask about logs on the server and the workstations. Yes I have
checked and not seen anything obvious but I agree, I need to do some careful
analysis there, which I will proceed to do. If you have any suggestions as
to what to focus on in the logs that would be appreciated.

All Issues

Exchange Server 2007 with Service Pack 1 :
The server RIVERSERV is running Exchange Server 2007 with Service Pack 1;
however, Service Pack 2 for Exchange Server 2007 is available. For more
information, see "You cannot install Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 2 on a
Windows Small Business Server 2008-based computer" in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=163940.

Add-On Congestion Control Provider :
Add-On Congestion Control Provider is set to ctcp. To disable Add-On
Congestion Control Provider, click Start, and in the Search box type
"command." in the results, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as
administrator. At the command prompt, run the following command: netsh int
tcp set global congestion=none

Firewall is disabled :
The Firewall has been disabled and by default is enabled on Windows Small
Business Server

IE Enhanced Security disabled :
IE Enhanced Security is currently disabled for Administrators. To enable IE
Enhanced Security go to Start/Server Manager and click on the Configure IE
ESC link on the right.

Local activation permission to the IIS WAMREG Admin Service required :
The Network Service is missing local activation permissions to the IIS
WAMREG admin Service in accordance with the event ID 10016 in the system
event log. For more information, see KB "Event ID error messages 10016 and
10017 are logged in the System log after you install Windows SharePoint
Services 3.0" at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=128063. Note: This
warning will continue to appear until at least 24 hours have passed since the
most recent occurrence of event 10016.

Receive Window Auto-Tuning Level :
Receive Window Auto-Tuning Level is set to normal. To disable Receive
Window Auto-Tuning Level, click Start, and in the Search box type "command."
in the results, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as
administrator. At the command prompt, run the following command: netsh int
tcp set global autotuning=disabled

Receive-Side Scaling State :
Receive-Side Scaling State is set to enabled. To disable Receive-Side
Scaling, click Start, and in the Search box type "command." in the results,
right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. At the
command prompt, run the following command: netsh int tcp set global
rss=disabled

remote.riverwebnh.com does not exist in the BackConnectionHostNames registry
key :
The BackConnectionHostNames key should include the value
remote.riverwebnh.com. To resolve this issue, open Registry Editor, and then
locate and click
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\MSV1_0\BackConnectionHostNames.
Right-click BackConnectionHostNames, and then click Modify. In the Value data
box, type remote.riverwebnh.com, and then click OK.

Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2008 is not installed :
Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2008 is not installed on this server.

Task Offload :
Task Offload is set to enabled. To disable Task Offload, click Start, and
in the Search box type "command." in the results, right-click Command Prompt,
and then click Run as administrator. At the command prompt, run the the
following command: netsh int ip set global taskoffload=disabled

The BackConnectionHostNames registry key does not exist :
The registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\MSV1_0\BackConnectionHostNames
does not exist. To resolve this issue, open Registry Editor, and then locate
and click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\MSV1_0\.
Right-click MSV1_0, point to New, and then click Multi-String Value. Type
BackConnectionHostNames, and then press ENTER.

The Companyweb value does not exist in the BackConnectionHostNames registry
key :
The Companyweb value does not exist in the BackConnectionHostNames registry
key. To resolve this issue, open Registry Editor, and then locate and click
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\MSV1_0\BackConnectionHostNames.
Right-click BackConnectionHostNames, and then click Modify, In the Value data
box, type Companyweb, and then click OK.

The log file for the Windows SharePoint Services configuration database is
getting large :
The log file for the Windows SharePoint Services configuration database is
larger than 1 GB in size. For information about how to reduce the size of the
log file, see the Knowledge Base at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=159745.

User account does not show in the Windows SBS Console :
The user account Deb Hardy does not have the attributes that are necessary
for it to display in the Windows SBS Console.

User account does not show in the Windows SBS Console :
The user account Remote AOD does not have the attributes that are necessary
for it to display in the Windows SBS Console.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 :
Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 is installed with Service Pack 1. Service
Pack 2 is available.

To ask an obvious question, could my issue be as simple as not having IP6 on
the XP workstations? Could that be why Windows 7 has no problems and XP
does?

I made those four changes to the "advanced" settings and there was no
difference in the performance. Do you have any other suggestions at this
time? If not then I guess my next steps need to be to install the various
service packs mentioned inthe BPA, including SP2 for Sharepoint 3.0 and SP2
for Server 2008.

Was there found a solution to this issue? I am having exactly the same
problem, although its more around copying files up the server. It takes
30mins for a 50M file! Its a Gigabit network, all offloading is turned off
on the NIC and the registry, servers brand new, and the previous server with
Windows 2000 was fine. It doesnt seem to have any issues with Windows 7
clients, and IP6 is turned on (its SBS2008 and so cant turn it off without
effecting other things).

i am having Identical problems on my new SBS 2008 server. extrememly slow browsing to server shares. plus i also get "the local device is already in use" error... I have done all the same steps listed in this topic. I am desperate for a solution. Did you find one. This is killing productivity of my CAD users...

For SBS related questions we recommend that you start with Public Forum
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/...server/threads

Should you want to visit the other Microsoft Public Forums, please go to
http://www.microsoft.com/communities...s/default.mspx

As the NNTP newsgroups will be retiring soon.

Since you don't properly quote the thread you're asking about, since
this is Usenet and not a web based forum, we can only guess about your
issue:

1) What antivirus software are you running on the workstations?
2) What antivirus software are you running on the server
3) Is your DHCP properly setup using the 2008 Wizards?
4) Is your DNS properly setup using the 2008 Wizards?
5) Did you setup the drive shares using the Wizards?

Post an IPCONFIG /ALL from the server (don't edit it)

Post an IPCONFIG /ALL from a workstation having problems

[jmurdoch]

Same problem on 2 different networks too....
No antivirus installed, good switch, always use a wizard, completed all BPA problems

I think I have an educated guess as to what is happening. I think it has something to do with IPV6. On both my servers IPV6 and IPV4 are configured.

Could this be the culprit?

I have exactly the same issue with two customers networks. Different hardware, different nic's but both are intel. Speed with windows 7 and vista is perfect, xp is around 1mbytes/sec of a gigabit switch.

What I have read on other forums, as unlikely as it sounds is that it is due to a feature of the Intel NICs in server 2008 called x.

Microsoft KB968991 is the microsoft knowledgebase number for this issue. (this is to do with the intel IO acceleration technology, but i am not sure if this is the cause of the slowness). Another thing to try and fix the problem is to disable TCP window scaling. (through netsh)

Apparently this is a known problem and there are several hotfixes, which I have tried unsuccessfully. This problem has only come to our attention on sites where fast network speeds are needed, for many sites they are probably having the same issue unknowingly.

I am going to try and install a realtek nic to see if it resolves the issue

Someone smarter than me try and work out what causes it???

Put in a low end realtek gigabit nic and the xp machines went from 1megabit to 300megabit file copies from the sbs2008 server. It appears either Intel or MS have something to answer for. I tried all of the patches to fix the issues and none of them worked. I found that after rebooting the speed on the intel nic may be fast for a little while but eventually slows down (almost as if some service kicks in later that causes the slowness issues).

Generally, problems encountered with XP clients versus 2008 servers are caused by SMB2. A workaround for this problem is to turn SMB2 off on the server.

1.Run "regedit" on Windows Server 2008 based computer.

2.Expand and locate the sub tree as follows.

HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters

3.Add a new REG_DWORD key with the name of "Smb2" (without quotation mark)

Value name: Smb2
Value type: REG_DWORD
0 = disabled
1 = enabled

4.Set the value to 0 to disable SMB 2.0, or set it to 1 to re-enable SMB 2.0.

5.Reboot the server.

I have pretty much the exact same issue with our server 2008 R2. Some XP workstations are slower than others. Ive switched out network cards (dlink/Intel) but network lag still occurs. The lag is not that bad but it should be faster than it is.

i have added the smb2 registry entry and will report if the issues continue or not.

Did it work?

[pullmyleg]

Did it work? God this problem is kicking my head on 3 servers. Clients often also drop offline, when upgraded to windows 7 the problem doesnt occour. The cost of licences isnt really the problem but the POS sale the company uses tends to crash on windows 7. XP is as far as it goes at the moment and these companies are stuck with very slow data transfer and slow software and random times in the day.

[Bellsys]

I had same problem with 2 IBM Servers X3500 with XP SP2 & SP3 clients, one running 2008R2 and the other 2008 Standard 32bit. Problem was solved when I disabled second onboard NIC, ( originally planned on using hyper V) I also disabled IVP6 did not seem to make much differance. I am also considering disabling TCP Scaling hoping for a little better Internet performance. (netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled)
since their firewall does not support scaling.

It's the antivirus man. **** at last i have it solved. and to think i thought i checked that.

[worldneverchanges]

I have the same problem - slowness between Windows XP SP3 systems and Windows Server 2008 Standard. It is only our Peachtree database that seems to be the issue. Peer-to-peer connection. Shared folder mapped on all systems. Once we open the database and then let it sit for about 5 minutes without any activity it seems to freeze. It eventually starts up but very "stop and go". I do have a Windows 7 system that works without any issues and we connected couple of Windows 7 systems to test it out and they worked fine too.

Did the SMB2 settings on the registry but no luck.

We changed cables and switch. I am beginning to wonder if the network cards have anything to do with it!!!

[altun14]

Anybody has solved this slowness problem.

[altun14]

..........