Windows 10, iSCSI and the pursuit of performance!
Windows 10, iSCSI and the pursuit of performance!
Hey there, newcomer! I see you're diving into the world of forums for the first time. I understand you've been searching but haven't found what you need. Let me break down your setup and the issue you're facing. You have a home server with a solid configuration: Intel Xeon E5-2440, 96GB DDR3 ECC RAM, RAID5 HDDs, a 1TB SSD, and multiple NICs. You're using it as an Unraid server and NAS, and you're trying to set it up as an iSCSI target. The performance on Windows iSCSI has been a bit underwhelming—especially at high speeds. You mentioned a workaround around March 2022 that improved things, but now you're stuck again. Your setup sounds solid, yet the lack of attention during a Windows install led to a wipe of your NVMES when installing Arch. You're trying to recall obscure settings and commands, which is tough without a clear reference. If anyone has any tips or solutions, I’d really appreciate it. Let’s get this sorted before you hit your limits!
Utilize your personal ISCSI VLAN with jumbo frames and a 10GB capacity will likely yield optimal results. Consider using a dedicated NIC for ISCSI—it behaves similarly to a SAN, though not fiber-based. Your switch must support that size or connect directly. For guidance, check the provided link: https://support.purestorage.com/Solution...PowerShell
Thanks for your response! The iSCSI traffic flows directly to the server with MTU configured at 9014 on both sides, without any intermediate switches. I recall it was about enabling higher CPU utilization when using iSCSI via PowerShell. It's a bummer—I had games installed on that drive (Games needing slow load times like Project Zomboid and The Witcher) and everything worked fine. This serves as a warning not to overload your PC with heavy workloads. I read through the commands you shared, but I value your help. If I manage it, I’ll share a detailed guide with my system specs so others can benefit. SMB performance is impressive right now, especially with 5Gbe speeds on the array. However, iSCSI is struggling and isn’t performing well.
I thought it would be good to share my findings on the investigation. It seems the problem might lie with the network configuration. Windows continues to add routes to the server through the 1Gbe line instead of the 10Gbe NIC. After turning off all offloading features and disconnecting the 1Gbe Ethernet cable, I’m actually getting about 527MB/s on the iSCSI drives. Probably because weighted connections were enabled previously. This speed is fine for a platter disk array, so I’m okay with that. However, it brings up some concerns about M$ overall—beyond the annoying software, questionable UI choices, and the removal of useful tools like MPIO. That’s why I prefer Windows for gaming and Arch for everyday use. I’m eagerly looking forward to the Steam Deck and SteamOS 3 arriving. Thanks for your help! I’ll label this as resolved and post it in the guides for anyone who might follow my example of an overly complicated home network setup.