My WHS is an upgrade from a demo version. I have all updates installed.
I have four clients: three laptops with Vista Home Premium that connect via wireless & one Vista Ultimate desktop pc connected with 100mb wired.
I administrate the WHS with the desktop pc, so I have no issues connecting to WHS with the console or remote desktop. The daily backups run fine for all clients.
My problem arose the other day when I tried copying a 35MB file to a shared folder (one of the user folders) on the server from the desktop pc. The throughput started at 200kb/s then quickly dropped to 100kb then slowly fell to 35kb and then a few minutes later stopped with: 'network error' & 'make sure you are connected to the network and try again'. I tried again with a smaller file, 13MB, and had the same problem. A 1MB file would copy but at a very slow rate.
When I copy a 35MB file from WHS to the desktop pc, it copies ok at 175kb/s. Very slow, I think.
I tested the 13MB file from one of the laptops to WHS and it copied fine at a 2MB rate. I then tested between the laptop and the desktop and again it copied fine at a 2MB rate.
For the network settings, the IP's are assigned to all computers from a Linksys router. They all have the same workgroup name. The Vista clients have the network set to 'private'.
So it appears the problem is only between the desktop pc and WHS & worst when going from the desktop to the server.
I'm not sure where to look for a problem first. Is it the wired connection (router or nic)? Is it Vista Ultimate vs WHS? Is there a network setting I am missing?
Thanks,
GarretV
Start by updating your NIC drivers and verify that they aren’t causing a problem. Also, make sure you are running SP1 on the Vista system(s). File copy is more efficient in SP1.
If you are still having a problem, try using robocopy to copy to the server. This is a cmd line tool and is the best judge of speed. Robocopy will restart even if you are disconnected from the network. If something is causing your Vista clients to drop their connections, robocopy will alert you to this.
You can also perform a netmon trace and analyze your network traffic. However, if your Windows Home Server machine is not having trouble, it is most likely on the client side of the Vista machines.
Lara Jones [MSFT] Windows Home Server Team
