C3 is slooow running Squid proxy server

I

InorganicMatter

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Oct 19, 2004
Messages
15,461
Are these boxes really this slow? I've run a Linux-based Squid proxy server on a 500MHz P3 and it serves 5 workstations just fine. I decided to downsize: enter VIA. I bought the fanless version of this, 256MB of DDR, and a 40GB 5400rpm hard drive. I set it up like I did before with Squid and Dansguardian, and this thing is SO SLOW browsing the internet. Hitting a web page for the first time takes upwards of 10 seconds to load, but after that it loads quick (presumably because of the cache). Wouldn't be a problem, but for browsing message boards this is really annoying. I didn't expect a whole lot of performance from this thing, but surely better than a 500MHz P3? Is this correct, or maybe is my software set up wrong?

The only major hardware difference other than the P3 -> VIA switch would be the downsizing of RAM (768MB -> 256MB), and a slower hard drive (formerly 7200rpm). Even then, this software is supposed to be very undemanding, surely the downsize wouldn't make that much difference.
 
I'm thinking you've got a software issue. It is a slow system, but not that slow.
 
dekard said:
I'm thinking you've got a software issue. It is a slow system, but not that slow.
Click to expand...
I had hoped that was the case. I'll reinstall Linux and configure it tomorrow. Bedtime!
 
It is slower than the PIII 500 unfortunately. But, on the other hand, with enough RAM, it should be reasonable, and will eat much less electricity. :)

Squid is a pig on I/O, which means lots of fast RAM, and a fast HDD. (Preferrably SCSI as it handles multiple sequential requests better.)
 
All right, I'm really upset with my VIA box. Stability: A-OK. Speed: slloooowwwwer than mollases in Jaaaanuaaarrrrrryyyyyy.

Upped it to 512MB of RAM. Vitrually no difference. Doesn't matter if it's a first-time load or a pull from the cache, this thing takes at the very least 4 seconds to load a page (used to take fractions of seconds). It hardly every accesses the hard drive, so I don't think my drive (5400RPM, 2MB cache, 2.5" form factor) is the cause. This thing is just plain slow. My 500MHz Pentium 3 is better than this thing.

Please tell me there is like a glitch in Linux or something with this thing.
 
What distro are you using. Are you sure you have DMA turned on? This would cause disk reads to be very slow.

As root, you could try
Code: 
hdparm -i /dev/hda (the hard drive in question goes in place of /dev/hda)

Should see a line referring to udma and an astrict next to the version in use, with udma4 = ATA66, udma5 = ATA100, and udma6 = ATA133.
 
slithy said:
What distro are you using. Are you sure you have DMA turned on? This would cause disk reads to be very slow.

As root, you could try
Code: 
hdparm -i /dev/hda (the hard drive in question goes in place of /dev/hda)

Should see a line referring to udma and an astrict next to the version in use, with udma4 = ATA66, udma5 = ATA100, and udma6 = ATA133.
Click to expand...
Code: 
/dev/hda:

 Model=ST94811A, FwRev=3.05, SerialNo=3KW5F3LW
 Config={ HardSect NotMFM HdSw>15uSec Fixed DTR>10Mbs RotSpdTol>.5% }
 RawCHS=16383/16/63, TrkSize=0, SectSize=0, ECCbytes=4
 BuffType=unknown, BuffSize=8192kB, MaxMultSect=16, MultSect=16
 CurCHS=65535/1/63, CurSects=4128705, LBA=yes, LBAsects=78140160
 IORDY=on/off, tPIO={min:240,w/IORDY:120}, tDMA={min:120,rec:120}
 PIO modes:  pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4
 DMA modes:  mdma0 mdma1 mdma2
 UDMA modes: udma0 udma1 *udma2
 AdvancedPM=yes: unknown setting WriteCache=enabled
 Drive conforms to: ATA/ATAPI-6 T13 1410D revision 2:

 * signifies the current active mode
What's that mean? Good? Bad? How do I fix it? The spec sheet for my HD:
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,594,00.html
 
Ok, so according to this, you drive is running at something slower than ATA33, udma3 = ATA33 and yours was set to udma2.

It's strange that the drive is running this slow and second that results say that the drive only supports udma2.

The link that you posted, shows your drive being able to do ATA100, which is udma5 and not sure what the IDE chipset on the mobo supports, but surely it's atleast ATA100, if not ATA133.

I would suggest going over to some help site for the distro you are using and asking about getting dma working at the speeds that your hardware supports.
 
You're right. My hard drive supports Ultra ATA/100, and the motherboard (VIA ML) supports "UltraDMA 133/100/66." Hmmm...OK, I'll ask around.
 
If the hard drive isn't being accessed then why would modifying the interface speed on the hard drive make a difference?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top