Performance Improvement for Redirector/Server Connections Involving Small File Operations

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This article was previously published under Q236316

SYMPTOMS

Programs that perform numerous small file operations, such as locking and unlocking files or writing small records, may experience slow performance.

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This problem occurs because the combination of "Nagling" (a TCP concept described in the Microsoft Knowledge Base and white papers) and TCP delayed acknowledgment can cause unnecessary network delay when numerous small file operations are outstanding between a client and server. More details on Nagling are available at the following Microsoft Web site:

ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-docs/papers/TCPIMP2.EXE (ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-docs/papers/TCPIMP2.EXE)

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RESOLUTION

Windows NT Server or Workstation 4.0

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT 4.0 or the individual software update. For information on obtaining the latest service pack, please go to:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=E396D059-E402-46EF-B095-A74399E25737&displaylang=en/ (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=E396D059-E402-46EF-B095-A74399E25737&displaylang=en/) -or-
152734 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/152734/EN-US/ ) how to obtain the latest windows nt 4.0 service pack

For information on obtaining the individual software update, contact Microsoft Product Support Services. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;en-us;cntactms)

NOTE: The optimization that is described in this article may lead to a performance decrease in some scenarios. This has been observed when a computer with the fix installed accesses a server on the network that does not have the fix. When the client performs many file locks and small reads, performance may be slower than between two computers without the fix. In this case, Microsoft recommends deploying SP6a on all the computers. If deploying SP6a is not an option, the following fix is still available that incorporates the change as a post-SP5 hotfix.

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

   Date      Time     Size      File name   Platform
   --------------------------------------------------
   06/28/99  01:10p   123,120   Netbt.sys   x86
   06/28/99  01:09p   224,144   Netbt.sys   Alpha

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Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

152734 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/152734/EN-US/ ) How to Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Windows NT 4.0 and Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. This problem was first corrected in Windows NT Server version 4.0, Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 6.

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