slow file system access thru firewall

[nikky]

We have two servers behind a firewall on a private subnet - one Novell 5.x and one Windows 2000. We have tried using VPN clients and also setting up a VPN tunnel with another firewall. Our desktops are Windows 2000 with the latest Novell Client for Netware. We use IP only on the desktops.

We can login to the Novell server but after that access is very slow, especially compared to the Windows 2000 server.

The firewall technician told us it might be because of packet fragmentation, but I cannot set maximum phyiscal packet receive size lower than 2048 (the intel driver netware is using will not allow it). The firewall technician recommended 1500 as the best packet size.

Can anyone think of any reason why the Novell file system access is so slow from outside the firewall ?

 

[DrGreen26]

Maximum packet receive size should not be smaller but larger. This is just a buffer where packets are assembled / disassembled as they come and go through the server.

Have you performanced tuned the Novell box for the environment? I found that actually spending some time tuning the server according to Novell's guidelines will make a world of difference for speed and functionality.



Mark C. Greenwood, CNE
m_jgreenwood@yahoo.com

With more than 10 years experience to share.