Slow Loading of NAS Files

[Bazza01]

I am trying to establish why the files on my NAS are taking so long to load.

The NAS is an Asustor AS5304T with 8GB RAM and Dual 2.4GbE ports and 2 x 16TB IronWolf Pro HD's installed as RAID 1.

I have a Mac Studio M1 Ultra 64GB Ram running Sonoma 14.6.1

When I try to access the files on the NAS, they take a long time to load, but when I access them via a PC which is on the same network, they load almost instantaneous.

I have tried two different file managers, Finder and Commander One, but it makes no difference.

Why do these files take so long to load via the MAC, which is significantly more powerful than the PC?

 

[Bigwaff]

I am trying to establish why the files on my NAS are taking so long to load.

The NAS is an Asustor AS5304T with 8GB RAM and Dual 2.4GbE ports and 2 x 16TB IronWolf Pro HD's installed as RAID 1.

I have a Mac Studio M1 Ultra 64GB Ram running Sonoma 14.6.1

When I try to access the files on the NAS, they take a long time to load, but when I access them via a PC which is on the same network, they load almost instantaneous.

What version of SMB does your NAS support? When you say “so long to load”, are you opening the files? How many files? Is the PC running Windows or Linux? Are you connecting to the NAS via WiFi or Ethernet? Need lots more info to troubleshoot. 😀

 

[Bazza01]

What version of SMB does your NAS support? When you say “so long to load”, are you opening the files? How many files? Is the PC running Windows or Linux? Are you connecting to the NAS via WiFi or Ethernet? Need lots more info to troubleshoot. 😀

@Bigwaff Thanks for your reply. Please see below:

What version of SMB does your NAS support? - The highest is set to SMB3 and the lowest is set to SMB2

When you say “so long to load”, are you opening the files? How many files? - I am referring to the amount of time the files within the directory I am accessing take to show. The directory size is 571GB which I appreciate is a very large folder, but via the PC, access is very quick.

Is the PC running Windows or Linux? - Windows 11

Are you connecting to the NAS via WiFi or Ethernet? - Ethernet via a Netgear 16 Port Gigabit Switch (GS116UK)

These are my settings:

 

[Bigwaff]

I am referring to the amount of time the files within the directory I am accessing take to show. The directory size is 571GB which I appreciate is a very large folder, but via the PC, access is very quick.

It's probably related to reading the .DS_store metadata for the shared folder. For share folders with a large number of files, reading this metadata takes some time. You can turn off this behavior and tell macOS not to read the metadata.

Adjust SMB browsing behavior in macOS - Apple Support

The default settings for browsing network folders such as Server Message Block (SMB) shares are ideal for most organizations and users. But you can make adjustments to optimize SMB browsing in enterprise environments.

support.apple.com

 

[jackerin]

Have you tried connecting via AFP? I have an Asustor myself and while I usually don't have issues with SMB it could be worth a try in case newer macos plays nicer with AFP.

 

[Bazza01]

It's probably related to reading the .DS_store metadata for the shared folder. For share folders with a large number of files, reading this metadata takes some time. You can turn off this behavior and tell macOS not to read the metadata.

Adjust SMB browsing behavior in macOS - Apple Support

The default settings for browsing network folders such as Server Message Block (SMB) shares are ideal for most organizations and users. But you can make adjustments to optimize SMB browsing in enterprise environments.

support.apple.com

I'll try this and update.

 

[Bazza01]

Have you tried connecting via AFP? I have an Asustor myself and while I usually don't have issues with SMB it could be worth a try in case newer macos plays nicer with AFP.

@jackerin Originally, when I first set up the NAS, I was connected via AFP and had to change to SMB, but I can't remember why it was necessary to do this.

Are my SMB settings similar to those you have configured for your Asustor NAS?

 

[Bigwaff]

Have you tried connecting via AFP? I have an Asustor myself and while I usually don't have issues with SMB it could be worth a try in case newer macos plays nicer with AFP.

Apple has deprecated AFP. NAS vendors are phasing out support for AFP.

AFP is no longer supported in macOS Big Sur. Here's the fix

You may need to tweak some settings to keep sharing volumes after upgrading to High Sierra or later.

www.macworld.com

 

[Bazza01]

Apple has deprecated AFP. NAS vendors are phasing out support for AFP.

AFP is no longer supported in macOS Big Sur. Here's the fix

You may need to tweak some settings to keep sharing volumes after upgrading to High Sierra or later.

www.macworld.com

That was probably the reason why I switched to SMB, although looking at my NAS settings, I see that both SMB and AFP are tick boxed.

 

[Bazza01]

@Bigwaff @jackerin Unfortunately neither suggestion has made a difference.

I'm puzzled as to why when accessing the same folder via my PC, the contents of the folder are displayed instantly.

Both PC and Mac are accessing the NAS via Ethernet through a switch.