Optimizing NFS Performance: Tuning and Troubleshooting NFS on HP-UX Systems

Summary

Optimizing NFS Performance is the first authoritative, systematic guide to NFS performance optimization on HP-UX 11/11i systems. Learn to configure every component of the NFS product family for optimal performance, and discover dozens of previously undocumented tuning tips - including powerful new NFS client optimization techniques. Coverage includes environmental considerations, user-space daemons, kernel threads, Automount, AutoFS, NFS/UDP, NFS/TCP, NFS/PV2, NFS/PV3, CacheFS, mount options, buffer cache sizing, kernel parameters, troubleshooting, and more. 

Table of Contents

List of Figures.
List of Tables.
List of Key Ideas and NFS Performance Examples.
List of NFS Differences Between HP-UX 11.0 and 11i.
Acknowledgements.
Introduction.
1. Network Considerations.

Analyze Network Layout. Measure Network Throughput Capabilities. Network Troubleshooting Tools.

2. Local Filesystem Considerations.

Analyze Filesystem Layout. Measure Filesystem Throughput Capabilities. Local Filesystem Recommendations.

3. biod Daemons.

How Do the biods Work? Why Not Just Launch Hundreds of biods? When Might an NFS Client Not Benefit from biods? How Many biods Should Your NFS Client Run? Troubleshooting the biod Daemons.

4. nfsd Daemons and Threads.

What Are the Various “nfsd” Daemons and Threads? NFS Server UDP Daemon Management. NFS Server TCP Thread Management. How Many nfsds Should Your NFS Server Run? Troubleshooting the nfsd Daemons and Threads.

5. rpc.mountd.

What Services Does rpc.mountd Provide? What Factors Influence rpc.mountd Performance? Troubleshooting rpc.mountd.

6. rpc.lockd and rpc.statd.

How Do rpc.lockd and rpc.statd Handle NFS Lock Requests? How Do rpc.lockd and rpc.statd Perform Lock Recovery? Examining NFS File Locks. Avoiding NFS File Lock Hangs in Your Environment. Why Would Restarting the Daemons Clear a Lock Hang? Ensuring Optimal NFS File Locking Performance. Troubleshooting rpc.lockd and rpc.statd.

7. Automount and AutoFS.

Performance Differences between Automount and AutoFS. Automounter Performance Considerations. Should You Use Automount or AutoFS? Troubleshooting Automount and AutoFS.

8. CacheFS.

CacheFS Overview. Using CacheFS. CacheFS Internals. HP CacheFS Enhancement—the rpages Mount Option. Measuring the Effectiveness of CacheFS.

9. NFS Protocol Version 2 vs. NFS Protocol Version 3.

Differences between NFS PV2 and NFS PV3. Will a PV3 Installation Always Outperform PV2? Should You Use NFS PV2 or PV3 in Your Environment?

10. NFS/UDP vs. NFS/TCP.

Overview of UDP and TCP. Connection Management. Managing Retransmissions and Timeouts. Network Interconnect Device Buffering Considerations. Should You Use NFS/UDP or NFS/TCP in Your Environment?

11. Buffer Cache.

What Is the Buffer Cache? Why Not Allocate Lots of Memory for Buffer Cache? How Do Dynamic and Static Buffer Cache Mechanisms Differ? Should You Configure a Dynamic or Static Buffer Cache? Interaction with the syncer(1M) Daemon. Automounter's Influence on Client Caching. How Much Buffer Cache Memory Should You Configure? Measuring Buffer Cache Effectiveness.

12. Kernel Parameters.

Tunable Kernel Parameter List. Inspecting Kernel Parameter Settings. Monitoring Kernel Parameter Values via GlancePlus.

Appendix A. Summary of Tuning Recommendations.

NFS Client and Server Daemons. Supported NFS Kernel Parameters. Undocumented NFS Kernel Parameters. NFS Mount and Exportfs Options.

Appendix B. Patching Considerations.

Performance-Enhancing Defect Fixes. Performance-Enhancing New Functionality. Patching Dependent Subsystems. Verifying Current NFS Patch Level.

Bibliography.
Index.