Summary:
During the initial launch or start-up of Acronis Files Connect (formerly ExtremeZ-IP), the following error message may appear in the Acronis Files Connect Operation Log, or the "Application Log" of the Windows Event Viewer:
Memory settings for this server are not optimized correctly. You should reconfigure your server to maximize throughput for network applications.
Description:
On a Windows 2003 or earlier system, this message is an indication that present memory optimization can 'choke' connections to Macintosh clients. On Windows Server 2008, the setting related to this message is no longer user configurable and this message can be disregarded.
Additionally, if no problems with throughput, connection, or performance are recognized, this warning may be disregarded. However, if any of these problems are recognized, it is recommended that throughput be optimized for "Network Applications," as opposed to "File Sharing."
This adjustment may be made by selecting:
Settings > Network and Dial-Up Connections > {NIC Card} Properties > File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks > Properties
According to Microsoft (KB Article Q110255):
"The 'Maximize Throughput for File Sharing' option permits the system cache to use more available memory than it would otherwise. In this situation, the available memory can drop to levels that result in heavy swapping activity on the hard disks in order to accomodate requests from user or system applications that may subsequently need to be swapped into memory."
We make the recommendation that Acronis Files Connect users enable throughput for "Network Applications" for the above memory reasons. Specifically, the File Sharing optimization helps Windows file sharing connections only. As a result, Acronis Files Connect and other similar applications are forced to swap more frequently, causing performance to degrade. Of note, the setting of this option should only minimally impact the file sharing performance of your Windows users.
If Mac-centric connections are dealing with a limited chunk of memory, and a large number of change notifications (based on other systems accessing files), then it is possible that Mac users will experience decreased performance.
It is also the case that the Macintosh will continue to "ping" or "tickle" the shared resource at a set interval, whether the file sharing is actively doing something or not. Even if a volume is simply mounted on the desktop, the Mac will continue to talk to the AppleShare server, to maintain the connection. If the mac repetitively makes these requests (which are being queued on the server) and waits for responses, the macs will "hang" until the response is reached. If there is a delay involved, a delay will be evident to the Mac user as well.