Very slow update response time when updating Excel files stored in NetApp storage volume

[Tracks]

When users access Excel documents stored at mapped network shares (deployed with a NetApp storage solution), the time to update gets really high. As an example to update a 6Mb Excel file over a connection with 38 ms latency takes more than 40 seconds.

Any suggestions?

[Ontapforrum]

Please tell us filer model and ontap version, based on that further instructions will follow.

[Tracks]

We have a FAS2720A with ONTAP 9.4P3.

I hope this information helps.

[Ontapforrum]

Looks like it is an hybrid-flash: Looking at RAM and Cores, I am surprised to see that high latency.

FAS2720 [Let me know if it's any different from this ]
Internal media types LFF (capacity) HDD; SSD
32 GB RAM/node
12 Core/Node

You mentioned : Excel documents stored at mapped network shares, could you give me some details about the volume on which these shares located.

commands:

Step 1:
@clustershell
::> volume show -volume <volume_name_here> -fields node,aggregate,is-vol-on-hybrid-aggr,space-guarantee

Step 2:
From the output above, note the Node and aggregate name, this will be required for following commands.

@clustershell
::> node run -node <node_name>
node-xx> df -Ah <aggregate_name>

Step 3:
@clustershell
::> qos statistics latency show -node <node_name>

[Tracks]

Thanks for following up with our issue!

Before performing further exploration, let me clarify that the 38ms latency are WAN latency. We have a MPLS line between two of our sites separated by 500km. The network latency between those two sites is arround 38 ms.

Is this situation a show stopper? Does it explain the poor performance?

[Ontapforrum · Accepted solution]

Thanks for letting us know.

Yes, that's a show stopper : WAN latency is outside of storage problem. Basically, no matter how fast your storage is serving up the files, but if it has to go through 38ms WAN latency then the end result will be slower, even though storage is at no fault.

I am assuming the 'end-users' are accessing the 'mapped-share' over a WAN. If so,  can we not have something cached locally ? I see two options here :

1) Using DFS
2) Using FlexCache Volumes <-- This will need another Filer placed near the branch-office, this way cache all 'hot-data' locally at user-end side, and only those blocks that are not available locally will need to be fetched from the source filer where the shares resides. This is a new solution, and it's not like mirrored relication, this is a proper Read/Write volume.

For more inofrmation on flexcache volume there is some info on this TR, it's available on net:

FlexCache Volumes in NetApp ONTAP
ONTAP 9.5
Chris Hurley, NetApp
November 2018 | TR-4743

Flexcache in ONTAP 9.5: Using a FlexCache volume in a storage system that is deployed at a remote site and connected to the cluster over a Wide Area Network (WAN), can help in situations such as distributing read-intensive data across multiple locations

[Tracks]

Thanks for your suggestion. I will move with DFS.