Slow wifi from Windows Server 2003 virtualized in XenServer

Posted by John Clayton on Super User See other posts from Super User or by John Clayton
Published on 2010-05-07T03:54:41Z Indexed on 2010/05/11 16:04 UTC
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I'm a brand spanking new user of OS X, coming from a lifetime of Windows use. I've been setting up my new Macbook Pro and have run into a very unusual problem. Over wifi, I am unable to copy files to or from my Windows Home Server. The problem seems to exist only over wifi, and only to WHS.

Here are the details of my setup:

  • 2010 Macbook Pro (Core i7), OS X 10.6.3
  • Windows Home Server PP3 (virtualized in XenServer 5.5)
  • Windows 7 Ultimate x64 desktop
  • Windows 7 Ultimate x64 in Boot Camp
  • D-Link DIR-655 wireless N router

Here is what I've done to narrow down the problem:

  • Files copy fine from WHS to OS X when using gigabit ethernet
  • Files copy fine from desktop to OS X when using gigabit ethernet
  • Files fail to copy from WHS to OS X when using wifi (error -51)
  • Files copy fine from desktop to OS X when using wifi
  • Files copy fine from WHS to Boot Camp when using wifi
  • Files copy fine from desktop to Boot Camp when using wifi

From what I can tell, it seems to be some sort of issue between OS X and WHS, but I can't for the life of me see what would be different between shares on WHS and my desktop. They are both connected using smb://ADDRESS (I've tried both by IP and name). I can browse the shares on the WHS, but copying to OS X fails.

I originally found the issue while installing VS2010 off an ISO from WHS, mounted to a Windows 7 VM using VMware Fusion. During the installation the VM was unusable - even the clock got behind the host be about 8 minutes. Once I plugged in the ethernet and disabled the wifi things picked up and finished quickly. The Fusion 3.1 RC is the only I think of that I installed that may have messed with the wifi driver.

I've also tried resetting the wifi router, and have changed it from being G & N to N-only. Under Boot Camp I get similar speeds as my wife's N laptop.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Update: The issue has been further narrowed down to Windows Server 2003, which Windows Home Server is based on, running in XenServer with the XenServer tools installed.

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