Samba CPU Usage with large directories ...

[Scott Taylor]

Hi.

We have a samba server running version 2.2.5 on kernel 2.4.18 with the SGI XFS patch. The shared 
volume consists of an XFS partition on a 3-ware raid5 controller. The network connection is via a 4 
port bonded pipe to the switch.

We notice that the samba CPU usage during write operations increases dramatically once a directory 
contains more than a certian number of files - thought to be somewhere around the 1500 to 2000 mark.

We have tried allowing samba more memory, which did not seem to help - and have had little or no 
success finding any information on the web, hence this post.

Thanks for your attention and help,

Scott