Hands On: Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and networks

Find out if SP1 will be the answer to your Vista network grumbles

There’s been a lot written about the forthcoming Service Pack 1 (SP1) update for Windows Vista.

Some beta testers claim significant performance increases, especially when it comes to handling network files.

Others, however, have reported hardly any improvements at all, so I thought I’d run a few quick tests myself to see who was right.

Nothing exhaustive mind, just a few network file copies with and without SP1 installed to see what effect, if any, the update might have.

Fortunately, I had a Windows Vista PC in for review at the time and, having finished benchmarking it, was able to use that for my tests.

The PC in question was from HP and nicely specified with a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 6750 processor with a couple of gigabytes of memory and running Windows Vista Business.

It also had a gigabit Ethernet interface, which was important as it meant I didn’t have to worry about bandwidth issues.

To this end I ran tests copying files from a network-attached storage (Nas) server, which was also equipped with a gigabit Ethernet port, with a gigabit switch in between.

I performed two tests. The first involved copying large files from the Nas server to the PC hard disk (a 3.0Gbits/sec Sata drive), for which I used some CD-Rom images, with three of the files involved totalling 1.3GB. For the second test I used a collection of much smaller files, involving some 300 digital photographs, which together totalled 368MB.

The tests were automated and the times recorded, with each run several times to make sure the results were repeatable. I also rebooted both the PC and Nas server between tests to eliminate any cache effects which might otherwise have skewed the results.

I ran the tests first using the PC with Vista as it was delivered and with all the latest updates installed. I then downloaded the public beta of the Vista SP1 release candidate, installed it on the PC (a lengthy process, about which more later), and reran the tests several times. The results are in the graph above.

Note that I’ve simply graphed the raw times for each transfer, so the shorter the bars the better and, as you can see, there was a significant reduction in the time taken once the Vista SP1 update had been applied. This was most obvious when copying the big files, with a reduction of around about a third. That wasn’t carried over to the small files, but that was to be expected and the impact was still noticeable.

I’m not claiming to have produced anything definitive here. The Nas server I used was a Linux box running Samba and the results with a Windows server might be completely different ­ according to some reports I’ve seen they should be even better.

It’s also worth noting that when I ran the tests in the opposite direction, copying files from the PC to the server, there was no measurable change once SP1 had been applied. There have also been changes to the SP1 software since I downloaded my copy, which may have an impact on your own results.

Installing the Service Pack
Bearing all that in mind, these results do demonstrate a measurable effect, and it’s fair to say that anyone who installs Vista SP1 can look forward to enhanced network performance. I do, though, just want to share my Vista SP1 upgrade experience with you, as it wasn’t what I was expecting.

Indeed, having installed lots of Service Packs over the years, on Windows XP and before that on Windows 2000, I thought it would be a fairly quick and painless process. It wasn’t.

To start with, the standalone version of the download is pretty chunky (436MB) and when you run it you’re warned that it could take an hour or more to load.

And that’s exactly what it needed, even on the PC I was using, which had a pretty clean install of Vista on it. Added to which it also needed a couple of reboots and there was an awful lot of processor and disk activity.

Goodness knows how long it would take on a machine that’s been in use for a while with other applications installed. That’s an issue that hopefully will be addressed before SP1 is finally released, although it’s still likely to cause a lot of pain.

Servers and internet access
Next, I want to clarify a few things about network servers, in particular the role they play in connecting a local area network to the internet.

A server can be used as a gateway between the network and the outside world. Indeed, when Microsoft first launched its Small Business Server package, that was the preferred setup, with the server able to act as a firewall, anti-virus and spam filter for everyone on the Lan.

More recently, however, this kind of setup has fallen out of favour and on most networks you’ll now find servers attached as nodes, just like desktop PCs, with a separate hardware router or gateway appliance to connect the network to the internet, as in the diagram.

Configured this way, internet connectivity can’t be compromised by software or hardware problems on the server. Likewise, if problems with internet connectivity arise, the server and any applications running on it won’t be affected by attempts to resolve them.

By the same token, however, rebooting the server won’t fix internet connectivity issues, as it often will where the server is used as a gateway. It won’t normally do any harm, but it won’t restore internet access either. For that you need to reboot or change the configuration of the router.

Another benefit is that it doesn’t really matter to the server what router or gateway hardware you’re using, just as long it works. That’s something I think worth pointing out, as I’ve been asked a number of times recently what router or gateway to use with Windows Home Server.

The answer is that it doesn’t matter, as long as it delivers the required internet connection over an adequate network pipe, and with the kind of firewall and other security features you require. That applies to other Windows server software too. If your network is already connected to the internet via a router, and you’re happy with it, there’s no reason to change it just because you’re adding a server.

Homeplug plaudits
Finally, to finish this Hands On I want to talk a little more about Ethernet over Power, also known as Powerline or Homeplug products. I’ve banged on about these little devices quite a bit before and it’s fair to say I think they’re great. However, judging from my inbox some of you remain unconvinced.

Security is one issue I’m often asked about, along with whether or not they can communicate when plugged into different AC ring circuits. Let’s start with the ring circuit issue.

I got an email from a reader recently who had asked about this in a popular electrical retailer only to be told that, although everyone said it should work, they got a lot of returns because it didn’t.

I find that surprising, as I have several devices on different rings in my house, all happily communicating with each other. Moreover, a quick web search reveals plenty of other, independent, reports saying much the same. The only limitation is that the circuits must be terminated in the same consumer unit or fuse box.

That leads on to the question: “If Homeplug devices can communicate across circuits, will devices in the next house or office, or even down the street, be able to connect to mine?” This is a common security concern and, as part of the Homeplug specification, it’s possible to encrypt data such that, should unauthorised devices gain access to your Lan, the data will be unintelligible.

I’ve always been sceptical that Homeplug networks could be hacked in this way, but have never had the opportunity to test it. So I’m grateful to reader John Sims who emailed me recently with his experiences, the bulk of which I’ve reproduced below.

“I can report that even within the one house you cannot connect across power points that run from different consumer units, even though both of these units get their feed from the same box in the main meter cupboard.

“In the interests of safety I have a separate consumer unit for my home office, and due to the effect 3ft-thick stone walls have on Wifi signals, thought Powerline would be the answer ­ the Wifi router is in my office. Not so, they just did not ‘see’ each other.

“After much cursing, testing on the local (to office) circuit and head scratching, I eventually ran a Cat5 cable to the main part of the house, plugged that into a Powerline plug and bingo, the network is available from any plug on the circuit from the consumer unit that feeds the house.

“No worries at all about security, then, in respect of the neighbours piggybacking the Powerline network. Now getting the Powerline wireless jobby to work is another story.”

Of course, as with my Vista SP1 tests, John’s experience can’t be held as definitive proof, but it adds weight to my doubts as to whether inter-building security is really an issue. My advice would be that, if you’re in a flat or shared office accommodation then encryption probably is worth turning on, but if it’s the neighbours in the house next door you’re worried about, they’re unlikely to pose a threat.