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[flac.rules]

MC does not require .NET at all to my knowledge.  If so, it would be one of the third-party tools that it uses, but I don't think even that.

If your server still has IE in locked down mode, that would be a good first place to look.  I can see that causing such problems with all of the activities it does that it might have multiple threads stuck (which could, maybe, explain the oddball benchmarking scores).

Those (original, server) benchmark scores are odd.  The multithreaded math test is roughly in-line with what I'd expect from the results (a little low, but in the ballpark).  The single-threaded test, however, is dismal.  If the single-threaded task is running in the main thread (which would make sense as a good benchmark for actual performance) then perhaps that explains both the hangs and the test score.

The VM test is about where I'd expect it to be.

I think the single-threaded score is more a symptom of some underlying problem than the cause, half, a fourth, or even a tenth of the expected performance of a single 3,2 GHz modern core should be more than enough to stream music, and this also shows in that the first minutes of playback the CPU is only loaded 1% or so.

[glynor]

I think the single-threaded score is more a symptom of some underlying problem than the cause

Right.

The poor performance in the benchmark is a symptom of the problem, as are the hangs.  If you fix one, you will almost certainly fix both.

Your VM test along with your HyperPI results is pretty solid proof that the problem is somewhere in your configuration of Windows.  That's why I said at the outset that configuring Windows Server is hard and unsupported.

It is possible that you have a hardware problem, but it almost certainly would have cropped up in the 32M HyperPI results (which is why I had you run those, to get the CPU nice and hot) if it was bad enough to cause the dismal single-thread performance.  Since that didn't happen, if you have a hardware problem, it is likely to be far more subtle.  And, frankly, you should be seeing bluescreen crashes regularly if it was that bad.

Windows Server is not designed to run MC (and most applications like it).  You can do it, but it isn't an easy task, and you're probably going to be chasing problems forever (as updates change things subtly).

[gvanbrunt]

Glynor:

Do you know how the single threaded benchmark is generated? If I knew how it was done, I might gets some ideas about where to look for the issue.

[glynor]

Only vaguely. It does some fundamental math that is important for general performance in MC.

Matt's a huge math nerd. Ask him. 

[gvanbrunt]

Matt's a huge math nerd. Ask him. 

I'm scared to...

[flac.rules]

Right.

Your VM test along with your HyperPI results is pretty solid proof that the problem is somewhere in your configuration of Windows.  That's why I said at the outset that configuring Windows Server is hard and unsupported.

It is possible that you have a hardware problem, but it almost certainly would have cropped up in the 32M HyperPI results (which is why I had you run those, to get the CPU nice and hot) if it was bad enough to cause the dismal single-thread performance.  Since that didn't happen, if you have a hardware problem, it is likely to be far more subtle.  And, frankly, you should be seeing bluescreen crashes regularly if it was that bad.

Windows Server is not designed to run MC (and most applications like it).  You can do it, but it isn't an easy task, and you're probably going to be chasing problems forever (as updates change things subtly).

I have another, very similar machine with windows server running just fine, and other people here are unable to reproduce the problem on windows server. The problem might be related to the OS, but running MC on server windows usually causes no problems. I think this particular setup is the outlier, not the ones who runs MC fine on server OS. It is not my experience that it is either difficult to setup in a working state, nor that I am going to chase problems forever (at least not any more than on a desktop os), running it on a server OS.

[JimH]

Elvis,
I'm sorry but I'm going to close this now.  It is pretty clear that it's a problem with the Windows Server installation you're using.  I'd recommend switching the machine to Win7 or Win8.

Thanks to everyone who helped.

Jim

[glynor]

Elvis,

We're unable to further assist you with configuring Windows Server properly to handle running desktop applications.  There have been a number of recommendations made in this thread, and I'm not sure at all which ones (if any) you've followed.

I, personally, think the IE lockdown, if still active, is most likely the cause here, but it could be any one of about 1000 factors.  For example, I saw in your System Info in the log you posted that there are a whole bunch of audio device drivers loaded (including a bunch of USB devices).  Any one of these, or other drivers, could be causing the issue.  As I mentioned, Windows Server is much pickier about drivers, and I've personally seen many performance issues on Windows Server caused by a single ill-advised driver (usually devices designed for consumer use).

Suffice to say, as we've said before, that running MC is not supported on Windows Server.  As we said, it can be done, but it is best reserved for experts who would not need to ask us questions about basic server configuration steps.

I agree with the others that running in Windows 7 or 8 would be a better course of action.  If you use other features of your Windows Server installation, you could conceivably run MC in a VM on the machine.  If you need assistance with a supported MC configuration, please feel free to open a new thread.

Thanks, and sorry again for your trouble.

[flac.rules]

Hello, refering to the original "Hangs" thread

http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=93075.0

I have now reproduced the problem in a Win 8.1 installation. (Running om WMvare on the server).

(Just for further information, I also tried running IE without enhanced security, and running without any soundcards on the original server, but was unable to post the results before it was closed, neither made any difference).

To sum up the system on the computer:

The setup is the following

Server A: Has a MC 20 library server running, no AV, firewall open, 500 MB/s disk-array and gigabit net. It has  Xenon CPU and an Intel C224 Server board
Server B: Has a MC 20 client, connected to server A, no A, firewall open, gigabit net, 4 sound-cards which is sent to my speakers in different rooms in the house. It has a Xenon CPU, and a intel C224 server board

Both have Windows server 2012 R2 and uses the onboard NICs. Both have very little installed in terms of other programs, however server A also works as a regular file-server.

I don't remember the exact name of the hardware, I am going to check it out when i get back home.

The problem is on Server B, that is the client. On server B i am running a windows 8 install with WMware, the CPU usage is high when playing music on the MC 20 client, from the MC library server on server A. and it also hangs up regularly, with the UI becoming totally unresponsive.

[JimH]

Elvis,
I closed the other thread because I think it was demonstrated that your hardware / OS are damaged.  It may be the setup, but this is not an MC problem.  I'm closing this thread.  Please do not re-post on this problem.  

Try re-reading the thread for ideas.  Try an Internet search.

[JimH]

It's time to nuke and pave with Win 8.1.