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kapqa

Member

Registered: 2019-01-02

Posts: 594  

slow file copy / nvme-to-nvme / devuan linux?

Hello ,

today wanted to copy a folder from one Devuan partition to another ;

both Devuan are installed on respective NVME inside same computer;

both have standard setting, ext4 filesystem;

the filecopy (around +30GB) starts well, but becomes un-usually slow;

can someone please help to speed up the process?

this can't be quite normal;

the ssd in question are not the best in class, but no slouch either.

(one is pcie 4x4 kingston, another pcie 3x4 samsung 980).

thank you very much.

https://ibb.co/hx5Jr5Sr
https://ibb.co/k2g6Mnc5
https://ibb.co/273Gkgbz
https://ibb.co/ynpPJjkk

Altoid

Member

Registered: 2017-05-07

Posts: 1,948  

Re: slow file copy / nvme-to-nvme / devuan linux?

Hello:

... this can't be quite normal ...

Bear in mind that normal is a statistical term.
ie: conforming to a generalised pattern, known mean or median.

An expected average, if you will.

Up to a few years ago, if you purchased any Kingston memory product, you could rest assured that you had a quality product in you hands.
That was the normal in those days, Kingston = Quality.

Unfortunately, that is no longer the case and given what the chip market is going through due to the A1 delirium, things will not get better.
Quite the contrary, prices are rising steadily and the quality of consumer memory products are decaying.

If interested, see what happened when I puchased a set of three Kingston DataTraveler Exodia M USB 3.2 USB drives without noticing that there was no data sheet included or printed inside the cardboard blister as usual.

TL;DR

We apologize if you are dissatisfied with your product. The Exodia USB drive's are a basic low cost model with no minimum performance ratings based off the datasheet.

The reference is to the inexistent data Kingston included in the package.

You don't post the specifics (Kingston part #) of the drives you are using but I suggest you do a search on the web for any of the sites* that publish tests as well as any specs Kingston may have published in their web page.
* one is ssd-tester.com, there are others.

You could also run a benchnmark test on the drives via the [gnome-disk-utility] which is accurate enough to give you an idea as to what is going on.
You will probably have to clear / reformat the drive to test it properly.

Edit:
See this test at Tom's Hardware.

Best,

A.

Last edited by Altoid (2025-12-11 12:48:28)

kapqa

Member

Registered: 2019-01-02

Posts: 594  

Re: slow file copy / nvme-to-nvme / devuan linux?

thanks, altoid,

do have also some experience with USB drives, but not too much;

however, the drive in question is a "NVME", and should be like "blazing fast".

(although meant probaly for gamers)
https://www.kingston.com/en/ssd/gaming/ … vme-m2-ssd

EDIT:
could be loosely related. it seems other users also having problems, however, those are benchmark issues;
where as filecopy is like "real-world-issue".

https://www.techpowerup.com/327243/cruc … oot-issues

EDIT 2:

on  a sidenote,
stopped the file-copy process / however, it seems the copy does continue in the background??=?

https://ibb.co/pj6bJMqV

Last edited by kapqa (2025-12-11 13:01:25)

Altoid

Member

Registered: 2017-05-07

Posts: 1,948  

Re: slow file copy / nvme-to-nvme / devuan linux?

Hello:

thanks ...

You're welcome.

... drive in question is a "NVME" ...

Yes.
Please go over my post again.

... should be like "blazing fast".

NVMe does not necessarily mean "blazing fast".
eg: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/kingston-nv2-ssd
There are many factors at play.

Like I wrote previously, you may want to consider running R+W tests with the [gnome-disk-utility] (on both drives) to see what speeds you get.

Best,

A.

kapqa

Member

Registered: 2019-01-02

Posts: 594  

Re: slow file copy / nvme-to-nvme / devuan linux?

altoid ,

i trust that you understood me correctly, and
would know of difference between usb and nvme drives.

however have no gatekeeper or bitolocker installed;

my experience with this motherboard vendor has been mixed;

but what comes in mind is the "filesystem" > ext4 since have noticed a similar pattern when copy files from nvme to NAS (which has 2 nvme for read/write caching inplace) and has also the ext4 filesystem;

maybe the other option "btrfs" or whatever is called would perform more adequately?

can hardly believe that this is just due to the tlc/qlc cache on drive being depleted so rapidly.

thanks for any insight.

Last edited by kapqa (2025-12-11 13:52:00)

Camtaf

Member

Registered: 2019-11-19

Posts: 506  

Re: slow file copy / nvme-to-nvme / devuan linux?

Could partly be due to what kind of files, & how exactly they are being copied, i.e. via cable, or external drive, etc.

How are the drives set up, using PCie socket, & what speed it is capable of, etc.

rolfie

Member

Registered: 2017-11-25

Posts: 1,388  

Re: slow file copy / nvme-to-nvme / devuan linux?

on  a sidenote,
stopped the file-copy process / however, it seems the copy does continue in the background??=?

Here is caching involved. No copy w/o cache per default. The kernel takes some of the memory available and uses it as cache to speed up file operations.
If you want to make sure all cache is flushed use the sync command. man sync is your friend.

Everything else depends on the nvme's themselves. How they are connected is only a smal part of the story. More important are the exact specs. What kind of cells are used? TLC or QLC? How much and which kind of HW cache is present? Look at the data sheets.

Also the type of files make a difference. Many small files take longer due to directory operations than one large file with the same net size.

Last edited by rolfie (2025-12-11 15:42:06)

kapqa

Member

Registered: 2019-01-02

Posts: 594  

Re: slow file copy / nvme-to-nvme / devuan linux?

thanks for all the help,

this time must have gotten it all wrong, somehow;

on NAS side for probably employed the lowest of the low of NVME; but still not sure if it helps with the task at hand or rather impedes it;
what i noticed was that after adding the write/read cache the 4k video would playback without buffering , as were otherwise it sometimes would need to buffer.

the internal file copy NVME to NVME is still mystery;

one NVME should according to specs be DRAM-cache-less (980), the other has DRAM-cache (Fury), so it seems faster to copy/write from DRAM-less to NVME with DRAM;

besides, there must be other things going one,
since the copy/write starts stalling after around 5GB, and according to test the 980 should not be such a negative performer
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/sams … -tb/6.html

the mainboard itself is X670 - entry level - that i choose because it was one of only with PS/2 AND without Wi-Fi chip since would like to use the one and not  the other.

but probably, the mainboard is wired somehow that it has brakes onto the internal filecopy NVME to NVME;
the mainboard has the latest BIOS applied;

sorry , but have not other explanation for the moment;

https://ibb.co/sppvLRGB
https://ibb.co/B2029xDs
https://ibb.co/QjqhDBX6
https://ibb.co/TxcjC1Jn
https://ibb.co/PvTyHGbN
https://ibb.co/QFQGJ5x9
https://ibb.co/DxxM7WC

Last edited by kapqa (2025-12-12 11:10:12)

kapqa

Member

Registered: 2019-01-02

Posts: 594  

Re: slow file copy / nvme-to-nvme / devuan linux?

well, it turns out , that mybe the mainboard it function OK,

but there is issue with file-manager on devuan 6?

think we had this discussin already earlier, but it has not been resolved (yet) to full satisfy.

still rather think the issue is a bit limited to these computer here so please if you have 15 - 30 minutes spare you could test on your computer to copy the file/folder from one nvme to another internal nvme?

the issue happens on devuan 6 with both file-manager for "mate" >> "caja" and KDE >> "dolphin".

it is incredbile how it would slow down on my computer here and say it would need hourse to complete?

if however it would use program "MC" the copy would finish 30+ GB in a reasonably 1-2 minutes and the files seem all copied over?.

to test  - please compile firefox browser according to instruction provided by @igorzwx

_https://firefox-source-docs.mozilla.org/setup/linux_build.html

sudo apt update && sudo apt install curl python3 python3-pip git

curl -LO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mozilla-firefox/firefox/refs/heads/main/python/mozboot/bin/bootstrap.py

python3 bootstrap.py

_select option 2
_https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?id=7465

create .mozconfig

# file: .mozconfig (in sourcedir)

# For old computers -j2 or -j3
# If you need it, uncomment the following line
# mk_add_options MOZ_MAKE_FLAGS=-j3

# Rename Firefox to "Firefox Nightly"
mk_add_options MOZ_APP_DISPLAYNAME="Firefox Nightly"
mk_add_options MOZ_SIMPLE_PACKAGE_NAME=firefox-nightly
ac_add_options --with-app-basename="Firefox Nightly"

ac_add_options --enable-project=browser
ac_add_options --with-app-name=firefox-nightly
ac_add_options --prefix=/usr

# Enable ALSA instead of "pulse-rust"
ac_add_options --enable-audio-backends=alsa

_Export the LDFLAGS+

export LDFLAGS+=" -Wl,--no-keep-memory"

_Build Firefox

./mach build -v --priority normal

_Test
./mach run

now you should have a firefox folder with around 500.000 files to coppy over to another NVME.

please report if anomalies since this is bothering little bit on rather new computer in 2025.

thanks.

Last edited by kapqa (2025-12-16 12:53:21)