Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ GUI freeze on connection - 2 CPUs

[Zom]

Computer configuration:
eMule Plus version:	1.2
Using proxy:	No
Firewall:	No
CPU:	Intel Core2 6400 @ 2.13 Ghz
Memory:	2 GB
Operating System:	XP Pro SP2
Updated drivers for network and video:	Yes

eMule+ 1.2 GUI freezes for about 60 second to 2 mins when connecting to a server, and then freezes for about 3-5 seconds every 60 seconds or so for about the next 20 minutes, then runs OK.

Freezing does not occur if eMule+ is started and is not connected to a server. Freezing always coincides with server connection, for all servers connected.

Task manager shows about 80% on one CPU and 45% on the other CPU coinciding precisely with the freezing. There is no concurrent increase in network activity, memory usage, swapping or disk activity.

The image below shows the activity. First peak when started, 2 min long peak when connecting, and subsequent short peaks at 1 min intervals 22 times and then all is OK. During each peak the GUI freezes.


PC is connected to a LAN. The LAN is firewalled. The PC is not.

This is my new PC. The old PC was single processor 2.4GHz. eMule+ 1.2 worked just fine on the old PC for zonks. When istalled on the new PC *EXACTLY* as was on the old PC this problem started.

Nothing else on the network has changed.

New information 1 - the short peaks do not relate to server keep-alive. Doubling the keep-alive period made no difference to the behaviour.
New information 2 - inspecting the logs it seems that the 22 short peaks in activity correspond with entries of "Published 200 file(s) on the server, nnnn remaining".

Hope you can help.

Zom.

This post has been edited by Zom: Oct 4 2006, 09:36

[Aw3]

Do you use antivirus monitor?

[Zom]

Do you use antivirus monitor?

Yes. McAfee.
It makes no difference whether McAfee is enabled or not. McAfee was installed in the 1 CPU configuration as well.

Zom.

[Aw3]

Disable config and temp. directories from antivirus monitoring.
Also I hope you patched your tcpip driver...

[Zom]

Disable config and temp. directories from antivirus monitoring.

Same behaviour with antivirus completely disabled, which I expect would include those directories.

Also I hope you patched your tcpip driver...

Yep - patched to latest.

Zom.

[Fuxie - DK]

Don't EXPECT anything... Check if COnfig-Dir and Temp-Dirs are excluded from monitoring...


What do you mean by "Patched to latest"?? "Patched to how much" is the question...

[muleteer]

Which firewall are you using?
What happens if the firewall is disabled?
Is the XP firewall disabled?
Is there a worm protection feature in McAfee that blocks incoming connections (mini firewall)? If so, have you configured it to allow eMule Plus traffic?

From what I can see your computer goes crazy when the server responds to a query from your client. This has to be a firewall issue. Look for hidden firewalls.

If you are using ICS (internet connection sharing) you must enable the XP internal firewall and manually add emule to the list of exclusions.

HTH

[Zom]

Don't EXPECT anything

Forgive me if I expect that the folders are excluded from monitoring when the A/V is disabled, because I do. No A/V == no monitoring.

What do you mean by "Patched to latest"

Perhaps I should have said patched to the latest version of the patch program. I think 50 is the value the latest version of the patch program defaults to.

Which firewall are you using?
What happens if the firewall is disabled?
Is the XP firewall disabled?
Is there a worm protection feature in McAfee that blocks incoming connections (mini firewall)? If so, have you configured it to allow eMule Plus traffic?

Is there something wrong with my English? The PC is not firewalled. That means no firewall on the PC, and that means no XP firewall and no McAfee firewall.

I cannot disable the LAN to Internet firewall. That would be a complete disaster almost immediately. The LAN firewall has not changed configuration at all since eMule+ worked properly on the previous PC.

[Zom]

.... Would be nice to have some feedback about how the fix for the handling of large numbers of shared files is working. ....

Not so well it would seem. I dropped my share to below 1000 files and my problem disappeared!

[Vladimir (SV)]

Zom, I had a problem like that once, and was due to Ultra Sniffer, check if something like that is present in your new installation.

Had you adquired your new pc with OS preinstalled?, it's a brand model? (some of them include very weird software, I had even heard about Compaq including some spyware O.o...).

When you're in the task manager, processor usage is due to emule.exe or some other app?, as something related to ultra sniffer, this problem could be another app making the trouble (sometimes Clever Cache and others RAMs/Cache optimizers doesn't work as expected).

btw. Does a fresh copy of ePlus works for you?

[Fuxie - DK]

If you are using ICS (internet connection sharing) you must enable the XP internal firewall and manually add emule to the list of exclusions.

Are you 100% sure about that??

In Windows 2003 Server, ICS requires internal FireWall to be DISABLED. Otherwise you can't configure ANYTHING for ICS...

[Fuxie - DK]

eMule+ 1.2 GUI freezes for about 60 second to 2 mins when connecting to a server, and then freezes for about 3-5 seconds every 60 seconds or so for about the next 20 minutes, then runs OK.

I was thinking....

Are you talking about 2 physical CPUs or are you talking about single a HyperThreaded CPU??

I have run eMule Plus v1.2 on a Dual CPU system (2 physical Pentium 3 CPUs), without any problems, since we solved the deadlocks 2 years ago.

HT (HyperThreaded) CPUs operate in a completely different mannor, and can be subject to a whole other range of problems..

Unfortunately, I can't test Dual CPU-support anymore, as I have disposed of that MotherBoard, no more that 1,5 months ago...

[Vladimir (SV)]

Fuxie-DK, Core2 has the Dual-Core Technology, even there's cases (but not the 6400 processor of Zom) that include HT in each core

[Zom]

Fuxie-DK and Vladimir (SV)
Thanks for the ideas.
There is no firewall active on the PC.
The PC is not ICS.
The CPU usage is definitely eMule+ only.
There is no funny application installed.
The PC is genuine Intel MB.
The OS and apps installs were bare bones by me from known good sources.
The OS and most apps are fully patched.
This was a fresh copy of eMule+.
This problem did not happen on a single CPU PC.

I have experimented, and the problem clearly and directly relates to the number of files shared. As I gradually increase the number of files shared GUI locking appears, along with some other strange behaviours like servers reporting my ports are not open and incorrect client IDs being assigned.

If I keep my shares to below 1000 I have completely trouble free operation. So guess what I am doing ....

Let me know if you would like any more specific info for debugging this problem.

This post has been edited by Zom: Oct 8 2006, 23:29

[Vladimir (SV)]

Well, in fact it's not good to share that much (>1000 files), but definitively there's a problem with dual core processors and the way eMule proccess that list.

I'm under the idea that it's not related of the packet being sended to server, but the time it got prepared to be sended.

I'll try to reproduce it; Zom, it's exactly 1000 + 1 the number of files in shared list that give you the problem? how much shared files do you have when problem start?.

btw, there's nothing related to hashing of big files in the log?, maybe those locks are due to hashing of files being shared.