I have two servers running identical hardware:
- IBM xSeries x345 (8670/71X)
- 4Gb RAM
- 4 x 30Gb Disk in RAID 5, hardware controller
On one server I have Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2 + all patches.
On the other I have Windows Server 2008 SP2 + all patches.
With no other major processes running on the system (if anything the win2003 system is more heavily loaded), I install our software and run the automated tests. The win2008 system takes 50% more time to run it.
The software is a socket server daemon, configured to have 1 process running all of the time listening for client connections. For each client connection, it starts a new process connects a socket to it, and then proxies the raw socket data between the client and the new process. All executables are signed (but even if I use an unsigned executable for the one started each request, there is no difference).
Doing a very simple performance test on the two servers (PassMark) showed very similar results. I'm assuming that the problem is in my own software because I can't imagine that 2008 is that much slower than 2003.
Before I delve deep into analysing the problem, has anyone else seen major slowdowns when comparing installation of the same software on server 2003 and server 2008? If so, what was the cause of it?
Best Answer
We have deployed 10-15 SBS 2008 servers in the last year. Most customers have noticed slow downs across the board, whether its network related, email, file access, public drive access, everything is slower. Seems the 2008 code is just pig slow. Remember Vista? SBS 2008 is built on the same code. And we all know XP was faster than Vista, so its likely 2003 would be faster/more stable than 2008.
I would say R2 is much better (built on win7) and most of the speed problems have been resolved. What does this all mean? I am not surprised your 2008 box is running slow, its normal.