LPIC-2 File Sharing and Samba Practice Question
A small office uses a Linux server running Samba to share documents. The share is accessible but very slow, especially when writing large files. The network is 1 Gbps, and disk performance is fine. The smb.conf has default settings. Which change is most likely to improve write performance?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse 'write cache size' with client-side caching or misattribute performance issues to network tuning, overlooking that Samba's default write behavior is synchronous and unbuffered.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Set 'write cache size = 262144'.
The 'write cache size' option enables a per-file write cache in Samba that buffers write operations before committing them to disk. With default settings, Samba may perform synchronous writes for each chunk, causing severe slowdowns on large file transfers. Setting a write cache size (e.g., 262144 bytes) allows Samba to aggregate writes, dramatically improving throughput on a fast network with adequate disk performance.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Set 'write cache size = 262144'.
Why this is correct
This enables write caching, improving write throughput.
- ✗
Set 'strict sync = yes'.
Why it's wrong here
This forces synchronous writes, slowing performance.
- ✗
Set 'use sendfile = yes'.
Why it's wrong here
This improves read performance, not write.
- ✗
Set 'socket options = TCP_NODELAY IPTOS_LOWDELAY'.
Why it's wrong here
This improves network latency but not write performance for large files.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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