2.42 completely freezing OS X 10.7.2

[funkahdafi]

Hi,

for a couple of days, maybe even longer, I see this strange effect when Transmission is downloading at speeds above 5-6 MB/sec. All of a sudden, the complete network stack seems to stop responding (I can see this in iStatMenus where the network monitor suddenly shows 0 KB/sec in and out - which is completely impossible on my machine). Once that happens, it doesn't take long for most of the open Applications to also stop responding, they freeze, I am getting the spinning beach ball. Not long after, even Finder freezes. The only solution is to hard-reboot the computer.

I think I had the same kind of problem a long time ago with an older version of Transmission (may have been a 1.9x or an early 2.x). That issue was discussed heavily in the forums back then.

I am pretty sure Transmission is the culprit here because this only happens while Transmission is running AND while it is downloading at full speed. To rule out anything else, I grabbed uTorrent and had it running for about a week and my system hasn't had an issue since.

Unfortunately I don't have any more details like logs or crash reports because it doesn't actually crash and I could not find anything related in the logs whatsoever.

Just wondering if anyone else is seeing this.

Thanks
Sascha

[Ehmtwo]

I have something similar where it locks Internet access to my computer, browsers and other apps that use intenet access. I can still close and use apps though, only locally. I have to reboot to restore access.

Other devices on my network are fine, and if I don't run transmission for a total run time of 20-30m, everything is fine.

[funkahdafi]

Ehmtwo's concern is being dealt with here.

funkahdafi likely needs to limit speeds and connections.

I am already limiting speed to 8000 KB/sec. And why would I need to do that anyways? I download with uTorrent unlimited with 20 MB/sec and my system runs as smooth as baby ass.

If Transmission has a problem dealing with high speeds, it should handle it in a way that does not freeze up the complete system up to a point of no return. I haven't seen an application on Mac OS that has such severe impact on system stability like Transmission does in many years.

Not I need to do something. The devs of Transmission need to do something.

[funkahdafi]

I am already limiting speed to 8000 KB/sec. And why would I need to do that anyways? I download with uTorrent unlimited with 20 MB/sec and my system runs as smooth as baby ass.

Don't let me stop you from using it!

Counterpoint: Scroogle this! "system freeze +µTorrent"

Ok, but what's your point? That it's the user's fault?

[funkahdafi]

I find it rather strange if users report problems to send them away "hey, research it yourself". If I were a developer (which I am not) and users of my software would report such problems, I would investigate them.

It's like going to shop for christmas presents in one of these super large shops. You ask an employee where to find computer gear and he tells you: Hey can't you read? There is this large information screen at the entrance. Read it or try to find the computers yourself.

Thanks.

[funkahdafi]

I agree, but Devs shouldn't rule out their own software before they start to point at poor quality routers, logic boards and what not. I for myself can claim I know my stuff pretty well. I have professional IT experience (earning my money as an enterprise network architect) and I think I am pretty sure when I see buggy software. In this case, the only thing on my whole setup that's causing problems is Transmission. Stop using Transmission, problems gone. Doesn't that pretty much rule out all the things you mentioned and only leaves Transmission as the culprit?

I couldn't care less, because as you point out, there is choice. However, I like Transmission and I would really like to see "complaints" (let's just call it a problem report) taken more seriously instead of sending users away.

By the way, are you in any way afiliated with the devs? Or am I listening to the wrong person?

[funkahdafi]

Thanks. But again: I do not have any problems with other software that shuffles around huge amounts of tcp and udp connections. uTorrent never brings my whole system to a grinding halt like Transmission does. Same is true for Vuze. I read through that post you linked and I must say excuse me, but this is rediculous. People forcibly downgrading their ethernet ports to 10 mbit just to make Transmission behave? IThis may not bug users who simply connect their machine to a low bandwidth internet router, but there are people out there who actually operate a gigabit LAN at home and need their bandwidth.

Call me an ignorant (and no offense here), but this is clearly a Transmission problem. It's not a user problem, it's not an Apple problem or anything like that. Transmission can't deal with high bandwidths, it's as simple as that. That alone wouldn't be a problem, but taking down the whole machine is. If you can't handle the high load, put something in there that detects it and throttles itself down to protect the rest of the OS.

I reckon the devs do all they can and I appreciate their efforts and actually I love Transmission - when it works. But given the fact that this issue has been around forever, as you say, I think it's time all efforts go into solving this problem.

Oh... and... HTTP downloads in Safari taking down the whole machine? You almost got me there....