[SLL] Ethernet Card Suggestions Anyone?

[Glenn Stone]

On Thu, Jan 10, 2008 at 12:03:40PM -0800, Rob Smith wrote:
>You can get something like this:
>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833342001
>that has a 400 mhz cpu on the card and a full linux environment
>(including iptables) to use as a firewall outside of your main os.

erm, the Linux driver for that is crippled; you have to use That Other OS to
download the cool stuff (or any flash updates).  Cool idea, but the
implementation is lacking.  (This is the Bigfoot Networks "Killer" card.)

>Or you can get something like this:
>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106114
>Which has some on board TCP processing

I like these.  I've liked these for a long time now.  (Intel E1000, server
variety.)  They come in one, two, and four-nic per card varieties.  Intel
got the clue many moons ago and GPL'ed the driver and got it into the
mainstream kernel, and it's a real workhorse.  The one- and two-port cards
come with a low profile bracket so you can stuff it in the extra slot of
your 1-U server and pump out major bittage... you can team these, too.  

There are two varieties of NICs that I would put in any server without even
thinking about it.  This is one.  (The 3com Tornado/Cyclone/etc. series
(3c9x5ish stuff) are the others.  Those can be had for nearly a dime a dozen
at Re-PC... the Intels are pricey, but if you're bidding new stuff, worth
it.) 

(Oh, slight digression.  Intel just got busted in New York State for
anti-trust vs. AMD... FWIW... but I still love their NIC's.)

>Or you can get something like this:
>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106121
>Which has about nothing at all other then a nice speedy chip.

(Intel Desktop)  I wondered what the difference was... now I know.  These
little ones will work just fine in "basic" webservers and such where you're
not trying to wring every last ounce of performance out of it, and are a LOT
cheaper.  Same e1000 driver, just doesn't shove data quite as fast.  

>Downside on 2 or 4 port cards is of course bus contention. If the bus
>they're plugged into can't handle outputting full load for all of
>them, max performance will suffer. That said, in your application, you
>might not even notice.

*nods*  One also has to consider what one's upstream is.  If you're serving
 direct to the 'net, unless you've got a frac-T3 or higher, you're never
 gonna pull more than a gig-and-a-half anyway.  If you're serving across the
 room with a quad-card, OTOH, bus speeds get real important... so do switch
 speeds... 

>In regards to mobos, you really want server class with multiple buses
>to put all your interfaces on (that way you don't get the io
>contention issues). Smaller mobos tend to sacrifice multiple buses for
>smaller footprint. If you really want fast, you're unlikely to find it
>in a small footprint.

*nods* and be sure to RTFM to make sure you're getting your cards on
 different busses.  How many times that one has bitten me, I couldn't
 say... 

>Again, it all depends on what you are after.

>Also keep in mind, the network backbone is a speed limiter as well. I
>highly recommend the HP Procurve 2810 managed switches, as they work
>really really well and have all the management features anyone really
>needs (outside of very specialized setups). Bad networking cables will
>drop your speed, as well as interference on the cables, so watch out
>where you run your cables (next to powered cables is a bit no-no).
	   
*nods* that's not even Code, in certain setups.  

-- Glenn