Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Sun, 25 Feb 1996 11:39:39 -0800
From:      Jim Shankland <jas@flyingfox.COM>
To:        msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au, narvi@haldjas.folklore.ee
Cc:        hardware@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: 3COM 509 NICs
Message-ID:  <199602251939.LAA04980@saguaro.flyingfox.com>

next in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
> Narvi stands accused of saying:
> > 	A friend of mine wants to set up a FreeBSD box as a router 
> > 	between 4 ethernets and planns to use 3COM 509 NICs. As I'm the 
> > 	only one who has used FreeBSD round here, he asked me. So, can 
> > 	anyone point out any troubles I will immedeately fall into? Will 
> > 	the 3COM cards give any performance gains over NE2000 compatibles 
> > 	(there is that unresolved reference to buggyness)?
> 
> I'd be inclined to suggest NE2000's.  PIO to/from the card notwithstanding,
> the ed driver is very efficient, and NE2000 clones are very cheap.
> 
> Whilst I'm sure there are plenty of '509's out there working just fine,
> there have been enough unhappy stories about them that I'd be discouraged.

Another data point:  I have precisely this configuration (4 3C509's in
a FreeBSD box functioning as a router), and it has worked flawlessly.
We keep those 4 Ethernets pretty busy, too.

Jim Shankland
Flying Fox Computer Systems, Inc.



Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?199602251939.LAA04980>