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From: Alec Kloss <alec@d2si.com>
Message-Id: <199702231438.IAA02270@d2si.com>
Subject: Re: Buggy (?) 3C509
To: cheese@websource.com.au
Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 08:38:30 -0600 (CST)
Cc: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG
In-Reply-To: <199702222316.KAA24058@bbq.websource.com.au> from Mark Cheeseman at "Feb 23, 97 10:16:30 am"
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Mark Cheeseman is responsible for:
> I'm considering changing the NICs in a few of our machines from 
> NE2000 clones to 3C509s, but a few of the docs on www.freebsd.org and 
> LINT note that the ep driver is 'buggy'. 
> 
> Can somebody shed any light on specifics (or indeed, if the bugs are 
> still there)?
> 
> I need to increase Ethernet throughput on these machines, and thought 
> I'd try the '509s since I have a few ot them. Suggestions for other 
> quick  ISA cards are also welcome, but I'd like to use the 509 if 
> possible.
> 
> Thanks,
> mark
> 
I tried to use one of those guys for a while;  only about 5-10% 
of ICMP Ping packets made it.  I tried to install via NFS with
this card from another machine on our network and I got transfer
rates of about 1KB/sec., so I used a null modem cable instead,
which was at least twice as fast.  I then went out and bought a
cheepo NE2000-compatible PCI card which works great and cost
about 40% less than the 3Com ISA card.

I think they may be replacing or fixing the driver for the
2.2-RELEASE, but I have no proof of that.