From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Fri Sep 14 20:42:46 2007 Return-Path: Delivered-To: questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 0055B16A417 for ; Fri, 14 Sep 2007 20:42:45 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from oliver.hansen@gmail.com) Received: from miami.directrouter.com (miami.directrouter.com [72.249.49.130]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id D0A3113C461 for ; Fri, 14 Sep 2007 20:42:45 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from oliver.hansen@gmail.com) Received: from [24.16.193.235] (helo=[192.168.0.100]) by miami.directrouter.com with esmtpa (Exim 4.68) (envelope-from ) id 1IWI00-0000NE-3N; Fri, 14 Sep 2007 15:42:48 -0500 Message-ID: <46EAF241.7040102@gmail.com> Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:42:41 -0700 From: Oliver Hansen User-Agent: Thunderbird 2.0.0.6 (Windows/20070728) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Howard Jones References: <46EA192E.7030807@gmail.com> <46EA38EC.9090206@thingy.com> In-Reply-To: <46EA38EC.9090206@thingy.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-AntiAbuse: This header was added to track abuse, please include it with any abuse report X-AntiAbuse: Primary Hostname - miami.directrouter.com X-AntiAbuse: Original Domain - freebsd.org X-AntiAbuse: Originator/Caller UID/GID - [47 12] / [47 12] X-AntiAbuse: Sender Address Domain - gmail.com X-Source: X-Source-Args: X-Source-Dir: Cc: questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: [freebsd-questions] Good FreeBSD Supported Gigabit Ethernet Card? X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2007 20:42:46 -0000 Howard Jones wrote: > Oliver Hansen wrote: >> I'm looking to eventually upgrade my home network to all gigabit so >> I'm going to start by purchasing a few NICs for some old servers I >> just received. I know there are quite a few supported by FreeBSD6 >> which I found ( >> http://www.freebsd.org/releases/6.0R/hardware-i386.html#ETHERNET ) >> but I'm wondering if there is any real benefit in buying a $40 or $50 >> NIC like the Netgear GA311 or just get a $20 NIC like the D-Link >> DFE-530TX+. The use will probably be a firewall, proxy, file server, >> and DVR. >> >> >> > I have had good results with Intel Pro/1000 (em driver) NICs. The > desktop one isn't as expensive as you might think, and the driver is > one of the better FreeBSD NIC drivers. > > You might need to wind down your expectations a bit, especially on > older servers with vanilla PCI slots - my 'old' Celeron D fileserver > doesn't do much more than 25-30MB/sec. Still, doubling/tripling the > speed of your network isn't such a bad thing :-) > > With Intel server NICS on PCI-X, where I work we had up to around > 60MB/sec throughput for a freebsd-based firewall on modest hardware > (Dell 1425SC), and basic GigE switches - so the OS is good for a lot > more. > Thank you for the recommendation. I may go with an Intel Pro because they do seem to have good driver support and I've used them in the past in Windows. Yes, the basic PCI slots would not be as fast as the PCI-X but just a good increase is what I want. Transferring audio, video and other files much quicker than currently is the main goal. 60MB/sec sounds awesome -- but as you say, just tripling the speed of my current network is worth it to me.