From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Fri Sep 14 20:50:21 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 6064816A418 for ; Fri, 14 Sep 2007 20:50:21 +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 3E98A13C442 for ; Fri, 14 Sep 2007 20:50:21 +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 1IWI7L-0001GJ-TZ; Fri, 14 Sep 2007 15:50:24 -0500 Message-ID: <46EAF409.9040704@gmail.com> Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:50:17 -0700 From: Oliver Hansen User-Agent: Thunderbird 2.0.0.6 (Windows/20070728) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Steve Bertrand References: <46EA192E.7030807@gmail.com> <46EA278B.50603@ibctech.ca> In-Reply-To: <46EA278B.50603@ibctech.ca> 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: 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 20:50:21 -0000 Steve Bertrand 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 a few Netgear GA311's in production, and although I haven't done > any benchmarking, I know that they work rock solid operating atop the re > driver in my backup infrastructure: > > backup# uname -a > FreeBSD backup 6.2-RELEASE-p2 FreeBSD 6.2-RELEASE-p2 #0: Mon Mar 5 > 16:57:55 EST 2007 > > backup# ifconfig > re0: flags=8843 mtu 1500 > options=1b > > .... I can't speak of D-Link however. Aside from the NIC's, I have found > some performance issues with NetGear GigE managed switches though, > whereas they seem to slowly loose throughput width after a few months > without a reboot. > > Steve > > Thank you for the info regarding reliability. That is my main concern along with price. The only thing I still wonder about is features such as Jumbo Frame, 802.1q, and other support. I gather that every device on the network needs to support these for them to work generally but are any of the features really worth it on a modest home network? -- Oliver Hansen http://www.oliverhansen.com