gigabit networks

BudBud Chesterfield, Va
edited February 2004 in Science & Tech
I was thinking of going to a gigabit network becuase I to a lot of major file transfers from and to my server. I have a wired network with 3 computers soon to be 4. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas for some products and arent a arm and a leg.
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Comments

  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    GbE always costs an arm and a leg.
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    100Mb is pretty damn quick...how much transferring, and how large are you talking here?
  • BudBud Chesterfield, Va
    edited January 2004
    well at compusa I saw smc cards for 29.99 a piece so i thought that wasnt bad
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    Nah, GbE isn't that expensive:

    Cards are $39

    5 port switch is about $200

    Boom. Instant gig-e
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    $356 for a network is expensive. :(
  • madmatmadmat
    edited January 2004
    At that speed wouldn't be cheaper to just buy a hub and not worry about the drop in bandwidth?
    Do they even offer gig-e hub?
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    I really don't think there's such a thing as a gig-e hub.

    $356 for a network isn't expensive if you need the speed. That's pretty cheap, if you ask me.
  • madmatmadmat
    edited January 2004
    Heh, here's a 5 port 10/100/1000 for a mere $75 http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=33-133-003&DEPA=1&sumit=manufactory&catalog=30&manufactory=1774
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    Holy packet collision batman!
  • madmatmadmat
    edited January 2004
    It's a switch, not a hub...I forgot to add that.
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    Only 256K buffer. Thats bad for even a 100Mb network, though it is alot cheaper than all the rest.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    If you're gonna spend the money looking for a performance increase, I wouldn't bother with the garbage. Throughput is different from bandwidth.
  • SputnikSputnik Worcester, MA
    edited January 2004
    is using GbE over a crossover an option? cuz if it is it's not too bad.... but switches are rediculously expensive at this point
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    Yes you can do GbE crossover between two devices.
  • SputnikSputnik Worcester, MA
    edited January 2004
    not exaclty what i meant... is this an option in your case bud? or woudl that be a pain....
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    oh.. lol... i thought you were asking me if it was possible ... sorry :D
  • BudBud Chesterfield, Va
    edited January 2004
    yea a crossover would be a pain becuase I use a main server thats a dc then it feeds into router then I have 2 more computers on it. soon to be adding another hopefully
  • BudBud Chesterfield, Va
    edited January 2004
    whats a decent size buffer on a switch cause Enverex said a 256K buffer wasnt good
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited January 2004
    Thrax wrote:
    GbE always costs an arm and a leg.

    Not anymore. A cheap 4 port gigabit switch is 70 to 90 bucks and I get 64bit/66mhz cards for 25 to 35 bucks. And... Some of the cards let you just plug a normal gigabit cable between two computers without a switch and at worst two computers go with a crossover and no switch. So if you didn't have but two computers you can go gigabit really cheap.

    Tex
  • RobRob Detroit, MI
    edited January 2004
    Have you even measured how much throughput your current network gets?

    It's very common for residential switches to not even break 10Mbps, even when they uplink at 100M.

    Also, gigabit can be defined as a device that can transfer at rates above 100M, so most inexpensive gigabit switches will never see a full gig on any port.
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    I get an almost flat 10350KBps with my "Shock" switch. Not tested my WAPs or Routers built in switch(s) for speed.
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited January 2004
    New toys. I upgraded my 4 port gigabit to a 8 port that supports jumbo frames. You should get much better speed with jumbo frames and most the less expensive switchs didn't allow it. I mean if your going gigabit anyway why not get the most out of it.

    Tex
  • BudBud Chesterfield, Va
    edited January 2004
    where did you get your from Tex? also how big of a buffer?
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited January 2004
    smc has one of the only reasonably priced ones available. The buffer is 768. they have 4 and 8 port versions. Without jumbo frames about the best I could ever get tetsing with sandra lan bandwidth benchmark was 40. A 100mbs lan gets around 9.

    I copy and throw 40gb's around routinely from server to server. But the servers all have 64/66 or 64/133 nics in them also and I got about 25 on the bench going to a 32bit pci bus.

    I tried to attach a pdf of the specs but its to big.

    a 4 port like this was like a $100. My 8 port was $135.

    Tex
  • RobRob Detroit, MI
    edited January 2004
    I mean if your going gigabit anyway why not get the most out of it.
    With that philosphy, you would step up to commercial solutions like I use. But, were talking 100's per port, not per unit ;)

    IIRC, a 8 port fiber card was 4k-6k? the copper is ungodly, but much higher density. Heh, then you still need a chassis and management. But i promise, all the ports will pass traffic at full rated speeds at once.
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited January 2004
    And with my fiber gigabit it was 2/3's the speed of the copper I had. The switch is important but even bypassing the switch and going Nic to Nic I saw very little differance in speed.

    And yes I wish I could afford cisco but.... $133 for 8 gigabit ports at home with jumbo frames aint bad. Especially if I can get closer to gigabitfull speed with the jumbo frames.

    And Rob...... I need jumbo frame support for a linux box in this mix. Hoe do I enable that? Any idea?

    Tex
  • RobRob Detroit, MI
    edited January 2004
    Copper/Fiber is the age old question.
    Local clusters, copper on a dedicated switch.
    Feeding a switch, or a client on the other side of the room? Fiber baby, fiber.

    You will have less distance problems, signal problems, and generally a much higher quality under heavy loads. I wouldn't feed a client copper unless they were 5 feet from the router. I would rather pass off fiber to their switch, and let them run the copper on their network. When you have to guarentee packet quality and availibility, it's not worth it.

    As for the frame support, I would have to take a peek. Not a typical hosting question ;)
  • GobdGobd Seattle, WA
    edited January 2004
    Heres an ultr-acheap gigabit lan card i just found, only 14$ on sale right now.
    http://www.comready.com/soh64bitpci1.html
    Someone at another forum i read just posted it and i thought of this thread, so is this lan card any good?
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    If the price and the brand are any indicator, it probably sucks... Just because it "connects" to a gig-e network doesn't mean it's fast. It's probably a terrible performer.
  • BudBud Chesterfield, Va
    edited January 2004
    so probably for the cash its best to go withh 100mbs? can anyone recommened a good one im having problems with my linksys and d-link, so i need to get a new one.
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