4-port 100Mbit network cards

po0k

Would any of ye like to get one of these?
Adaptec ANA-6944A-TX

I should be able to get them cheap enough, about €30-40.
Trying to find out if they're supported under Debian with channel-bonding.

electrofelix

Hmm, might be interested 2.

Could stick them into a small box no hdd, run knoppix from CD and basically have an el cheapo 8 port switch that should get alright speeds.

Interesting.

Caliden

what the difference between these and any normal network card?

po0k

It's like having 4 100MBit network cards in one, which is exactly what it is/
It has 4 of the same chip on it, each one controlling one of the ports.
The nice thing is you can (depending on OS, driver and what device(s) are on the other end of the cat5) aggregate/bond the links together to form trunks of 2x 200MBit full duplex or 1x 400Mbit fullduplex.
You can do this with ordinary cards aswell, but only some of the support it.
Under Linux, apparently if the card works as normal, you can use the linux channel-bonding app to bond any sort of cards together into bigger links.
Or if you're planning to use each link on it's own (or a combo of 2x 100Mbit links and 1x 200Mbit) you can assign individual IPs to each nic (though I think they need to be on different Subnets).
It makes things a hell of a lot more flexible.





It uses the DEC - 21140 - AF controller, which afaik is supported under linux by the Tulip driver.

Caliden

sweet. now if only i could get some cheap cat5e cable i'd be sorted

po0k

I might be buying a box of it soon enough.
Could sort you out at the lan aswell if you want.

Dara & Caliden: do you actually want one of these cards?
If so, how many?

electrofelix

think I'll look for 2 please

even if I can't create a simple switch from them, a router would be just as useful. Time to get examining how to make a Linux box act as a router.

po0k

I'll probably buy 8, need the cash up front though, or very soon after

Caliden

i think i will buy one of ya. will be handy for hooking up comps at home and setting up a decent network.
ah im sound for cable for the lan but i only have the one cable so...

Señor Juárez

hmm, is it actually 4 seperate network cards under windows? ive seen network cards with a built in 4 port switch, they aint too nice...

po0k

It's a PCI to PCI bridge connected to 4 Ethernet MACs, so depending on the driver, I'd say it could qwell show up as 4 cards under windows, as that's what it effectively is.

Caliden

so it still only takes up one pci slot? looks quite long tohugh. how much rom is needed near the back?

Señor Juárez

it shouldnt be longer than your motherboard. obviously it wont fit into a shuttle....but it seems like a good yoke. /me wants one.

po0k

It's a full-length PCI card, so any standard ATX case *should* be able to fit one of them, it's int he specs.
More than likely it'll be one of the slots near the bottom of the board.
Check the plastic fan holder or whatever at the front of the case for the support ridges designed to hold up these bigger boards.

Marclar, where you live?

electrofelix

still looking at 2, three would be good if you can get em.

btw, what's the story with these?

Señor Juárez

Dublin, Syxpak

po0k

Originally posted by electrofelix
still looking at 2, three would be good if you can get em.

btw, what's the story with these?

Sent you a mail before I saw this post.
I'll have them in my hand soon enough.
If you're around you can see them before buying.
Marclar, I assume if Felix buys some you can take it that they're quality?
Caliden, you still interested in one of the cards?

Caliden

yup i am. il take one please.
when can i get off you though?

po0k

They should be in my hands tomorrow afternoon.
Could meet you in town over the weekend?

Caliden

umm i'll be around saturday but i'll be at work. not sure what time im finishing yet. i will let you know 2mrw nite.
ok?

po0k

You have my mobile number yes?

po0k

Cards arrived today.

Caliden

hey syxpak can i buy some cat5 cable off you at the lan, that is if you got the cable you posted about earlier in this thread?..