Multiple interface NIC's?

hoba · May 5, 2006, 8:20 PM

heh, gigabit on a wrap is a waste of money but the linitx could also be upgraded with that, however don't know where to put the outlets.

Numbski · May 6, 2006, 4:45 PM

No reply yet. I'm actually able to think of a few systems that could get good use from these. ;)

Mac mini comes to mind (if I felt like machining the case….)

Maybe I could get an extra case-top off of eBay? :D Make an intel core duo mini into a firewall? (Not too expensive...$700?) Too bad it only has 1 mini-pci slot, and by default it's populated by an 802.11g card. However, if you don't need wireless, then that gives you 3 Gigabit ethernet ports.

hoba · May 6, 2006, 6:31 PM

keep in mind that the pci bus is a limitting factor.

Numbski · May 7, 2006, 12:39 PM

Yeah, you're right of course.

Odd, they offer dual Gigabit, but only single 10/100 cards. They tell you what chipset that is at least:

http://www.bvm-store.com/ProductDetail.asp?fdProductId=160

I had the impression that those are quality chipsets too. Perhaps they have duals and just don't list them on the site?

Numbski · May 12, 2006, 3:09 PM

Huh. I'm starting to become of the impression that these people don't respond to e-mail. Sad. I sent a follow-up message yesterday.

Numbski · May 12, 2006, 6:27 PM

Okay, now they responded:

"The MP-540 costs £35. It is not a stock item. Delivery typically 3 weeks
from confirmed order.

We have the MP-541D2 in stock at £52.
This is a dual channel Gigabit unit and uses the Intel 82541PI controllers.

These can be ordered from our website but please note there is a minimum
order quantity of £100."

Numbski · May 14, 2006, 12:59 AM

$98.31 for the dual model. They require that you spend ~$200 minimum with them.

So you have to buy two to make it worth the money. Now if I could just find a mini-itx system that had enough cpu and a pair of mini-pci slots, I'd be all set. :D

pcatiprodotnet · May 18, 2006, 3:53 AM

Could someone recommend a "cheap" 4-port Ethernet PCI card compatible with pfSense?
Thanks, -pc

JeGr · May 18, 2006, 7:26 AM

What is cheap for you? As already mentioned:

http://soekris.com/lan16x1.htm

would be a possibility.

hoba · May 18, 2006, 9:13 AM

http://shopping.hacom.net/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=38_43&products_id=75 should work too and you get 2 mini PCIs on top. Ideal to be used for boxes with only one PCI slot but be prepared that you might need a better PSU in case you use this with an embedded system. Contact Hacom for verification if needed. Hacom is one of our recommended vendors.

pcatiprodotnet · May 18, 2006, 3:51 PM

I just bought some; I was hoping for cheaper, but those are good recommendations.
Thank you, -Pete

Criggie · May 18, 2006, 9:18 PM

@pcatiprodotnet:

Could someone recommend a "cheap" 4-port Ethernet PCI card compatible with pfSense?

I have a crap 4 port dlink that works fine with the dc driver. Cost me $50 on www.trademe.co.nz. The model is a DFE-570-TX

Juve · May 28, 2006, 1:28 PM

From my personnal experience,
Intel Pro 1000 MT dual port -> ok
Intel Pro 1000 GT quad port -> ok
IBM dual port based on broadcom chips -> bad bad bad bad very bad

I'm about to try Dlink dual and quad port cards, they are cheaper ;-)

Numbski · Jun 20, 2006, 11:41 PM

Planning to go googling, but since the PCI bus has been brought up as a limiting factor, anyone seen any PCI Express (NOT PCI-X) 8x or 16x multiple interface cards? Should be able to get multi-gigabit that way, right?

Just five mins of googling turned this up, but I have no idea about compatibility:

http://www.alacritech.com/html/SEN2100_Accelerator.shtml

I will tell you that I think that company is a bit too rich for my blood. Take a look at CDW's pricing on single interface cards:

http://www.cdw.com/shop/search/Results.aspx?key=alacritech&platform=pc&x=13&y=13

:o

That garners a great big. WTF????

I know they want you to use that with iSCSI stuff, but still….if it's worth that kinda cash, use fiber. :P

Numbski · Jun 21, 2006, 1:20 PM

Speaking of cheap, this seller has listed about 10 of these on ebay. Have no idea if they would work with FreeBSD i386 or not. Also, looking at it, don't think the card would fit into my Hacom firewalls…64-bit PCI? Maybe? He says it's a "sun" branded one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/BRAND-NEW-PCI-QUAD-FAST-ETHERNET-CARD_W0QQitemZ9743050552QQihZ008QQcategoryZ51195QQcmdZViewItem

Or heck, the search term that should be obvious that wasn't to me for some reason:

http://search.ebay.com/quad-ethernet_W0QQbsZSearchQQfposZ63021QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQsacatZQ2d1QQsadisZ200QQsargnZQ2d1QQsaslcZ2QQsofocusZbs

Numbski · Jun 23, 2006, 7:32 PM

Please be aware of the following bug. Been haunting me on the Hacom units for the last week:

http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=i386/88610

When we're talking multi-interface systems, this becomes an issue. I was trying to build an 11 interface box (to handle all of the carp interfaces since you can't alias) and if it weren't for this bug I'd have no problems…