gigabit ethernet recommendation?

Space Case <wormey.DeleteThis@eskimo.com> wrote:

 > Does anyone have a recommendation for a gigabit ethernet that will run on
 > stock 10.3.7 on the Mirror Door G4 dual 1.25GHz machine? (Wire, not fiber.)

This machine has gigabit ethernet built-in on the motherboard. I.e., the
network connector you are using today is already a 10/100/1000 mbps NIC.
You should not need anything else if you don't require multiple
interfaces.
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/Z<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: gigabit ethernet recommendation? 

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 >> Stay informed about: gigabit ethernet recommendation? 

Kevin McMurtrie <mcmurtri.DeleteThis@dslextreme.com> wrote:

 > Upgrade everything to support jumbo frames if you can. It improves
 > throughput and reduces the CPU load.

Good advice, but as you say, it requires a third-party card:

 > Consumer grade NICs supporting jumbo frames are unfortunately rare.
 > Apple makes one for the G5 and Asante made them a few years ago.

See:
<http://developer.apple.com/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/SystemOvervi
ew/SystemTechnologies/chapter_2_section_6.html>

And in
<http://developer.apple.com/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/SystemOvervi
ew/SystemOverview.pdf> (1.7 MB PDF file), it says (under Media Types, p
32):

"This Ethernet format is a technology that uses 9 KB frames for
interserver links rather than the standard 1.5 KB frame. Jumbo Frame
decreases network overhead and increases the flow of server-to-server
and server-to-application data. Jumbo frames are supported in Mac OS X
10.2.4 and later and only on third-party Ethernet cards that support the
feature."

In other words, it is primarily intended for "interserver links", which
is probably why - as far as I can see - it first appeared in Mac OS X
Server, but is now available in all versions.
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/Z<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: gigabit ethernet recommendation? 

On Tue, 1 Feb 2005, Zaphod B wrote:

 > Kevin McMurtrie <mcmurtri.DeleteThis@dslextreme.com> wrote:
 >
  > > Upgrade everything to support jumbo frames if you can. It improves
  > > throughput and reduces the CPU load.
 >
 > [...] it is primarily intended for "interserver links", which is
 > probably why - as far as I can see - it first appeared in Mac OS X
 > Server, but is now available in all versions.

I think the thing about 'interserver links' is really about 'links over a
single ethernet segment' - most switches and routers won't pass jumbo
frames, so they're not a lot of use for desktop machines which have to
reach across many hops for most of their connections. For the OP's case,
shifting bulk data six feet across a room, they'd be appropriate.

tom

--
It's worth remembering that if you chain a thousand monkeys to a thousand typewriters, they will all eventually die of starvation. -- themanwhofellasleep<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: gigabit ethernet recommendation? 

In comp.sys.mac.system Kevin McMurtrie <mcmurtri.DeleteThis@dslextreme.com> wrote:
 > Upgrade everything to support jumbo frames if you can. It improves
 > throughput and reduces the CPU load.

Might be better to put that as:

Reduces CPU load for bulk transfers and so may improve throughput. If
the system was not already CPU bound for the transfer JF may not do
all that much but make it less CPU bound.

And of course the sends across the network need to be "large" for JF
to do any good. If the mirroring is doing reasonably large transfers
it will help, but if not...

 > Consumer grade NICs supporting jumbo frames are unfortunately rare.
 > Apple makes one for the G5 and Asante made them a few years ago.

And should things change in your setup, don't forget that if you need
anything other than back-to-back that JF capable switches are equally
rare.

Another feature is large send or TSO whereby the NIC does segmentation
offload for the host. It allows the sender to pretend to send much
larger TCP segments (larger even than JF) and the NIC makes them the
right size. No switch support required, or support anywhere but the
sender. It can be thought of as a poor-man's jumbo frame. However:

*) It requires support in the sending TCP
*) It does not make life easier on the receiver

so it is not exactly a free lunch.

rick jones
--
The computing industry isn't as much a game of "Follow The Leader" as
it is one of "Ring Around the Rosy" or perhaps "Duck Duck Goose."
- Rick Jones
these opinions are mine, all mine; HP might not want them anyway... :)
feel free to post, OR email to raj in cup.hp.com but NOT BOTH...<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: gigabit ethernet recommendation? 

In article <1grar88.1yzr1ois8nmjmN%NOT.diskworld@mac.com.INVALID>,
Zaphod B <diskworld.DeleteThis@mac.com> wrote:
 >Space Case <wormey.DeleteThis@eskimo.com> wrote:
  >> Does anyone have a recommendation for a gigabit ethernet that will run on
  >> stock 10.3.7 on the Mirror Door G4 dual 1.25GHz machine? (Wire, not fiber.)
 >
 >This machine has gigabit ethernet built-in on the motherboard. I.e., the
 >network connector you are using today is already a 10/100/1000 mbps NIC.
 >You should not need anything else if you don't require multiple
 >interfaces.

Oh, my. I wasn't aware of that. I thought it only had 10/100.
So, as Emily Latella says, "Never mind."

Thanks, all, for the responses.

~Steve

--
Steve Allen - wormey.DeleteThis@eskimo.com <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.eskimo.com/~wormey/" target="_blank">http://www.eskimo.com/~wormey/</a>

Faith is the quality that enables you to eat blackberry jam on a picnic
without looking to see whether the seeds move.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: gigabit ethernet recommendation?