OpenBSD Journal

Development Request: Gigabit Ethernet Hardware

Contributed by jose on from the call-to-ethernet-help dept.

OpenBSD is a volunteer effort, and part of that means requesting hardware and materials for development. Nate has sent the following plea to misc@: 


There are a few things that would be handy to continue my work on gigabit.
If you could donate any of the following, I'd appreciate it.

A 4 or 8 port Gigabit fiber switch.  (2 four port switches would be fine.)
Someone kindly bought me one a little while ago, but I could really use
more fiber ports.  The D-Link DGS-3024 would be find, and can be found
cheap on ebay.  Netgear also made a pretty cheap 4 port switch.  (Don't
bid against eachother :)

I'd like to get my hands on the following gigabit cards:
  Intel Pro/1000 MT Server Adapter (Product PWLA8490MT)
  Intel Pro/1000 MT Desktop Adapter (Product PWLA8390MT)
  A newer intel Fiber Adapter (PWLA8492MF, PWLA8490MF, or PWLA8490XF)
  D-Link DGE302-T
  Any Syskonnect cards.

And if any of you are feeling extremely generous, I could use an 8-port
Gigabit copper switch.

Getting this stuff helps me make sure that our gigabit support improves.

Thanks,

  Nathan
I spoke to Nate about this earlier this weekend and asked about pricing (I wanted to buy him a NIC, too). He said that gigE copper cards start at about US$35, with switches starting at a couple of hundred dollars. Not a bad investment when you get down to it. Nate maintains a lot of the drivers for Ethernet cards. Before you buy anything, obviously bounce it off of Nate (nate@openbsd) to make sure it's the right thing and isn't already purchased.

(Comments are closed)

Comments

  1. By Anonymous Coward () on

    Where can these $35 cards be found?

    Comments

    1. By Hobart () on http://www.jb.org/

      Pasting in the part #s from the article into shopper.com here shows the Intel copper gigabit PWLA8390MT for $47 new, I'd guess used it might be found cheaper.

    2. By RC () on

      http://www.pricewatch.com/

      Comments

      1. By Anonymous Coward () on

        Lowest price is $39 with a poor page vendor that has shipping rape written all over it :)

        Comments

        1. By RC () on

          I'm looking at a $32 one right now, with shipping at $5-10. Of course, you could look through those vendors to see if any are within driving distance of you, and completely avoid shipping.

          Then there's the $36 one with $5 shipping.

          Tax in CA is about $3, so I don't think of $5 in shipping as a problem.

  2. By RC () on

    Why would someone need a switch just to write NIC drivers? A simple crossover cable would be enough to get two systems talking, and a simple passive hub would allow quite a few to be connected, as long as the total legenth is less than 50-meters, IIRC.

    What am I missing?


    BTW, if anyone is willing to work on firewire support, I'll be happy to donate a card.

    Comments

    1. By Anonymous Coward () on

      >BTW, if anyone is willing to work on firewire >support, I'll be happy to donate a card.

      The firewire stuff in OpenBSD has been imported by itojun straight from NetBSD (not completed). Coding of firewire on NetBSD seems to have resumed recently. Maybe convince itojun@ to look into it ;)

      Comments

      1. By RC () on

        Well, in that case it sounds like they already have the FW hardware to work with...

    2. By Anonymous Coward () on

      What am I missing?

      I believe Nate has previously mentioned working on performance improvements. hubs don't cut it for that sort of work.

      if a developer doesnt have access to real world equipment, how can he be expected to write drivers that will work well in real world scenarios?

      Comments

      1. By RC () on

        > if a developer doesnt have access to real world
        > equipment, how can he be expected to write drivers
        > that will work well in real world scenarios?

        The NIC doesn't need to know much of anything about the hub/switch. If it'll work with a direct cable, and with a hub, and not with a switch, there is something seriously wrong with those drivers.

        Comments

        1. By Anonymous Coward () on

          maybe that's why he wants a switch ;)

    3. By jolan () on

      What am I missing?

      A clue.

    4. By Nathan Binkert () nate@openbsd.org on mailto:nate@openbsd.org

      First, there is no such thing as a gigabit ethernet hub. The spec doesn't allow it.

      The reason I want a switch is that it is just much more practical to do network testing when you actually have a network. By having a switch, I can leave these devices in my network and actually test them all the time because I'd always be using them.

      Finally, having a switch just saves time. It makes it so I don't have to move cables and cards around as often.

      Comments

      1. By Anonymous Coward () on

        Unless I've cocked up the set up on my boxen or just had a cheap hub, only a switch supports duplex mode?

      2. By Anonymous Coward () on

        I can promisse you that I have a gigabit fiber optic hub! I'll look up the brand tomorrow. It is in my cube.

  3. By Nicolai () spam@vandersmagt.nl on mailto:spam@vandersmagt.nl

    Hi!

    I'm planning on porting OpenBSD to IBM ASCI white architecture. Unfortunately I do not currently possess an ASCI white. Please donate one ASAP as this will be a big leap forward for OBSD.

    Comments

    1. By Anonymous Coward () on

      Please provide a non-spam email and shipping address so we can send it to you. That, or 400 copies of Vogue subscriptions.

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