Topic: Networks

[Crazy Maggot]

I'm looking at different options for networking. I found this 4-way Ethernet card, which seems ideal to me - I plug in 2 PCs into the server and my laptop too. The server connects to the web. Great But... (I've enclosed all the details) I think this one might be a shade expensive. Are there cheaper options? I'm running SME 5.6. No intention of upgrading as long as it'll keep hackers at bay.

The D-Link DFE-580TX is a 32-bit PCI 4-port 10/100 Mbps Ethernet adapter. Specifically designed for a client/server environment, the DFE-580TX provides a redundant pathway through fault tolerance and load balancing. With fault tolerance, the DFE-580TX guarantees connection in the event where one port is disabled. The DFE-580TX is targeted at server environments in small, medium, and large businesses.The DFE-580TX adheres to IEEE 802.3 10BaseT and 802.3u 100BaseTX. The DFE-580TX supports both Half and Full Duplex operations at 20/200 Mbps data speeds used in conjunction with 802.3x flow control support. With the DFE-580TX auto-negotiation support, connection speed is negotiated at the highest speed to a compliant switch. The DFE-580TX also supports PCI bus mastering for quick memory access, which provides high throughput and low CPU utilization.

My basic idea is to have the modem going into the server and the PCs coming from a 4-way ethernet card via XO cables.

Others have suggested routers, hubs and switches. I don't want my connection to drop below 100mbps. Less than 100Mbps is way too slow for me.

Crazy Maggot

[Anonymous]

hello

what kind of internet access do you have

a T1 line ?

if you are using cable or dsl the best you will get is 6.0 mb
you can do that with an old 10 base card so what is the problem

if you have a T1 going thru a router and a switch 100 is all you can handle it is simpler to just use a good switch than rely on the server with a 4 port nic

plug the router into the switch and you can plug in what you need

the computer with the 4 port goes down and the rest of your computers are down

take a look at so network howto's

[Anonymous]

Using the card the way you describe will be a pointless waste of time.

You will need to work out a way of either bridging the ports or running different subnets - stuff around with the firewall, get the additional ports up and running etc.

In the end it is unlikely that you will see any perfomance benefits. These cards are good for sticking in software routers or doing load balancing for servers etc.