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Seeking gigabit ethernet card with Jumbo Frame capability

idata
Employee
1,706 Views

This post seems particularly appropriate given today's poll on jumbo frames... I am looking for recommendations for a copper gigabit desktop ethernet card with jumbo frame capability. I have both PCI and PCI-express ports at my disposal, though I'd prefer PCI-express for speed.

Some background: I work with a high-speed camera and routinely generate video files on the order of 10 GB, and I talk to the camera and save files through a gigabit ethernet interface. So far I have been using an onboard integrated ethernet port on my motherboard, but it caps out at 45 MB/sec (I know, sad) and I'd like to get a dedicated card to boost that closer to real gigabit levels. It's critical that this card have jumbo frame capability, as the camera has adjustable packet size and makes extensive use of this feature to enhance transfer speed. I read in this post (/message/92888# 92888 http://communities.intel.com/message/92888# 92888) that certain cards have a 16K limit instead of the usual 9K, which would be nice, but I don't have a PCI-x port to work with.

In any case, the product briefs often skip over whether this feature is present, but can anyone offer a recommendation for a fast, jumbo-frame compatible card, ideally with a PCI-express interface?

Thanks,

Mike

3 Replies
idata
Employee
751 Views

Followup -- I've found this page, listing network adapters compatible with jumbo frames:

http://www.intel.com/support/network/sb/CS-001911.htm?wapkw=(jumbo+frame) http://www.intel.com/support/network/sb/CS-001911.htm?wapkw=(jumbo+frame)

I'm now trying to figure out from this list which is best for me. I'd like to get an active product over discontinued, a PCI-express over PCI (assuming this is indeed the faster option, someone please correct me if I'm wrong), and a single RJ-45 connector over dual or quad, since I only need one and price is a loose constraint. The 'F' designator, like XF, MF, etc., seems to indicate fiber, and I'd like a copper ethernet interface, so I'll stick to the 'T' models. I'll be back as soon as look into these options more.

idata
Employee
751 Views

Okay, so based on this post (http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=23934.0 http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=23934.0) it looks like only the PT series is a PCI-express series, the MT and GT series are PCI-x, so the PT looks like a good bet. The desktop adapter is now discontinued / not supported, so I'm leaning toward the Pro/1000 PT Server Adapter, part # EXPI9400PT.

One source of confusion -- the list of jumbo frame adapters here (http://www.intel.com/support/network/sb/CS-001911.htm?wapkw=(jumbo+frame) http://www.intel.com/support/network/sb/CS-001911.htm) lists a PRO/1000 Gigabit Server Adapter, and I don't know what that card is. It's not listed here (http://www.intel.com/support/network/sb/cs-009221.htm?wapkw=(expi9400pt) http://www.intel.com/support/network/sb/cs-009221.htm) on the list of gigabit ethernet adapters.

Anyway, since the PT Desktop Adapter just got discontinued, I'm a bit leery of the server adapter in case it is also discontinued soon (it's been out since late '07 / early /08), so I wonder if there's a newer model that's still jumbo frame compatible that I should be considering. I think I'm done investigating this on my own now, so any additional help would be appreciated!

Mark_H_Intel
Employee
751 Views

I cannot think of any of the PCIe*-based Intel(R) Ethernet adapters that do not support 9K (9014) jumbo packets.

Consider using the http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/adapters/gigabit-ct/gigabit-ct-overview.htm Intel® Gigabit CT Desktop Adapter if you want the latest single-port adapter from Intel.

Mark H

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