GiGA-BIT LAN CARD INFO.

[lxgamer]

Hello Professionals:
Just an INFO. needed here. ON a File Sharing server of a Network, having SATA II disks, with 100 MBIT Switch and 100 MBIT LAN CARD.
Suppose there are 10 users downloading data from tht server at a time and getting 1 mb per user MAX (coz 100mbit lan card). If WE JUST CHANGE OUR 100 MBIT LAN CARD to GIGABIT LAN CARD, will there be any increase in the flow if there still exist the same switch of 100MBIT and with same cables of 100MBIT(I think Cable doesnt matter, does it?)?

If No increase with just gigbit LAN, Then wht is needed in lowest budget to gain increments from the file server?

CAN U UNDERSTAND PROPERLY? THANKS IN ADVANCE ...

 

[kamel5547]

Most likely no.

If you jsut change the LAN card on the server it will still connect to the switch at 100Mbps(assuming it is a 100/10Mbps switch and not a 1000/100/10). You need both connections to be 1000Mbps in order for the connection to be at this speed. Basically you would either have to add a 1000Mbps module to the switch (if possible) and to the Server or buy a new switch.

The cable matters also only 5e or higher cable is rated for Gigabit speeds.

Truthfully I would think 100Mbps would be fine for 10 users unless they are all always transferring files. We have plenty of people still connected at 10Mbps at our office, it only is noticible if you work with large files.

You could look into a dual port solution at 100Mbps, we have dual Gigabit on our main server (not quite sure what the reqs are for this, our HP came with dual ports and software for creating a single connection with twice the bandwith).

 

[lxgamer]

Thanks Bro, Dual PORT will surely give us a boost.

 

[telim]

What you need is a managed switch (either 10/10, or ideally 10/100/1000) so you can aggregate ports. Between switches this is called TRUNKING, it allows you to connect up to 8 ports between switches and allows massive thruput between switches.

From computers to the switch you need NICs that can support "NIC TEAMING" aka NIC BONDING, AKA 10 other names.

The true name for gigabit NIC teaming/bonding/etc is: "802.3ad" support, meaning that at the driver level the cards can be setup to work in tandem and balance the load.

My advice is to invest in a Linksys SRW2024 24-port Gigabit switch (they are about $420 USD). These are actually RELABELLED Cisco switches, and the are the best bang for your buck until you start spending $2000+ for a switch.

Then get some INTEL MT PRO 1000 NICS. Get maybe 2 or 4 for your server, set them up to aggregate, and you'll get full 2-4 gigabit thruput to your switch from your server. Make sure you get the MT-class Intel NICs that can support 802.3ad. Only the newest ones do. (PWL8490 I think is the chipset.)

I found a 5-pack of those Intel NICs for about $115 USD.

These NICs support a variety of PCI standards, including PCI-X if you have a server/workstation class motherboard, so that you can get some serious internal bandwidth on the server. If not, if you just have PCI 2.2 (the plain PCI) I think you'll be limited to about 1Gbps by the bus itself, so 2 NICS is probably plenty.

Note: 802.3ab IS NOT THE SAME as 802.3ad.

 

[davemar14]

I work for a school district and we got Nortel 48 port gigabit switches!!! Wow, these things are unstoppable. We can have a 100% load on each port, and the switch doesn't slow down a bit. But...they expensive. I would invest in a GOOD 24 port gigabit switch. Also, make sure your gigabit network cards and switches support jumbo frames. It really improves throughput.

My System:
http://amdgamingrig.dyndns.org