4 ms·

Is ixgbe really that much worse than Chelsio's?

• kev009 11y ago
  In a word: yes
  • cm3 11y ago
    Hardware as well?
    • kev009 11y ago
      Yes, but hopefully anyone doing this for real will compare whitepapers and errata for yourself, then lab test them. The T5 ASIC is in a different class than intel's parts, it can be used as several types of offload engine if that seems like a good fit for things like iSCSI, or it can be used as a very solid stateless offload NIC with tons of VFs for things like Netmap, zones/jails, or HW virtualization. Most people don't push NICs very hard, so it doesn't matter that much. If you do, you probably already have a strong opinion (i.e. glance at Netflix OpenConnect build docs).
      • cm3 11y ago
        I was planning 10G networking in my home lan, so I guess I'll eye Chelsio NIC then. Hope they're not too expensive.
        • kev009 11y ago
          Typically cheaper than Intel I bought from Netgate for my personal colo machine http://store.netgate.com/Chelsio/T520-SO-CR.aspx http://store.netgate.com/Chelsio/T520-SO-CR.aspx
          • cm3 11y ago
            Doesn't Chelsio offer copper 10G port NICs? 10G non-fiber (aka Cat.7) has been my plan.
            • kev009 11y ago
              They do, but twisted pair uses more power. You should use Twinax copper cables with the SFP NICs and switches if you don't want fiber.
      • cm3 11y ago
        Netmap support in the NIC as in FreeBSD Luigi Rizzo Netmap? What kind of support is it? Let me search....