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Im really surprised that >gb ethernet has taken so long to make it into the consumer realm. These NICs are a start, but there wont be wide adoption until >gb e

Im really surprised that >gb ethernet has taken so long to make it into the consumer realm. These NICs are a start, but there wont be wide adoption until >gb ethernet is integrated into mainstream southbridges.

zurn 9y ago
Most wired ethernet is probably deployed in business settings now, and business desktops are stagnant too. iPhones with choppy 3G/4G killed fast wired consumer broadband.
mseebach 9y ago
I'm not. There are very few compelling consumer LAN usecases, most of what most users do it bounded by their internet connection. Indeed, the tendency is for consumer devices to forego ethernet ports entirely in favour of wifi.
drewg123 9y ago
Its kind of a chicken and egg problem. I'm not aware of any consumer 2.5/5G switches, and 10Gbase-T switches are still more than 10x as expensive as 1Gb/s switches. There's also the lack of a compelling use case. Most consumer NAS boxes are still based on spinning drives, and 1Gb/s is still a reasonable match for a spinning drive. I've had 10GbE equipment in my house for about 12 years (I worked remotely and did drivers for one of the first 10GbE NICS), but I've never had > 1 Gb/s equipment in anything but lab equipment. Eg, not in my home desktop / NAS server, etc.
- ojbyrne 9y ago
  There are some NASs with 2x1 GB ethernet connections, which suggests to me there's at least some demand.
  - sethhochberg 9y ago
    I'd bet that's actually a part of what is restricting general demand for 1gbit+ NICs on consumer gear. How many consumer or prosumer applications actually exist where 1gbit/sec isn't sufficient, but a pair of bonded 1gbit/sec NICs still isn't enough? Link aggregation is commonly enough supported and easy enough to configure for the kind of audience who needs it that I suspect this covers much of the demand which might otherwise be served by 5gbit or 10gbit NICs natively.

zurn 9y ago

Most wired ethernet is probably deployed in business settings now, and business desktops are stagnant too. iPhones with choppy 3G/4G killed fast wired consumer broadband.

mseebach 9y ago

I'm not. There are very few compelling consumer LAN usecases, most of what most users do it bounded by their internet connection. Indeed, the tendency is for consumer devices to forego ethernet ports entirely in favour of wifi.

drewg123 9y ago

Its kind of a chicken and egg problem. I'm not aware of any consumer 2.5/5G switches, and 10Gbase-T switches are still more than 10x as expensive as 1Gb/s switches. There's also the lack of a compelling use case. Most consumer NAS boxes are still based on spinning drives, and 1Gb/s is still a reasonable match for a spinning drive. I've had 10GbE equipment in my house for about 12 years (I worked remotely and did drivers for one of the first 10GbE NICS), but I've never had > 1 Gb/s equipment in anything but lab equipment. Eg, not in my home desktop / NAS server, etc.

ojbyrne 9y ago
There are some NASs with 2x1 GB ethernet connections, which suggests to me there's at least some demand.
- sethhochberg 9y ago
  I'd bet that's actually a part of what is restricting general demand for 1gbit+ NICs on consumer gear. How many consumer or prosumer applications actually exist where 1gbit/sec isn't sufficient, but a pair of bonded 1gbit/sec NICs still isn't enough? Link aggregation is commonly enough supported and easy enough to configure for the kind of audience who needs it that I suspect this covers much of the demand which might otherwise be served by 5gbit or 10gbit NICs natively.