* Multiport Gigabit Ethernet cards vs. single 10 Gigabit Ethernet cards
The lead story in out Infrastructure section this week takes a look at an interesting dilemma – using multiport Gigabit Ethernet cards over a single 10G bit/sec Ethernet card for truly fat server pipes.
Our author (phochmuth@nww.com) says that the emergence of 10 Gigabit Ethernet network interface cards (NIC) gives users a new tool for getting more bandwidth to servers, but industry observers say some users might find better value for scaling server pipes by installing multiport Gigabit NICs. Until 10G prices come down – and they are expected to – users can save almost 80% by buying multiport Gigabit cards instead of single 10 Gigabit Ethernet cards, if bandwidth needs don’t exceed 4G bit/sec.
But some observers say that if a need exists for a 2 to 4 Gigabit connection, users would be better served by installing multiport Gigabit cards, our author states. These cards offer as many as four 1000Base-T ports on a single PCI-X card, and can be trunked to create a virtual four-gigabit pipe. With the cost of 10G NICs still in the $2,000 to $5,000 range, multi-port NICs offer a much lower price-per-Gigabit cost, with prices around $400 per card.
Made by such vendors as Intel and Syskonnect, four-port NICs also typically run on copper wiring, which is cheaper to install than fiber cabling – a requirement to run 10 Gigabit Ethernet. More importantly, quad-port NICs don’t require a 10G Ethernet port on the other end, as prices for 10GBase-LX switch ports are still in the $7,000 to $8,000 range.
It’s an interesting story. Take a look at: https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/101104infports.html
