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Is There a Place for a $500 Ethernet Card?
prostoalex writes "ComputerWorld magazine runs a story on Level 5 Networks, which emerged from the stealth startup status with its own brand of network cards and software called EtherFabric. The company claims they are reducing the load on the servers CPUs and improve the communications between the servers. And it's not vaporware: 'The EtherFabric software shipping Monday runs on the Linux kernel 2.4 and 2.6, with support for Windows and Unix coming in the first half of next year. High volume pricing is $295 for a two-port, 1GB-per-port EtherFabric network interface card and software, while low volume quantities start from $495.'"
You must be new here.
Jerry Pournelle had a column in the February 2005 issue of Dr. Dobb's Journal about Gigabit hardware. If you have a Gigabit PCI card, expect to see a doubling of speed over 100Mb PCI card. If the motherboard has a built-in Gigabit port, you can see a five to six times speed over 100Mb PCI card or port. PCI cards are limited by the PCI bus, but built-in ports have direct access.
Pournelle is an idiot.
But, from the sound of it, he got it right. But then again, a broken watch is still right two times a day.
Seriously, the guy has written good fiction in books and lots of bad fiction in his columns. You can not take anything he says at face value, chances are he missed one or two or 10 key facts about whatever he's going on about today.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.