At 04:41 PM 10/24/96 +0200, Martin Stromberg wrote: >I'm intending to put in two ethernet cards in two computers, so that I can nfs >mount /home and /usr in one (where disk space is limited) from the other >(where there's plenty of disk space). > >I don't have a great deal to choose from from my hardware supplier: >Either an NE2000 compatible, Genius GE2000; or a 3Com card. I can get either >one with ISA or PCI bus. > >What I wonder is, is there any reason to buy a PCI card (speedwise) if I >go for the NE2000 compatible one? Do any of you know if there are problems >with the Genuis card? Or do you think that the double price of the 3Com cards >is justified, and what kind of 3Com card should I have if I decide for one >of those? My supplier don't know what kind of 3Com cards he have! He says he >buys them from another store.
I had the same setup a while ago. Aparantly I heard there's a bug in the NE2000 (and associated clones) hardware wise that play around with *NIX platforms. Under DOS and Windows they seem to be fine, but under Linux they can do things such as not even detect, or freeze the computer daily (the latter happened to me). The solution was to keep taking back the cards until I found a pair that worked - all be it a drastic move, but it worked for other people I know (not myself though) in the end. I bought two SMC Elite 16C Ultra's (I think they're either the same price as a 3com 3c509) and they've been fine ever since. Call, me silly, but I used the exact same settings (0x300 irq 15) as the NE2000's and they havent flinched since. The 3com's are very good cards too from what I hear. If I ever had a choice it'd be either of those only. As for PCI versions - they're worth it, they speed up transfers accross the network dramatically (that is, if you have both cards being PCI). Be careful to choose the right PCI card that Linux supports as well. A note on the NE2000's: They're just my personal experiences, but others have used them perfectly. They're cheap and there's heaps of clones out there of them, but it's definately no comparason to SMC's or 3com's (then again, I suppose you're paying for quality). Regards, ...Karl -- Karl Ferguson, Tower Networking Pty Ltd (ACN: 072 322 760) [EMAIL PROTECTED] t/a STAR Online Services [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: +61-9-455-3446 Fax: +61-9-455-2776 http://www.star.net.au/ -- TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS MAILING LIST: e-mail the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Trouble? e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
