Thanks for all of the responses on this! Great advice on the NIC compatibility I hadn't really thought of that being a concern before, but I think that would explain many network oddities that I have seen in the past. Maybe it even explains the negotiation issues on my enterprise level cisco equipment. I will post back and let you know how my project works out.
Thanks -Aaron On Thu, Jun 19, 2008 at 12:25 AM, Christopher Martin < [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I have to concurr with Robert in regards to this. You need to make sure > that you pick a pretty neutral switch vendor and check for known NIC > incompatibility. Also, pick a vendor with good support for all the > trunking/lb options as you can get a nasty surprise. > > I personally can recommend Extreme Networks kit with Intel, Broadcom and > D-Link NICs. I also recommend the Extreme Networks switches as they are > the most fully featured on the market and they aren't Cisco... Sorry, > Cisco have just caused me so much misery over the years it's resulted me > in having quite an aversion to them, plus they tend to use a proprietry > protocol even when there is a perfectly good open protocol. Anyone who > has ever tried to connect a Cisco switch to an Intel 420 switch via 1000 > base SX will know what I'm talking about! > > Extreme are also great for jumbo frames, and the new versions of XOS > coming out soon will have some really interesting features for use in > SAN/NAS environments, like programmable MTUs beyond 9000 and advanced > traffic management on top of the already impressive feature set of the > current version. They are also heavily pushing the boundaries of 10gbit > and have great stack functionality. > > Extreme are pricy, but your SAN is worth it! > > Chris Martin > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:openfiler-users- > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Robert Neuschul > > Sent: Thursday, 12 June 2008 10:33 AM > > To: [email protected] > > Subject: Re: [OF-users] Solid cheap GIG-E switch recommendations? > > > > Hi Aaron > > > > Just to be controversial and also inject a small note of caution, > > almost all of the units recommended so far should work reasonably well > > as switches, as will units from Netgear and Edimax and D-Link and > Zyxel > > and many others, however [controversial bit] that doesn't mean that > all > > makes and models of NIC will play nice with your choice of switch, > > especially if you are planning on teaming any of those NICs. > > > > This is a 'feature' of some NICs and of some switches; it isn't a > > matter of the OS/driver for the NICs, it's a function of their > > sometimes not very good design and implementation, whilst with > switches > > the causes can be many and various, including some sometimes idiotic > > design decisions. > > > > Poor switch/NIC interaction isn't all that much discussed online, but > > Steve Cassidy of PC Pro is one of those who has mentioned it, more > than > > once, in his "Real World Computing" columns. > > > > Some real world examples; some models of Realtek NICs may have > > difficulties talking reliably to any model of Linksys or D-Link Gb > > switches; HP Gb NICs may [often] not talk well to Cisco or Nortel > > managed switches; Intel Gb multiport Server adapters may not always > > team well with HP or Dell switches, whether managed or not. The list > of > > combinations that don't always work as expected is quite large and > > diagnosing the effects can be quite complex because these effects can > > be quite subtle - it's not usually as instantly obvious as "it doesn't > > connect". In some cases it's a matter of relatively high packet loss, > > in others of failing to sync speeds correctly or to support duplex > > reliably; the list of possible issues is quite lengthy, but the best > > 'test' is usually a direct swap-out of the switch for a different > > make/model, preferably a managed switch with deep diagnostics and the > > ability to support a packet sniffer. > > > > Before picking a switch you need to know which "real" NICs you're > > playing with, and then assure yourself that they will work reaonably > > well with the switch of your choice. If you have a variety of > different > > real NICs across your setup then you /may/ have a problem. > > > > For information; it's my experience that broadcom and intel single > port > > Gb chipsets generally work quite well with Netgear and Dell and Edimax > > unmanaged Gb switches, but it's not always an infallible mix - it can > > depend on firmware revisions at both ends of the link and, where the > > NICs are actually motherboard implementations such as the > > nVidia/broadcom implementation used on some Tyan server motherboards, > > then things can sometimes get messy. > > > > Currently I'm fighting to get a client's new Dell 2900 server running > > about 6 VMs through its dual on-board Broadcom Gb nics to talk > reliably > > to either 3Com or Netgear Gb switches - which is a surprise to me > > because in the past I've been able to make this combination work > > perfectly. I /may/ have to replace those Broadcoms with an Intel > > multiport. It's a problem that can bite any of us, no matter how much > > we think we know :-) > > > > Note well a] that budget isn't the constraint here; the problems can > > arise just as often with expensive managed switches as with cheap > > unmanaged units and b] that by and large most combinations of NIC and > > switch /do/ work reasonably well - so don't let my comments put you > off > > trying whichever unit you feel like purchasing. > > > > Robert Neuschul > > Imagineering > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Openfiler-users mailing list > > [email protected] > > https://lists.openfiler.com/mailman/listinfo/openfiler-users > _______________________________________________ > Openfiler-users mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.openfiler.com/mailman/listinfo/openfiler-users >
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