[K12OSN] Affordable Eprom source

[Petre Scheie]

The $45 card is an Intel card, while the $20 is made by AOpen, so part of the price 
difference is the name.  But there may be more.  The AOpen uses a Realtek chip, some 
derivative of the 8139, I'm pretty sure, while the Intel probably uses something made by 
Intel.  Realtek chips show up on most of the cheap cards, and even some of the more 
expensive ones; I've noticed the latest Linksys wireless cards use Realtek chips inside. 
  In my experience, Realtek chips have always worked well with LTSP, and I use them 
frequently in clients.  I'm even using some gigabit cards in servers that use a chip 
made by Realtek (different model, I forget the number), although I haven't benchmarked 
their throughput.  And I think Realtek is considered one of the better companies about 
working with Linux ethernet driver developers, in that they don't hide stuff in 
proprietary, binary drivers with no published specs, like other companies tend to do, 
e.g., Marvel.  However, I have also read, although I don't know if this is accurate or 
not, that part of the reason that Realtek chips, and the cards they appear on, are so 
inexpensive is that they push more of the processing of the networking back onto the 
system's CPU.  In other words, I have seen them derisively referred to as the 'winmodem' 
of network cards.  Again, I don't know if this is accurate, or just snobbery or posing 
by sophomores who don't actually know what they're talking about.  In the client, it 
probably doesn't matter, and the cheap cards are just fine.  But in the server, 
depending on the number of clients being supported, the apps involved, and the available 
resources of the CPU--is it a dual CPU, dual-core, single-core, how fast, etc.--it MAY 
make sense to spend $40 more for a 3Com or Intel GB NIC.  Or it may not matter, the 
criticisms of Realtek chips may be just propaganda from friends of Intel & 3Com, and 
that extra $40 may be wasted.  I'm not certain.  I'd be curious as to anyone else's opinion.

Petre

Rob Owens wrote:
> While we're on the topic, I'd like to point out that
> www.disklessworkstations.com has a complete bootable
> network card (not just the Eprom) for $20.  Now don't
> ask me what the difference is between the $20 card and
> the $45 card is, but I bought some of the $20 cards a
> while back and have been happy with them.  
> 
> -Rob
> 
> --- Timothy Legge <tlegge at rogers.com> wrote:
> 
>> Terrell Prudé Jr. wrote:
>>> Hardware don't grow on trees, Mel; unlike
>> software, hardware costs money 
>>> to reproduce.  If you want a hardware solution,
>> you gotta pay for it.  
>>> Jim McQuillan's saving you a ton already!  You
>> want him to just *donate* 
>>> the chips to you on top of that?
>>>
>>> Eighteen dollars--that's pocket change.  Take a
>> small piece of that 
>>> truckload of money that you're saving by not going
>> with MS 
>>> Windows/Office and use that to fund your EEPROM
>> purchase.  Geez...!
>>
>> While I agree that Jim is doing fantastic things and
>> that supporting him 
>> however you can is a great idea $18 / eeprom is not
>> cheap especially 
>> when you consider that it could be the single most
>> expensive parts of 
>> some of the refurbished labs (excluding the server
>> and network).
>>
>> I spent the money for a Eprom programmer and an
>> Eraser so I am able to 
>> take advantage used EPROMs from ebay ($1 for used
>> 27C256) as well as 
>> this site:
>>
>> http://www.futurlec.com/ICFLASH.shtml
>>
>> That being said, for the number of EPROMS I have
>> programmed, buying them 
>> from Jim would have been the cheaper route.
>>
>> However, a number of Network cards can flash
>> eeproms.  The 3c905C is one 
>> of those cards and is readily available pretty
>> cheap:
>>
>> http://www.vfxweb.com/index.php?productid=8006
>>
>> I have purchased several from vfxweb and for some of
>> them I got lucky 
>> and received cards with PXE built in.
>>
>> When it comes to remote booting I look for:
>>
>> 1) PXE support for the onboard NIC
>> 2) PXE on the card (these are cheap whn you find
>> them)
>>
>> Preprogrammed EEProms are for specific NICs (pci
>> ids) and when you get 
>> into programming them yourself via a NIC you should
>> have more time than 
>> money...
>>
>> Tim
>>
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> 
> 
> 
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