From owner-freebsd-questions Wed Jul 9 17:23:06 1997 Return-Path: Received: (from root@localhost) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.5/8.8.5) id RAA22777 for questions-outgoing; Wed, 9 Jul 1997 17:23:06 -0700 (PDT) Received: from sand.sentex.ca (sand.sentex.ca [206.222.77.6]) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id RAA22761 for ; Wed, 9 Jul 1997 17:23:00 -0700 (PDT) Received: from gravel (gravel.sentex.ca [205.211.165.210]) by sand.sentex.ca (8.8.6/8.8.3) with SMTP id UAA11023; Wed, 9 Jul 1997 20:27:21 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <3.0.2.32.19970709202309.00b9ae00@sentex.net> X-Sender: mdtancsa@sentex.net X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0.2 (32) Date: Wed, 09 Jul 1997 20:23:09 -0400 To: Gary Clark II From: Mike Tancsa Subject: Re: Building a multiport router out of FreeBSD Cc: questions@FreeBSD.ORG In-Reply-To: <199707080810.DAA01212@main.gbdata.com> References: <33C12E39.C82A274C@ddyne.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Sender: owner-questions@FreeBSD.ORG X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk >I've had atleast 4 routers based on BSD installed at customer sites. These >machines have ranged from a 486SX-25 with 8MB which only had two interfaces, >static routing and only had a 128k ISDN load to a AMD K5-166 with 128MB and >5 interfaces running GateD in full routing. You have to have the right >ethernet cards to even have a chance at getting good work out of it. >Right now, run the Intel cards and you should have no problems keeping up >with a couple of ethernets and a 5meg (4 T-1s????) dedicated link. Its 5Mbps on ATM actually... We can scale it up as needed, but we are only paying for a QoS of 5Mbps.... Thats MORE than what we need right now as our DS1 service is just starting to reach capacity. Our current situation is that we have quite a few devices on two physical segments (terminal servers, mail, news, DNS boxes, customer equipment etc...) and our collision rate is starting to go up. The FreeBSD boxes are using the de style DEC 10Mbps ethernet cards... I can upgrade them to 100Mbp, but there is not much I can do about the numerous terminal servers which have just 10Mbps. I think a switch would definitly help reduce the collision rate, but since most of the traffic is from everything to the router and vice versa, I thought it would be a good idea to sort of have multiple paths to it. i.e. 3 10Mbps physical routes (made up of our admin work stations, customer equipment and terminal servers), and then 1 100Mbp route from the FreeBSD box to the rotuer, I would hopefully be able to reduce the collision rate and move things along a little faster. ---Mike ********************************************************************** Mike Tancsa (mike@sentex.net) * To do is to be -- Nietzsche Sentex Communications Corp, * To be is to do -- Sartre Cambridge, Ontario * Do be do be do -- Sinatra (http://www.sentex.net/~mdtancsa) *