Re: cheap 4-port tulip-based cards available
From: Karen Shaeffer <hidden>
Date: 2002-10-19 21:42:36
On Sat, Oct 19, 2002 at 02:32:10PM -0700, Ben Greear wrote:
Karen Shaeffer wrote:quoted
On Sat, Oct 19, 2002 at 02:06:51PM -0700, Ben Greear wrote:I make traffic generators out of them (www.candelatech.com) They are also good for firewalls and routers, as well as more exotic network devices. Using linux for a switch does not make so much sense these days when you can buy a 16 port switch for under $100, but with bridging code it can be done.
Actually, I think linux based switches could be quite interesting in a pipelined, beowulf-like or openmosix cluster. (Of course, GigE would probably be employed rather than FE.) You could then integrate traffic shaping/monitoring functionality into the switch that could be designed to interoperate with the cluster nodes to assist in optimizing data flow and subsequent processing. With openmosix, this could also be used to migrate processes towards optimum node placement, based on network traffic analysis as well as nodal resource availability. It's a subject I've been thinking about quite a bit lately. This is most interesting in adaptive, pipelined clusters that will be processing real-time streaming data. That's certainly a niche market at the present time. cheers, Karen -- Karen Shaeffer Neuralscape; Santa Cruz, Ca. 95060 shaeffer@neuralscape.com http://www.neuralscape.com