Good FreeBSD Supported Gigabit Ethernet Card?

[Steve Bertrand]

OP said:

>> The use will probably be a firewall, proxy, file server, and
>> DVR.


> No offence meant, but why would you like to upgrade a "home" network to
> Gbit? Is it required at all?

Say for instance you have three 'items' on your home network trying to
communicate with a central box on your 'home' LAN, and said LAN was
operating on 100Mpbs NIC's.

The 'home server' is also on a 100Mbps NIC.

That gives the home server a theoretical up/down throughput at 200Mpbs.

If all three items at home are trying to connect with/through this
central box simultaneously, then you now have theoretically 600Mpbs
in/out all at the same time. The central server can't handle this, nor
can any 10/100 layer-2 equipment in between.

Upgrade all the NIC's in all the items on the home network to GigE,
throw in a GigE switch, and now you can see how you just cut open the
garden hose and now have a small river.

Even on the smallest of networks, if you've ever tried to transfer
multiple-gigabyte files across it, you will very quickly appreciate the
exponential transfer rate when it comes to the relatively cheap
'upgrade' to GigE equipment in the home.

Just make sure you're not still using that old Cat3 cable ;)

Steve