what **CHEAP** wired NICs are compatible with Linux - thanks :-)

time to wire up some old PC's and play with Linux-based networking :-)
( theory is fine but practise with the real thing is needed... )

but as they are *old* PC's I don't want to spend overly much -
and there are 8 of them at present...

browsing my favoured online dealer shows wired 100-TX NICs
can be bought very cheaply nowadays - brand name cards £8 to £12
cheap enough to almost be disposable...

the question is - how well do such cards work with Linux ???
be a bit silly - to say the least - to get 8 NICs...
and then find they only work with Win-XP...

thanks in advance for suggestions :-)

On Mon, 31 May 2004 18:59:19 +0100, no-name <no-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> time to wire up some old PC's and play with Linux-based networking :-)
> ( theory is fine but practise with the real thing is needed... )
>
> but as they are *old* PC's I don't want to spend overly much -
> and there are 8 of them at present...
>
> browsing my favoured online dealer shows wired 100-TX NICs
> can be bought very cheaply nowadays - brand name cards £8 to £12
> cheap enough to almost be disposable...
>
> the question is - how well do such cards work with Linux ???
> be a bit silly - to say the least - to get 8 NICs...
> and then find they only work with Win-XP...

Not sure what is available in UK, most should work (check Linux
compatibilty lists). Dlink DFE530TX+ (with the plus) is what my ISP
supplies with their DSL, which works fine using 8139too module.

Note that Pentium 60, 75 and some 90's (if fastest speed for mobo) with
PCI 2.0, may not work well with PCI nics (PCI 2.01?), and may require ISA
nics. Although, PCI should work fine with mobo for 90/100/120 MHz cpu's
or faster. I used a Pentium 100 box for many years with PCI nic, although
cpu was upgraded to P180 OD (running 200 MHz), then EvergreenSpectra400
(K6-2/400 not much faster due to slow fpu).

--
David Efflandt - All spam ignored http://www.de-srv.com/

On Mon, 31 May 2004 18:59:19 +0100, no-name wrote:

> time to wire up some old PC's and play with Linux-based networking :-) (
> theory is fine but practise with the real thing is needed... )
>
> but as they are *old* PC's I don't want to spend overly much - and there
> are 8 of them at present...
>
> browsing my favoured online dealer shows wired 100-TX NICs can be bought
> very cheaply nowadays - brand name cards £8 to £12 cheap enough to
> almost be disposable...

I usually get Dabsvalue NICs- around £5:
http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/hard...quicklinx=1Y31
The ones I've got are Realtek 8139, and I've never had any problems with
them- the driver's included in the kernel.

no-name wrote:
> time to wire up some old PC's and play with Linux-based networking :-)
> ( theory is fine but practise with the real thing is needed... )
>
> but as they are *old* PC's I don't want to spend overly much -
> and there are 8 of them at present...
>
> browsing my favoured online dealer shows wired 100-TX NICs
> can be bought very cheaply nowadays - brand name cards £8 to £12
> cheap enough to almost be disposable...
>
> the question is - how well do such cards work with Linux ???
> be a bit silly - to say the least - to get 8 NICs...
> and then find they only work with Win-XP...
>
> thanks in advance for suggestions :-)
>
>
I've used 3com 905-tx nics. I have two in two different boxes. They work
perfect, no configuring needed. (Used in Windows/Mandrake/Debian)

On Wed, 02 Jun 2004 11:07:34 -0400, Cage wrote:

> no-name wrote:
>> time to wire up some old PC's and play with Linux-based networking :-)
>> ( theory is fine but practise with the real thing is needed... )
>>
>> but as they are *old* PC's I don't want to spend overly much - and there
>> are 8 of them at present...
>>
>> browsing my favoured online dealer shows wired 100-TX NICs can be bought
>> very cheaply nowadays - brand name cards £8 to £12 cheap enough to
>> almost be disposable...
>>
>> the question is - how well do such cards work with Linux ??? be a bit
>> silly - to say the least - to get 8 NICs... and then find they only work
>> with Win-XP...
>>
>> thanks in advance for suggestions :-)
>>
>>
> I've used 3com 905-tx nics. I have two in two different boxes. They work
> perfect, no configuring needed. (Used in Windows/Mandrake/Debian)
Anything with a RealTek chip works seamlessly with kernel drivers