Subject: 1-gigabit-router for netatalk?

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2001 11:31:17 +0100 (MET)

Hi there,

I have a question concerning networking in general and in this special case
netatalk.

We will split our network (about 100 clients, 80 are macs, and all are
getting data from a linux server) into 2 parts: one secure (for "service" and
backup) which isn't reachable from the internet, one open (the pool for the
students), which can be seen from the outside and takes the fileserver, which can
be accessed via ftp, smb and netatalk from the outside. These two parts are
linked by a machine which has two 1-GB-nics (to get full speed between the
switches of the two parts) and also acts as a firewall to the internet as well
as between the two network parts (as we don't want our users to access large
format printers in the closed network).

So, I would like to hear your opinion if this configuration will be ok in
general (does the firewall, which is only filtering, not masquerading, take a
lot of cpu-power? will a 200mhz-pentiumpro be ok?) and with netatalk, which
isn't very tolerant in bad network configurations, as far as I know. We need
stable connections from our clients to the server, as we have a lot of very big
files in use. So, is any body using something like this router/firewall with
1Gigabit and netatalk, or should we better take something prebuilt?

BTW: we think 3com-Gigabits are ok, any experiences with them and netatalk?

Thank you for your help, CU, Lars.

-- 
Sent through GMX FreeMail - http://www.gmx.net

---

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 05 Feb 2001 18:03:25 +0100 (CET)

> isn't very tolerant in bad network
> configurations, as far as I know. We need

After a lot af testing I would not recommend the 3Com 
3C985 Gigabit Nic because it is a expensive and not a 
very fast Nic, after a reboot (as is needed to test a 
machine before selling it :)) almost every second time 
the card failed with seg-faults.

We now are using Level-One or Intel Gigabit ethernics 
and are satisfied with these but this is only one 
opinion. I would like to know if there are other people 
who engaged the same problems,

Vincent

---

From: Alistair Riddell <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 17:25:28 +0000 (GMT)

You haven't a hope in hell of getting anything like 1Gbps of throughput
through a regular PC acting as a router. To get anything like wire speed
you need a dedicated hardware router/switch, which uses specially designed
ASICs to get that sort of throughput. With a PentiumPro you would probably
get more like 100Mbps of throughput.

Netatalk should be OK for the AppleTalk stuff but presumably most of the
traffic will be IP which is handled solely by the kernel.

-- 
Alistair Riddell - BOFH
IT Support Department, George Watson's College, Edinburgh
Tel: +44 131 447 7931 Ext 176       Fax: +44 131 452 8594
Microsoft - because god hates us

---

From: Mac Conin <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 18:58:11 +0100

I think Alistair is right.

You should separate the two networks with a hardware-router/switch.
Behind the switch you can place your firewall for securing the inner network.
The CPU depend on the traffic getting through. A 200MHz IMHO should be
the bottom level.
Take a cheap Pentium II or III with 400/500MHz and at least 256MB RAM.

-- 
--schnipp-- 

mit freundlichen grüssen

-----------------------------------------------------------
Mac Conin                        EUC Online Service GmbH
Geschäftsführer                  Taubengasse 9
[email-masked]                    D 50676 Koeln
http://www.euc.de                HRB Köln 32038
tel : +49-221-923 27 33          fax : +49-221-239 651
-----------------------------------------------------------
EUC sponsort Clean up Cologne - eine Iniative der IHK Köln,
der Abfallwirtschaftsbetriebe Köln (AWB) und dem
Grünflächenamt der Stadt Köln. http://www.clean-up-cologne.de