Cards Tested

The GigaBit adapters tested are all available for under $150, and all use copper connections (RJ-45). The adapters tested were:

1. 3Com 3C996B-T
   
   This 64-bit PCI/PCI-X card is specified to handle Jumbo packets, and has a limited lifetime warranty. It uses the Broadcom MMC5701 chip, which has a 96KB data buffer. The driver released with RedHat 7.3 was used.

2. Intel 8390 MT
   
   This 32-bit PCI card is not specified to handle Jumbo packets, and has a limited lifetime warranty. It uses the Intel 82540EM chip, which has a 64KB data buffer. This card is also sold as an Intel Pro/1000 MT. The driver released with RedHat 7.3 was used.

3. NetGear GA622TNA
   
   This 64-bit PCI card is not specified to handle Jumbo packets, but the Linux driver for it has comments saying that it works fine with them. The card has a 5-year warranty. It uses the National Semiconductor DP83820 chip, which has a 40KB data buffer (4KB receive, 32KB transmit). The driver released with RedHat 7.3 was used.

4. SMC 9552
   
   This 32-bit PCI card is specified to handle Jumbo packets, and has a limited lifetime warranty. It uses the Altima 1002 chip, which has a 48KB data buffer. There was no driver for this card in RedHat 7.3, so the source code that the vendor supplied was used.

5. SMC 9562
   
   This 64-bit PCI card is specified to handle Jumbo packets, and has a limited lifetime warranty. It uses the Altima 1001 chip, which has a 48KB data buffer. There was no driver for this card in RedHat 7.3, so the source code that the vendor supplied was used. One of these cards was provided by SMC.

6. SysKonnect 9D21 (discontinued)
   
   This 64-bit PCI card is specified to handle Jumbo packets, and has a 5-year warranty. It uses the Altima 1000 chip, which has a 48KB data buffer. The driver released with RedHat 7.3 was used.

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