David Christensen wrote: > On 2021-01-19 14:35, Dan Ritter wrote: > > So I could drop down to a 2-port NIC, using 3 total and not > > having any spares, but I already have this setup, and it's been > > running nicely since 2014. I spent about $250 on it, including > > some parts I had lying around, and with luck it will last until > > something better than gigabit fiber comes to my neighborhood > > with nothing worse than a power-supply replacement for $40 or > > so. The best part is that it runs straight Debian, AMD64, so > > unlike all the SOHO routers, it stays up to date. > > > I have a SOHO network. Our Wi-Fi devices need access to LAN hosts and > vice-versa. I set up WPA2 and MAC filtering on the Wi-Fi, and put the Wi-Fi > devices on the LAN. > > > Server-grade multi-port NIC's are expensive parts. When I ran PC firewalls, > I used desktop NIC's to supplement the motherboard port. Inexpensive Fast > Ethernet (100 Mbps) cards and switches were, and still are, sufficient for > the downstream side of my Internet connection.
Well, they were expensive when new. A used quad-gig-e PCIe card is now $20-35 on Ebay, and I see someone with a supply of Chelsio quad cards with 2 10g nics and 2 1g nics for $50 each. The things that flow downstream can be recycled for the home market... -dsr-
