Jeff Garzik <jgarzik@pobox.com> wrote:
> Dennis wrote:
> > Actually, you have it backwards here, because having the stack on the
> > card (and allowing port to port routing without a bus transfer), seems
> > to be precisely what the card addresses. It seems likely that the card
> > is more suited for building switches and things than general network
> > device usage, however the usefulness of running something like that on a
> > linux platform is a bit suspect, particularly when all of the
> > value-added things you might want to do with a custom switch would be
> > out of reach.
>
> If the stack is really 100% "a switch/router on a card", it should never
> need to interface with the Linux network stack at all. All it would
> need is a device node for control and configuration, reading statistics
> and similar duties.
We're primarily intending a multi-port card to be used for aggregate
bandwidth, not as any kind of switch you can plug into a Host computer.
> > However, Jeff is correct in that targeting the linux community of
> > do-it-yourselfers is probably a bad idea. You'll be dealing with people
> > who think that everything is broken and that only they, as a collective
> > mind, can repair it. They'll want you to GPL your firmware, and then
> > once it becomes popular some taiwanese company will clone your card and
> > you'll be out of business.
>
> I never said nor implied anything of this sort. In fact I disagree
> strongly with these (your) statements and implications.
Actually, on a pure marketing level, we're targeting the Linux community
because they're becoming a serious contender doing build-it-yourself
supercomputers, clusters, and fast servers.
Plus, there is source code so we can tweak it if we need to. ;-)
--
Erich Stefan Boleyn <erich@uruk.org> http://www.uruk.org/
"Reality is truly stranger than fiction; Probably why fiction is so popular"
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