Subject: Re: [netatalk-admins] Multiple network interfaces
From: Jonathan Peterson (jon@amxdigital.com)
Date: Wed Feb 25 1998 - 05:04:08 EST
At 09:50 PM 2/24/98 -0800, you wrote:
>Can netatalk be bound to two or more network interfaces on the same
>linux machine? My goal is to create a Macintosh file server that can
>serve through more than one NIC at a time, increasing server throughput.
Hi,
I actually work in a very similar situation (design company moving huge
files around a hetergenous network.) Sadly, I do not think that your bottle
neck is going to be the NIC, it is going to be the network itself.
Ethernet (not TCP/IP) is a broadcast technology. If machines A,B,C,D are
all on one network, then if A sends a file to B, that still uses up the
network bandwidth let available for C and D. Bascially, this is because the
data gets sent to all the machines, and they all ignore it except the
intended recipient.
So... putting two cards in your server will be great if each card is on a
different network, but a bit pointless otherwise - unless all you clients
have two cards, and are each on two networks!
Now, suppose you had some Macs in 'Print design' and some Macs in 'Digital
design'. Well, if each of these departments is on a different network, they
can both share files through the same server, and then you will be making
use of both cards.
Note. You don't have to have seperate networks - you can use something
called a switch to split up an ethernet network and make it faster. But,
all in all, it seems to me like you need a faster network, not a faster
server, and so you really need to look at ethernet network technology -
beyond my remit.
Final Note. Appletalk/IP is said to be much faster in any case, and if it
sits ontop of the TCP/IP stack, it shouldn't care about how many NICs you
have. you might want to look at this.
eek, long message.
--------
Jon Peterson jon@amxdigital.com +44 (0)171 613 5300
Internet Developer
Test tube babies shouldn't throw stones.
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