Help: Netgear or Linksys NIC's? Please?
Hi,
I just told a friend who bounced off Debian that the
_one_outstanding_factor_ in my having made it so far in Debian was
_this_list_. With that guilt trip firmly implanted ;) here's my
question:
I'm having an SDSL connection installed the first week of June. I will
need to have network cards in both my computers. I am told the installer
will take care of the rest while installing a Flowpoint 2200 DSL Router.
I have never had nor installed a network card in any computer. I have
received recommendations on two:
1.) Netgear's FA310TX 10/100 PCI RJ45 NIC NIC
2.) Linksys's ETHERFAST FAST ENET PCI 10/100 MBS 10/100BTX RJ45 PNP
Prime considerations are #1 support in Debian/Linux, #2 ease of
installation and configuration for a non-hardware guy. I've seen both
these cards discussed here and have read back through the archives, but
would like some 'fresh' input before purchasing. I need to make a choice
and buy & install 2 of the same card this week to be ready for the
installer.
The 2 computers are:
a.) a 486DX 66MHz, 24Mb, HDD 814Mb, Kernel 2.2.15pre19-2 -- currently
all IDE (no-scsi card, although scsi is enabled in the kernel) booting
only Debian Potato (not Frozen) over a 56k internal modem dial-up to a
local ISP.
b.) a PII 350MHz, 128Mb, HDD 3.5Gb, HDD 14Gb, Kernel 2.2.14 -- currently
all IDE (no-scsi card although scsi is enabled in the kernel and I have
an Adaptec AHA-2940 UW sitting here if it's needed) dual-booting Red Hat
6.1 and Windows 98 over a 56k internal modem dial-up to a local ISP.
The Plan is to network the 2 boxes, firewall the 486DX to the net via
SDSL, upgrade the Linux side of the PII from Red Hat 6.1 to Debian
Potato (as soon as stable Potato CD's are available). The PII will serve
several of my websites via 3 separately configured Apache servers. I
happen to have a spare PI 166MHz mainboard a friend gave me, so if
there's any significant advantage to upgrading the 486DX firewall box
with that please let me know. I was planning to build a 3rd leg for the
milkstool with that board but will use it now if there's considerable
advantage in a faster firewall?
I know, I shoulda named my site 'cheapskate.com', but that name was
already taken.
Opinions? Debian/Linux support issues? Experiences? Pitfalls? Gotchas?
All are welcome and needed.
Thank you for all the help in the past and for your patience with
montefin
--
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