I'm looking to upgrade from 1GbE Ethernet, as it's becoming too slow for my requirements. I've considered moving to 10GbE, but I've found it disappointing in terms of cost and features. I really want to take advantage of the benefits that come with 20GbE and higher networks, like RoCE (RDMA over Ethernet), PFC, and ECM, which help reduce CPU load and prevent network congestion. However, most of the available options for 25GbE and above seem to be older models designed for PCIe3 or 4, which means they use up valuable PCIe5 lanes. Some newer models like ConnectX-7 support PCIe5 but they're very expensive and generally tailored for 100GbE and above. I wish there were new, budget-friendly 25GbE NICs available that fit in the same form factor as the current 1/2.5GbE NICs. I've noticed some announcements from Intel regarding their E830 series and Chelsio with their Smart NICs, but I'm wondering if I'm missing something or if there are any options on the horizon.
5 Answers
Honestly, the general consumer market doesn't really need something like this, so anything available will likely come with a high price tag.
Keep in mind that we need a significant increase in general demand and lower silicon prices before we'll see anything like this at consumer-friendly prices. Most home users barely use 100mbps, let alone 1G or higher. Though there are power users and gamers who would benefit from this, high-speed connections are quite rare.
True, but 100 GbE switches are already available for under $1000. They're not exactly pocket change, but they are getting accessible for smaller users. If the switches are on the market, that just means we need the corresponding NICs to match.
What motherboard are you eyeing that has a PCIe 5.0 x1 slot? Most high-end network cards typically operate in systems with plenty of available PCIe lanes. It's likely we'll see more options as demand increases.
That's true for the existing market, but I believe there's a new segment emerging where users crave faster networking without the hefty price tag of enterprise gear.
Nothing available right now. But I wouldn't be surprised if there are upcoming NICs, especially since faster peripherals would stimulate their development.