Q. Can I use the same driver for both your Intel®
PRO/100 and PRO/1000 adapters?
A. Although our 10/100 family of PRO/100 NIC's have
SingleDriver™ technology, the driver for our Gigabit
family of adapters is a separate driver. Our Gigabit adapters
will however use the same driver, making them easier to manage
as a family.
Q. What is the best way to have fault tolerance with
the Intel® PRO/1000 adapters?
A. You can add multiple PRO/1000 adapters in a team
to enable Adapter Fault Tolerance, Adaptive Load Balancing,
and GEC* or Link Aggregation to create various teaming configurations,
including fault tolerant teams. For a more cost effective
fault tolerant team, you can team the PRO/1000 adapter with
any of our PRO/100 server adapters.
Q. Where should I implement Gigabit in my network
infrastructure?
A. The most important places to implement Gigabit
solutions are at the data center (or backbone) and between
the workgroup and the data center. Essentially, any switch
to switch connections in the network should be Gigabit. This
allows PCs using 10/100 adapter cards to turn on to 100 Mbps
without creating a bottleneck in the backbone. Busy data center
servers should also be equipped with Gigabit adapter cards.
This prevents server-to-switch bottlenecks and enhances the
performance of 100 Mbps clients requesting data from
the servers.
Q. Where should I use Gigabit over copper instead
of Gigabit over fiber?
A. Although Gigabit over copper offer's the best
Gigabit connect cost per port, it may not the best solution.
For solutions that require distances longer than 100 meters,
for wiring installations that have a lot of noise, and for
the most secure cabling solutions, Gigabit over fiber is the
better solution.
Q. Can I use Category 5 cabling for Gigabit connections?
A. Yes. A key requirement from the IEEE was that
Gigabit over copper would run on CAT 5 cabling. However, there
are a couple of tests you'll need to perform. The first is
for far-end crosstalk while the second is for return loss.
Consult your local network services supplier for more information
on these tests.
Q. Are there any other wiring considerations?
A. Gigabit over copper uses all four pairs of Category
5 cabling (as opposed to two pair with Ethernet and Fast Ethernet).
In rare cases, some wiring installation use one pair of wiring
for phones and two pairs for data. In these cases, Gigabit
over copper won't be possible.
Q. Will Gigabit interoperate with existing Ethernet
(10 Mbps) and Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps) equipment?
A. Yes. Gigabit Ethernet is based on the same technology
as both Ethernet and Fast Ethernet. No reassembly of packets
is needed for the technologies to interoperate. Additionally,
many Gigabit over copper solutions include 10/100/1000 all
in the same piece of equipment, making the migration even
easier.
