Hiya !

I am new to Linux, and I am throwing together a file server for a friend's office. He is looking for a server ethernet card or motherboard with built-in ethernet that supports managed connections.

The best looking card I've seen price/features looks like a 3Com 3C980C-TXM. He has been having some database corruption due to dropped ethernet connections, and a card with features like "resilient server links" and "self healing drivers" sounds really appealing.

Another option we are considering is a motherboard like the Abit TS-20 which has built-in Intel 82559 ethernet controller chips and two LAN ports.

Having not built a server like this before, or one running Mandrake Linux (currently his file server is on Mandrake 7.x and we are moving to 9.1), ANY and ALL advice is appreciated !

thanks !

Deckard

Not that I really know the cards for certain, but 3com's drivers for Linux pretty much support all of the features that the windrivers do. Intel, not so much, but the documentation at Intel is usually top-notch.

You're going to notice quite a number of changes from a 2 and a half year old Mandrake... a lot!

Cheers,

Finegan