PCI-e Network Switch Card

[Wyatthaplo]

Is this even a thing? I have one wall connection and am building a dual system setup and was thinking rather then have a seperate switch, is there such a thing as a PCI switch so i can connect to one computer and then just link down to the other with a short lead.

 

I can find plenty of pci NIC on amazon etc but they dont really say if they can be used in the way im thinking.

 

Anyone got any experience with this sort of setup.

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just get a seperate switch, cheap, easy to use, you don't have a single point of failure.

 

But you can make a switch called a bridge with any 2 nics in windows, you don't need a special card.

[Wyatthaplo]

1 minute ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Just get a seperate switch, cheap, easy to use, you don't have a single point of failure.

 

But you can make a switch called a bridge with any 2 nics in windows, you don't need a special card.

I have a seperate switch allready but was hoping to make my setup that little bit cleaner with one less cable/device on/around the desk. Ill have a look at this bridge option. Thanks for the tip 

[Applefreak]

9 minutes ago, Wyatthaplo said:

I have a seperate switch allready but was hoping to make my setup that little bit cleaner with one less cable/device on/around the desk. Ill have a look at this bridge option. Thanks for the tip 

You can use bridging ports on some Intel NICs with 4 ports but I am not sure if it works under windows. I have built a firewall computer that did exactly that but that ran a special linux distro and the cards were super expensive. That was a decade ago so maybe it is cheaper nowadays. Keep in mind that the computer would have to run 24/7 in order for the network to stay alive, adding significant amounts to your power bill. Personally I use a 3com SOHO switch that draws about 4 Watts and is passively cooled and get's a reboot once every 2 to 3 years. 3com no longer exists but they are now made by Hewlett Packard (they bought 3com). If you want a clean setup, make sure cables match your furniture in color and ust hide them behind tables, shelves etc. If your switch has blinking lights, use matt tape to cover them up or black electrical tape if you don't need to see them at all. Don't over engineer networks. Troubleshooting a single one is already hard enough. Now you add an entire OS to the mix of problems with speed and connectivity.

[Wyatthaplo]

2 minutes ago, Applefreak said:

You can use bridging ports on some Intel NICs with 4 ports but I am not sure if it works under windows. I have built a firewall computer that did exactly that but that ran a special linux distro and the cards were super expensive. That was a decade ago so maybe it is cheaper nowadays. Keep in mind that the computer would have to run 24/7 in order for the network to stay alive, adding significant amounts to your power bill. Personally I use a 3com SOHO switch that draws about 4 Watts and is passively cooled and get's a reboot once every 2 to 3 years. 3com no longer exists but they are now made by Hewlett Packard (they bought 3com). If you want a clean setup, make sure cables match your furniture in color and ust hide them behind tables, shelves etc. If your switch has blinking lights, use matt tape to cover them up or black electrical tape if you don't need to see them at all. Don't over engineer networks. Troubleshooting a single one is already hard enough. Now you add an entire OS to the mix of problems with speed and connectivity.

Sounds like some good advice on not over engineering a solution. I think Ill stick to the simple switch I have. I cant think how the card would work in the actual setup either as im using two vertical GPU's so an extra PCI card wont really work anyway.

 

Thanks again. 

[Alex Atkin UK]

21 hours ago, Wyatthaplo said:

Sounds like some good advice on not over engineering a solution. I think Ill stick to the simple switch I have. I cant think how the card would work in the actual setup either as im using two vertical GPU's so an extra PCI card wont really work anyway.

 

Thanks again. 

The cards aren't expensive these days, but its not going to compare to how cheap switches are.