With High-Performance Ethernet Cards by Joel Conover W e tested four network adapter cards that pump more out of your existing Ethernet connections without draining your wallet. High performance and manageability are the keys with these adapters. Every card achieved at least 8.5 Mbps in sustained throughput tests. Server performance was 30 to 55 percent better than with an NE2000 client-server setup.
Some performance enhancements come with trade-offs.
Each vendor has a specific term for its performance enhancement technology. We measured the effectiveness of performance enhancements on the different NICs. The first test measured the vendor's card in the server with four NE2000 clients. The second test was designed to demonstrate specific improvements by testing the vendor's card in the server with the same card in the client, and then repeating the test with an NE2000 client. The third test measured each card's ability to function in a mixed card network, which consisted of the vendor's card in the server, two NE2000 clients and two clients with the vendor's client cards.