Recommended 2.5G support for core (or scale)

[fx2mx3]

Hi,

I am looking into upgrading the nic I have for core and saw this card on ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/195794661656

It uses a i226 chipset and it is 2.5g. Anyone has any experience using it with core or scale? I have put in an order but cancelled it right away as I was reading the documentation https://www.truenas.com/community/resources/hardware-recommendations-guide.12/download and it doesn't mention that chipset. Only 1Gbe and 10Gb...

FreeBSD seems to support i226 2.5 (pfsense etc...) so was wondering if truenas supports it and if there are any stability issues!

Thanks in advance!

 

[LarsR]

If you only need it for a connection from your pc to the nas, i'd ditch 2.5g and go straight to 10g, A mellanox connectx-3 card is cheaper then the intel nic you linked and would get better results. My connectx-3 runs very well with scale.

 

[fx2mx3]

If you only need it for a connection from your pc to the nas, i'd ditch 2.5g and go straight to 10g, A mellanox connectx-3 card is cheaper then the intel nic you linked and would get better results. My connectx-3 runs very well with scale.

It;s connected to a 2.5G switch... is that card supported by ESXI 8 do you know? ohh and thanks for the reply Lars! :)

 

[LarsR]

Sorry, i've never used esxi so i cant comment on that. I use my connectx-3 to directly Connect my nas and my Windows 11 PC. I didn't have to do anything for both boxes to recognize the nics and i get full Speed on the Connection, my current limiting Factor is my Pool Layout. But still im quite Happy.

 

[Fleshmauler]

I think most everyone with a solid reputation on the forums will generally advise to avoid 2.5gig - they have more experience than me & are likely correct. However, if you're willing to ignore good advice & simpy want an answer as to what works in terms of 2.5gig, then the following is functioning "just fine" for me on Scale specifically:

NIC:
OWC 10gig over RJ45; a Marvell AQC113CS chipset with a modded pcie 4.0x1 riser to add to the jank - works surprisingly well

Link to product here.

//EDIT// I have just now realized I've linked you to a 10gig NIC... uhh it supports 2.5gig speeds just fine as well considering it connects directly to my ingest machine which is limited to 2.5gig.