Solarflare 5122 vs 6122

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BeTeP

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Mar 23, 2019
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I have been mostly using Mellanox ConnectX2 for my low budget projects. I do not have anything bad to say about those cards other than they tend to run a bit hotter than I would prefer. So for the next project I am willing to try another brand. Solarflare seems to get fair amount of praise around here so I decided to check them out.

The 7th gen cards are still out of my price range. But 5122 and 6122 can be easily found below $50 (sometimes as low as $20). I compared the datasheets but could not see much difference - mostly the same features across the board. If anything - the power requirements for 5122 is even lower than for 6122 (4.9W vs 5.9W).

Is there any benefit to 6122 I overlooked? Or should I just buy 5122 and be done with it?
 
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arglebargle

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Jul 15, 2018
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The 7th gen cards are still out of my price range. But 5122 and 6122 can be easily found below $50 (sometimes as low as $20). I compared the datasheets but could not see much difference - mostly the same features across the board. If anything - the power requirements for 5122 is even lower than for 6122 (4.9W vs 5.9W).
You say that, but...
You can find *super* cheap solarflare cards by searching for them by their regulatory product codes on eBay:
S7120 for the SFN7122F (PCIe 3.0 w/ OpenOnload)
S6102 for the SFN6122F (PCIe 2.0 w/ OpenOnload)*

When these are listed by their proper model numbers they run from $75 and up, when they're mis-listed by regulatory product code only they typically start at $20/ea.

https://support.solarflare.com/index.php/component/cognidox/2?task=download&file=SF-113140-DH-15.xml&subdoc=SF-103837-CD&subissue=10&o=7&format=raw&ved=2ahUKEwjCufKUoILgAhVRvKwKHaSTATkQFjAAegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw1TqCZ9NICOPb-N3fl0W684
I think the best I did was a pair of 7th gen cards for $35 shipped.

Double check individual listings before you order, the regulatory code numbers cover entire classes of parts so you'll see cards with various functionality that are marked the same. For example: I'm seeing a lot of SF329 listed now (marked as S6102) and I'm not sure if that corresponds to the SFN6122 or SFN5122.
 
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BeTeP

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Mar 23, 2019
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Good point. Thanks.
I just ordered 4 of S7120 for $100 shipped total complete with all 8 transceivers.
 

BeTeP

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Mar 23, 2019
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I'm seeing a lot of SF329 listed now (marked as S6102) and I'm not sure if that corresponds to the SFN6122 or SFN5122.
This part is easy. SF329-9021-R7 and newer with white aluminum heatsink is SFN6122. SF329-9021-R6 and older with black heatsink is SFN5122.
 

fossxplorer

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Mar 17, 2016
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So these have better power consumption than Mellanox ConnectX-3s? Even though we are talking about different speed, i want to know what i can put inside HP T620 and T730 without generating too much heat.
 

WANg

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Jun 10, 2018
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New York, NY
I have been mostly using Mellanox ConnectX2 for my low budget projects. I do not have anything bad to say about those cards other than they tend to run a bit hotter than I would prefer. So for the next project I am willing to try another brand. Solarflare seems to get fair amount of praise around here so I decided to check them out.

The 7th gen cards are still out of my price range. But 5122 and 6122 can be easily found below $50 (sometimes as low as $20). I compared the datasheets but could not see much difference - mostly the same features across the board. If anything - the power requirements for 5122 is even lower than for 6122 (4.9W vs 5.9W).

Is there any benefit to 6122 I overlooked? Or should I just buy 5122 and be done with it?
The 5122s are PCIe 2.0x8, while the 6122s are PCIe 3.0x8 - basically the difference between 5GigaTransfers/sec and 8GigaTransfers/sec. Both cards are technically legacy cards and are not really well supported if you want OpenOnload TCP acceleration. I pulled a bunch of 5122s and 6122s from my lab once I found a really good deal for ConnectX3 VPI cards.
 

BeTeP

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Mar 23, 2019
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The 5122s are PCIe 2.0x8, while the 6122s are PCIe 3.0x8
Both 5122 and 6122 are PCIe 2.0 - they even use the same SFC9020 chipset. Thus my original question. But the problem is solved - I went with the 7122 controllers based on SFC9120 chipset instead.
Now I need to find me some cheap low profile brackets.
 
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BeTeP

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Mar 23, 2019
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ordered 4 of S7120 for $100 shipped total
The cards have arrived and I've done some testing.
do these have better power consumption than Mellanox ConnectX-3s?
I do not have any CX3s so I do not know. I was hoping they would run cooler than CX2 they replaced. Unfortunately they produce about the same amount of heat. But at this price point I can't really complain. The upgrade to PCIe 3.0 alone is worth it.

Also the actual cards I received happened to be of SFN7322F variety which include PTP (Precision Time Protocol) support and they used to sell for $150-200 more than regular SFN7122F when they were new. Nowadays all hotshot HFT traders moved to 100GbE+ and nobody else seems to care about sub microsecond time precision.