Tiny/Mini/Micro PC experiences
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Managed to get a DFRobot Gigabit Ethernet A&E key m.2 card. It fits perfectly (almost, needed to bend the LED holder for the HD activity to the side slightly (crunching noises inserted here), but I can still see the LED on the front panel.
Very good to know, thanks. It would be useful to compile and maintain a list of A/E key NICs for TMM nodes, particularly as the pricing seems to vary massively - I've seen from $15 to $234 (!!) for this functionality. Also for ESXi 7.0 purposes it would be great to know whether they are Realtek or Intel controllers (I believe this one is Realtek). I have also seen 2x 1GbE variants of these.
This is the card: M.2(A+E Key) to Gigabit Ethernet Module Adapter for LattePanda Alpha and Delta - DFRobot It came packaged in a box labelled with Winyao. It's actually a Winyao 8111-M2-C NGFF 工业千兆网卡 RTL8111F 台式机 有线 8111-M2-C (弯针)【图片 价格 品牌 报价】-京东 ( Winyao 8111-M2-C NGFF Industrial Gigabit Ethernet RTL8111F Desktop Wired 8111-M2-C (Bent Pin) )
You need the 'bent pin' version, because there is no height available due to the mounting of the drive above the card. The card is actually a "Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller" as reported by lspci. It seems to support VLANs, no other features tested yet. Bought it at Digi-key for $16: FIT0798 DFRobot | Development Boards, Kits, Programmers | DigiKey
You need the 'bent pin' version, because there is no height available due to the mounting of the drive above the card. The card is actually a "Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller" as reported by lspci. It seems to support VLANs, no other features tested yet. Bought it at Digi-key for $16: FIT0798 DFRobot | Development Boards, Kits, Programmers | DigiKey
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Great, thanks for the information. It's exactly what I'm looking for and the low profile is great, I just need one with an Intel controller... and if it had two ports, even better.
I don't think it exists. The other alternative (if you have the space) is to use a m.2 A&E key to miniPCIe adapter: (Delock Products 62848 Delock Converter M.2 Key A+E male > 1 x Mini PCIe Slot half size / full size with flexible cable) and then a miniPCIe card based on i350 controllers: Mini PCIe Mini PCIe 2 Port Copper Ethernet Lan Card ( Based on Intel I350)
I just don't think you have the space inside a TMM to house the adapter, the miniPCIe converter and the double slot plate interfaces. You'd have to give something up, like a 2.5" drive.
I just don't think you have the space inside a TMM to house the adapter, the miniPCIe converter and the double slot plate interfaces. You'd have to give something up, like a 2.5" drive.
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There are plenty of dual NIC B/M key ones, some use 2x i210 and some use a single i350.
www.assured-systems.com
MINI PCIE to dual Gigabit Ethernet mpcie to 2 ports 100/1000M lan card inter Chipset INTEL 82583+AMS1182E : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories (but OOS)
MINI Pci-e to Dual port Gigabit Ethernet Server NIC network card 1000M mini PCIe SFP fiber network card INTEL 350AM2 Chipset : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories (dual SFP, but so large you may as well get a Lenovo Tiny and use the PCIe slot)
I just need to find a dual NIC A/E key one. Here's a single port Intel one :
In the meantime I've found an A/E key 2.5GbE which is a new one for me :
globalamericaninc.com
Here's an M key quad port if you have space for a 2280 :
www.bvm.co.uk
Etc.
Mini PCIe Mini PCIe 2 Port Copper Ethernet Lan Card ( Based on Intel I350)
3 years warranty, OEM/ODM, LR-LINK
www.lr-link.com
NISK300LAN Mini-PCIe 2x Gigabit LAN Card with universal I/O bracket - Assured Systems
NISK300LAN Kit with universal I/O bracket is specifically designed with NISE300 and NISE 4000/NIFE 4000 models for network connectivity expansion. It provides dual Intel® Gigabit Ethernet ports with the latest I210IT controllers.
www.assured-systems.com
MINI Pci-e to Dual port Gigabit Ethernet Server NIC network card 1000M mini PCIe SFP fiber network card INTEL 350AM2 Chipset : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories (dual SFP, but so large you may as well get a Lenovo Tiny and use the PCIe slot)
I just need to find a dual NIC A/E key one. Here's a single port Intel one :
In the meantime I've found an A/E key 2.5GbE which is a new one for me :
M2-225 - 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet LAN M.2 Module - Global American
The M2-225 is a low power, high performance M.2 2.5 gigabit Ethernet module. This is the perfect solution for small form factor or embedded PCs to expand functionality and speed.
globalamericaninc.com
Here's an M key quad port if you have space for a 2280 :
Commell M2-350 Intel Dual / Quad GbE Controller I350 Series
Commell M2-350 M.2 Intel Ethernet Controller I350 Series - PCIe to Dual / Quad Gigabit LAN - M.2 Key M 2280 interface
www.bvm.co.uk
Etc.
I've even seen a 10gbit m.2 2280.
Question is, what's practical? Or even needed?
Most people do not have the bandwidth requirements to do 2x gigabit. I had a specific need because I wanted to use the full Gbit of my internet connection. I've had 10gbit at home, but I found it power-hungry and useless (did not have a requirement to move large amounts of data often).
My solution so far had been to use 1 network adapter with a VLAN enabled switch. Fine for 500mbit (and slightly more due to the asynchronous nature of the traffic). Do I need the Gbit? Sometimes. Is it a challenge for me? Yes, a fun one. Was it cost effective? Yes. $16 is cost effective.
Wanted to share the 'neat' solution I had found that works well without any changes to the 1L standard case.
Please let me know if you have found a nice way to get 2 additional Ethernet interfaces into the case without cutting anything. Currently I doubt it can be done, unless you have a PCI slot available.
Question is, what's practical? Or even needed?
Most people do not have the bandwidth requirements to do 2x gigabit. I had a specific need because I wanted to use the full Gbit of my internet connection. I've had 10gbit at home, but I found it power-hungry and useless (did not have a requirement to move large amounts of data often).
My solution so far had been to use 1 network adapter with a VLAN enabled switch. Fine for 500mbit (and slightly more due to the asynchronous nature of the traffic). Do I need the Gbit? Sometimes. Is it a challenge for me? Yes, a fun one. Was it cost effective? Yes. $16 is cost effective.
Wanted to share the 'neat' solution I had found that works well without any changes to the 1L standard case.
Please let me know if you have found a nice way to get 2 additional Ethernet interfaces into the case without cutting anything. Currently I doubt it can be done, unless you have a PCI slot available.
My situation is using VSphere, where it seems to get progressively more difficult to make vSAN happy the fewer interfaces you give it. So my requirement isn't that I have large amounts of data to push around either, really it's more of a functional separation in my home lab.
I still have a huge amount to learn with VSphere, and keep finding things that are really great balanced by things that are ... not so great. Still, it's fun to keep learning and it helps me with my job.
I still have a huge amount to learn with VSphere, and keep finding things that are really great balanced by things that are ... not so great. Still, it's fun to keep learning and it helps me with my job.
Learn about VLANs, they might not help with more bandwidth, but they let you keep the network traffic isolated.
I'm already set up with VLANs, and you can bandwidth constrain them, but it's still messy to manage.
I just got my m920q tiny to boot Esxi with a nvme using the Sintech adapter in the wlan slot. The drive does not show up in the bios or boot list but once I turn off all other boot devices it boots right away
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@Parallax I've ordered one of the dual i350 controllers for my Tiny. We'll see what happens: Kalea Informatique Mini PCI Express Card (MiniPCIE) – 2 ports RJ45 LAN Gigabit Ethernet – chipset Intel I350 – mPCIe NIC 10/100/1000 : Amazon.co.uk: Fashion (this is the one I got). I already had ordered the Dlock A&E key to miniPCIe converter. I'll let you know how it goes with installing. I doubt it will be pretty (as the backplate is not very TMM 'compatible'.
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Yeah, no way that 'whole construction' is fitting in the m900 case with a 2.5" SSD. There is also no space on the back of an M900 to exit the ports. If you sacrifice the 2.5" drive, you might be able to make it fit, but you'd also have to cut a hole int he front bezel to get the ethernet ports out of the chassis. The p320/p340 is a different 'beast'. Since you have 2xNVME you could forgo the 2.5" drive, and it has a rear-cutout for a low-profile card. While the rear cutout is not exacly low-profile-pci bracket territory, it is more space than in the M900. So for about $80 you could have dual i350 cards in a p320/p340/p350? The M900 is just too tight, plus no space to 'present' the ethernet ports nicely out of the chassis.
I thought about making the Ethernet port breakout smaller by cutting off the 'ear', but unfortunately they have placed a capacitor there, so cutting it off will likely cause some lack of function.
Sorry about the screwdriver in the picture, but otherwise the little card would not stay 'put' and not be in the picture.
@Parallax
Thank you for that. In my unit I have a P1000, so much less room. I think those using a PCIe card will have a hard time routing the riser cable and fitting the board somewhere.
Also remember that that 'wifi' slot is 'only' PCIe x2, so that's a max of something like 2Gbytes/sec if it's PCIe 3.0 (which I think it is). Some NVME SSDs are faster than that.