Anyone ever used any of the USB 3.0 to Ethernet adapters and are they any good? I have a new SIP phone solution going in but on one reception with have AIOs with a single NIC, To use the onscreen console they need to see the phones but I wan't to put SIP traffic on a completely independent vlan to keep it isolated from normal network traffic. At the moment we are looking at routing traffic at a switch level just for these 2 depending on what it is trying to do but if I could simplify it then I certainly would and the easiest way to do this is have a second NIC.
So is this console a software phone or some kind of attendant console for receptionist? Either way is not a very good enterprise solution if it needs to be on the same vlan as the phones. Running two vlans like you mentioned is the best practice but this software creates an issue. A duel nic PC would probably give you a work around but it's not an ideal solution. The second nic essentially turns the PC into a router and then that becomes another point on the network that you have to maintain. Thats fine for a lab or maybe even a server but rolling that out into production on multiple client machines might be a maintenance nightmare for you. Ideally you'd have a controller somewhere that all the phone and software register with but thats big money and I'm guessing you got a single small office you're trying to fix. I've never used a USB to Ethernet adaptor. It would assume the onboard nic would come up first during the boot so that might be the best choice for the default route. That way if the USB adaptor goes weird you can still get to the PC.
Yes the reception users at each office will be using an onscreen console to get an overview of the entire firm but at one office we have AIO systems. Offices connected via MPLS. To keep things simple lets say, vlan10 = data network vlan20 = phone newtork. vlan10 has it's own breakout to internet for internet traffic vlan20 has it's own breakout to the internet at each office for SIP traffic but if breakout fails at that office it will failover across MPLS core to another site. Cisco 2911 routers on end of MPLS and CIsco 800 routers dealing with breakout For most people this isn't a problem as they all have dual RJ45 sockets at desk so we can simply plug each socket into the correct switch. However because reception need the console but only have 1 NIC we are going to have to create routing rules on their switch ports to direct traffic to the correct vlan depending on whether it is SIP traffic or not. With other offices it is easier to just install second NIC and have them both on different vlans, that way a system can have 2 IP addresses and see what it needs to on both phones and data network. While trying to keep Data and SIP traffic as independent as possible I wondered if it would be better to use a USB 3.0 ethernet adapter or just let the switches pass data around for these 2 systems only. I was trying to avoid the networks coming together at all but if it isn't possible and the best way is to let the switches deal with this then so be it. So simple with 83 of the phones but these 2 are a pain and of course they would be reception ones. AIOs seemed such a good idea at the time as they are compact and look professional on a reception without cables everywhere. They do have wireless in them so as worst case I could use wireless for data and plug phones into physical NIC but I don't want to rely on wireless if I don't have to.
So whats the verdict on USB 3.0 vs eSata? I need 2+ GB hard drive and I'm thinking of going external. I'll probably be accessing large files from it on a regular basis so it's more than just a back-up drive.
USB 3 is usually cheaper, no? I've got an inexpensive 5 TB Toshiba 3.0 external that's very compact and works great.
Newegg has a 2TB Toshiba USB 3.0 for $60 and 5TB Seagate USB 3.0 for $120. Both seem cheap but I think the Seagate might suck. Probably not mobile but I might disconnect it when not in use.
If you do go the USB3 route, i've had two seagate external hdd's (one 3TB and one 4TB) for the past 4-5 years that are still perfectly fine that I use on a regular basis. They're always plugged in.
Got a Dell laptop using Intel graphics on a docking station with two DVI ports. The Intel graphics control panel allows me to extend the display to one other screen. Is there anyway to extend the display to two screens using the two DVI ports on the docking station? The laptop detects two monitors but I have to choose one or the other.
I think you have to make one of the monitors the primary desktop, then put the lid down on the laptop, which should allow selection of the 2nd monitor.
It looks like there might be a new trend for PC cases to remove the drive bays which means no permanent optical drive. Booting from USB always seemed to be risky on older PCs but maybe it's not an issue anymore. I know I needed a bios update and bios changes made on my motherboard to get it working.
I install Windows, Linux and ESX from memory sticks now if I need to do an install. So much faster than optical media.
I think I can sell my GTX 980 to someone who wants to do SLI for around $300. I'm wondering if doing a side-grade to a GTX 1070 FTW or Strix for about $100 out of pocket might make sense to get double the VRAM, better performance, and a more modern architecture. There have been a couple of recent games I've played where the lack of VRAM on the 980 is becoming more apparent. People thought it was odd when I side-graded from a 780 Ti to a 980, but it was one of the better hardware related decisions I've made as the lack of VRAM and old architecture on the 780 Ti ended up becoming big problems over time.
You should jump on that. At $250 to $280 you can side grade to a high-end 1060 GTX or get a 10% upgrade in a $240 Sapphire Fury. At $300 you can get 10% to 15% upgrade in a Fury X. Then like you said you can get a 20% to 25% upgrade with a 1070 for about $100 more. But if you can take the money and wait you might get a good price drop on the 1070/1080 when Vega comes out in a couple of months. There is probably a 50% chance we'll see a Vega at 1080 performance for 1070 price which means price drops all around.