What are the options for 10GbE on Mac Pros?

[Machines]

I have a client who needs to stitch 4K output from 12 gopro cameras . Unfortunately , software support is inferior in the Mac community for this , so I need to jump ship and do a PC rig . I had thought about going with a Tempo SSD Pro Plus , but maybe I'll grab one of these SolarFlares instead and an external RAID chassis . Nobody is giving me any guidance on drive throughput for the project (including the app publisher .) So , the client and myself have to be a bit like pioneers . I'm mentally preparing myself for around 1000 MB/s writes for the client's workflow needs . Maybe a bit higher . Of course, as soon as I get this in my shop the cMPs will get to play with it . I'll need to use solid state, so it should be fun . I'll write an update if and when and hopefully we'll get a cMP to push external RAID at max throughput via 10GbE .

 

[AidenShaw]

As for 10Gb ethernet: I expect we'll finally see a tipping point for more widespread adoption over the next couple of years. It's been a game-changer for our workflow, for sure.

I believe that the "tipping point" would already have occurred had Apple been innovative enough to put a 10 GbE port on the MP6,1.

However, 10 GbE is the biggest bottleneck that I face. I have systems with quad 10 GbE interfaces running as a team. Good if they're multi-user (like my file servers), but not so good if your disk runs at 7 GBps and you're trying to copy one big file from a client.

Just waiting for the switch prices on 40 GbE and 100 GbE to come down to earth....

 

[pastrychef]

I have a client who needs to stitch 4K output from 12 gopro cameras . Unfortunately , software support is inferior in the Mac community for this , so I need to jump ship and do a PC rig . I had thought about going with a Tempo SSD Pro Plus , but maybe I'll grab one of these SolarFlares instead and an external RAID chassis . Nobody is giving me any guidance on drive throughput for the project (including the app publisher .) So , the client and myself have to be a bit like pioneers . I'm mentally preparing myself for around 1000 MB/s writes for the client's workflow needs . Maybe a bit higher . Of course, as soon as I get this in my shop the cMPs will get to play with it . I'll need to use solid state, so it should be fun . I'll write an update if and when and hopefully we'll get a cMP to push external RAID at max throughput via 10GbE .

Sounds like fun. Synology has some NAS units that may fit your needs.

Source: https://www.synology.com/en-us/products/performance#xs_plus

 

[Silencio]

I believe that the "tipping point" would already have occurred had Apple been innovative enough to put a 10 GbE port on the MP6,1.

Would they have gone with 10GB-Base-T ports, or SFP+? Aside from cost, the lack of one clear standard for the physical connections has been a problem. The ability to connect a much cheaper transceiver for your medium of choice to a USB 3.1 port would go a long way towards solving that problem.

We have 40Gb uplinks between our 10Gb switches, but there's always another bottleneck to be uncovered in one's workflow, isn't there?

 

[Squuiid]

10GB-Base-T is still relatively expensive unfortunately. That would have been my preference but hard to justify the cost.

 

[pastrychef]

Same here. I went with SPF+ entirely due to cost concerns. I built my Synology clone for $400. I didn't want to spend $600-700 on networking cards for it. lol

10GbE makes perfect sense for Macs since all current models lack the room to add internal storage. Having a NAS tucked away in a corner can help maintain the clean, simple aesthetics that Apple loves.

 

[AidenShaw]

Would they have gone with 10GB-Base-T ports, or SFP+? Aside from cost, the lack of one clear standard for the physical connections has been a problem. The ability to connect a much cheaper transceiver for your medium of choice to a USB 3.1 port would go a long way towards solving that problem.

We have 40Gb uplinks between our 10Gb switches, but there's always another bottleneck to be uncovered in one's workflow, isn't there?

10GB-Base-T

Copper was becoming common in 2013, and the RJ45 port can run at 1 Gb as well as 10 Gb.

 

[Squuiid]

Since no one seemed to have any definitive answers, I investigated on my own. I truly did not want to pay the ransoms that Small Tree and Sonnet were asking, so I looked for cards whose manufacturers offered Mac drivers available for download. I finally stumbled upon SolarFlare which offers Mac drivers which can be easily downloaded from their website!!

Then, I searched form some deals on on eBay. Here's what I ended up buying:

$55.00 SolarFlare SFN5122F dual SFP 10GbE PCI-e card
$18.50 Mellanox ConnectX-2 10GbE PCI-e card
$14.75 Cisco 5M Twinax 10GbE cable
--------
$88.25

The Mellanox card went in to my DIY Synology clone. I chose this card because it has built-in drivers for this card. Once I had both cards installed and cable connecting both of them together, I set MTU to 9000 on both ends. Here are my results from my eight drive SHR2 (dual disk redundancy) array which consists of eight 8TB drives.

This is a significant improvement over the ~110MB/s that I was getting over normal gigabit ethernet. Performance is probably hampered by the use of the the Seagate 8TB archive drives but plenty fast for my modest needs. Not a bad upgrade for less than $90.

Just got the SolarFlare SFN5122F, still waiting for the X520-DA for my server to test this out.

pastrychef, did you try updating the firmware of your SFN5122F?
Here's the bootable ISO to do so, updated in Feb 2016 so fairly recent. I just did my card, no problems. It was a huge jump in versions.
https://support.solarflare.com/index.php?view=categories&id=2858&option=com_cognidox&Itemid=11
It could potentially improve your speeds.

 

[pastrychef]

I did not even look at the firmware versions. Lol. I just installed the drivers and proceeded to connect to my NAS.

I know that the firmware can be updated directly from OS X terminal, but, again, I never bothered testing....

 

[Squuiid]

pastrychef, I have a technical question for you.
You have a NAS that presumably has two NICs in, one which is 10GbE, direct attached to your Mac, and the other 1GbE NIC goes to your LAN.
I'm also assuming that your Mac ALSO connects to your LAN using the built in 1GbE, to access internet, etc.
How do you route traffic to your NAS via the 10GbE card rather than it choosing the 1GbE of your LAN?
Do you just connect to the NAS via IP and it thus picks the 10GbE card?

 

[pastrychef]

Yes, the motherboard of my NAS has two standard gigabit ethernet ports. The 10GbE card's port is #3. My NAS is configured as follows:

1GbE port 1 = 192.168.1.11
1GbE port 2 = 192.168.1.12
10GbE port 1 = 10.0.0.2

My Mac Pro is configured as follows:

1GbE port 1 = 192.168.1.254
1GbE port 2 = 192.168.1.253
10GbE port 1 = 10.0.0.1
10GbE port 2 = not configured

In Finder, click on the Go drop down menu and select "Connect to Server..." (or just press Command + K).

In the window that pops up, enter "afp://10.0.0.2" and click "Connect".

 

[Squuiid]

You sir are awesome. Thank you very much, that is perfect. Just what I needed.

 

[Squuiid]

I was made aware that some members of the hackintosh community have managed to hack Small Tree drivers to work with the Intel X520-DA2 cards but I feel the SolarFlare is a cleaner solution.

pastrychef, I've somehow ended up with two X520-DA2 cards and I'm keen to try one out in the Mac Pro. I've Googled and Googled and just can't find anything about the modified Small Tree drivers. Would you mind pointing me in the right direction? I'd like to give them a go.

Update:
Nevermind! I've found them, sorry.
http://www.tonymacx86.com/network/156135-intel-network-adapters-os-x-small-tree-drivers.html

 

[Squuiid]

I was made aware that some members of the hackintosh community have managed to hack Small Tree drivers to work with the Intel X520-DA2 cards but I feel the SolarFlare is a cleaner solution.

It took me a while to figure this out but the card EEPROM can actually be modified to allow Intel/Dell X520 cards to work with Small Tree OS X drivers:
http://www.tonymacx86.com/network/1...s-os-x-small-tree-drivers-14.html#post1238577

 

[pastrychef]

That's awesome! But the card that I have right now has been working so flawlessly that I don't need to purchase another for the foreseeable future. But it's always great to have additional options.

 

[Squuiid]

Oh , I think I've found the fly in the ointment . The drivers for the SolarFlare card seem limited to OS X 10.6.x Snow to 10.9.x Mavericks . They were last updated in November 2013 . No support for Yosemite or EL Cap ?

If you're concerned about the age of the drivers, try this instead. Small Tree Intel NIC drivers are regularly updated:
Modify retail Intel NICs to use Small Tree OS X Drivers

Intel X520-DA2 cards go for about $72 on eBay. A little more than the SolarFlare, but Intel, and with new drivers.

 

[jebidia]

Hi there,

Great thread! I've been using the SFN5122F on my Mac with Mavericks for a year or so now and am thinking about making the jump to Sierra. Curious if you've tried this card in Sierra yet and would you recommend signed or unsigned drivers?

Thanks again.

jb

 

[pastrychef]

I upgraded to Sierra once it was released and have continued using the signed drivers. Have not had any problems at all.

 

[jebidia]

I upgraded to Sierra once it was released and have continued using the signed drivers. Have not had any problems at all.

Sweet!!!! thank you!!

 

[DearthnVader]

Yes, I believe my first hard drive was also 10MB. lol I think it was a Conner MFM drive and I went running to Radio Shack to buy a ribbon cable and connectors to put together the SCSI cable. Great memories.

Yes, I would not have attempted going 10GbE if the costs hadn't dropped. I certainly had no intention of paying Sonnet or Small Tree prices.

TRS-80 with a Audio Tape Drive

 

[pastrychef]

Tape drives were so horribly unreliable. Lol. Those were NOT good memories!!

 

[DearthnVader]

Tape drives were so horribly unreliable. Lol. Those were NOT good memories!!

Well before I got the Control Cable, from Radio Shack, I had to leave my TRS-80 running, every time I wrote a program. If I shut it off, it was gone. I'd often fill the ram, and leave it running for days, because I spent so long writing a good graphics program, and didn't want to lose it.

 

[Silencio]

I was one of those fancy TRS-80 Model I users with an Expansion Interface and a floppy drive. Memories.

 

[pastrychef]

Yeah... As a broke kid, I couldn't afford floppies in the beginning and had to live with those tapes for a while... Definitely fun times.

 

[William_si]

Myricom w/ Sierra -> High Sierra

Had to reinstall driver from website (old according to date, nothing changed), reboot, card worked again.