Need advice fubdubg gigabit NICS that support link aggregation/teaming

[lupo]

I have a micro atx system that I run a 8TB RAID 5 array in as my media server. The MOBO has 1 PCI-E x1 slot and 2 PCI for expansion. (The other 16x PCI-E slot is used for my controller card).

I installed two trednet PCI gigabit PCI NICS and set up the link aggregation within my netgear gs108T managed switch but the link aggregation still seems to not be working. Aparently this needs to be done on workstation, not the managed switch.

After researching this more it appears that the NICS themselves have to support it, such as Intel. I an having a tough time locating 2 x PCI gigabit NICS to install in this system that I can team for link aggregation.

So, to my question, can anyone recommend a pair or PCI gigabit NICS that will 100% support teaming/link aggregation. Or, does anyone know of any third party software that I can use with my existing cards?

Can I just use two of these cards:



Intel PWLA8391GTL PCI PRO/1000 GT Low Profile Desktop Adapter - OEM



or



Intel PWLA8391GTBLK-1PK PCI PRO/1000 GT Desktop Adapter - OEM



Or do I have to have at least one of these to build the link off of?
Intel EXPI9400PT 10/ 100/ 1000Mbps PCI-Express Gigabit Copper Connection for Servers - OEM



I think I remember reading somewhere that I need 1 of the PCI-E 1x cards and then I can use a PCI based intel card for het other one.



Thanks!

 

[Bobacus]

I'm not too sure if this is actually pci-e x1 or not, it looks like it, but it would be my first choice, since I believe the PCI bus is limited to around 1gbps, while the pci-e bus is much faster.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106034

Otherwise I believe 2 of these should support trunking with no issue, I know I've been using them to upgrade desktops to gigabit speed for quite awhile with great results.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106121

 

[JBark]

I'm not too sure if this is actually pci-e x1 or not, it looks like it, but it would be my first choice, since I believe the PCI bus is limited to around 1gbps, while the pci-e bus is much faster.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106034

Otherwise I believe 2 of these should support trunking with no issue, I know I've been using them to upgrade desktops to gigabit speed for quite awhile with great results.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106121

Intel software won't let you trunk with just desktop adapters, need to have at least one server adapter. But yeah, any Intel dual port PCIe gigabit adapter should support trunking just fine. Note that the old PCI/PCI-X Intel server adapters, like the PRO/1000 MT don't support trunking in 2008 R2/Windows 7. Supposedly there are some hacks to get around it, since it's just a forced software limitation, but I haven't tried it myself.

 

[lupo]

A dual nic pci-e card is fine. But I need one that is 1x pci-e. Can anyone find me one that's dual nics on a 1x pci-e? I don't have room for 4x or above.

 

[C7J0yc3]

A dual nic pci-e card is fine. But I need one that is 1x pci-e. Can anyone find me one that's dual nics on a 1x pci-e? I don't have room for 4x or above.

These don't exist because of the limitations of PCI-e x1 bandwidth. You need an x4 slot to be able pass all the traffic for both nics when they are full duplex. Same reason why they don't make dual port PCI NICs.

 

[lupo]

These don't exist because of the limitations of PCI-e x1 bandwidth. You need an x4 slot to be able pass all the traffic for both nics when they are full duplex. Same reason why they don't make dual port PCI NICs.

Actually, this is not true, I found a dual NIC on newegg that is just a PCI card. I just didn't buy it since the buss speed is only 133 MB/s and I will be doing twice that speed.

I ended up buying a single port PCI-E 1X and a single port PCI NIC. It looks like I need the PCI-E one (which is considered a server level NIC) to first build the aggregation link and then I can add the PCI as the second member card.