BigFoot Networks Killer NIC: Killer Marketing or Killer Product?
by Gary Key on October 31, 2006 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Networking
Killer NIC Card
The Killer NIC ships with an installation disc that includes several Linux programs, a few decals, product documentation package, and a full retail copy of F.E.A.R. on DVD.
The Killer NIC is a very interesting card and since the Halloween season is upon us we have to say the thought of removing the "K" heatsink and using it as part of our Blade costume came to mind several different times. The PCB is black in color and contains a significant amount of components that you would never expect to see on a typical NIC. There are also several red LEDs on the PCB whose blinking movements can be adjusted by the control panel. Overall, the card's design theme follows its naming convention.
The card is equipped with a Freescale MPC8347E communications processor, a Xilinx Spartan FPGA, an integrated Broadcom Gigabit PHY, and 64MB of RAM for the embedded Linux build that is accessed by the FNapp Console. The Freescale MPC8347E communications processor is designed for general communications requirements from Ethernet routers to Internet network appliances. The Xilinx Spartan FPGA is a programmable gate array that houses Bigfoot Networks' proprietary and patent pending algorithms that also utilize the 64MB of onboard RAM.
The card utilizes a standard RJ-45 port and includes a USB 2.0 port. The USB 2.0 port is not visible to Windows and is designed to be used by an FNapp. The thought process is that an FNapp can read or write data to a flash drive or external HD. This would be very advantageous for writing data directly to an external hard drive via a BitTorrent type FNapp as one example.
The amount of integrated components along with its basic design features is one of the reasons why this card costs $279.99. This is a price tag that generally puts this card out of reach for most users who are typically satisfied with their NIC's current performance.
The card was very easy to set up. You need to disable your current NIC for optimum performance and compatibility. This is an action that we highly advise after a couple of aborted installs with the original driver set. The card requires a single PCI 2.2 slot and is only compatible with 32-bit Windows XP at this time. After installing the card, a quick reboot, and hardware recognition by XP, you install the driver set off the CD although we highly suggest downloading the latest release first. Another reboot is required and then you are set to use the card for total world domination. Well, at least this is probably your thought process if you read through the marketing material and other documentation online.
Additional 64-bit XP and Linux support is expected within the next six to eight weeks. However, it is still uncertain as to what features will be enabled for Linux and what if any performance benefits will be gained. Windows Vista support should be available by the time the OS ships and it will be interesting to see if there are any improvements considering Microsoft has completely rewritten the network stack code for efficiency and latency reduction. At this point in time there are no plans for a PCI Express version of the Killer NIC. According BigFoot Networks the PCI interface was utilized to improve transactional latencies, programming familiarity, and the fact that most systems have the required amount of PCI slots. We disagree with that last point as the majority of performance oriented boards are now PCI slot starved, and we would expect PCI-E to be a future consideration depending on the success of the current design.
The Killer NIC ships with an installation disc that includes several Linux programs, a few decals, product documentation package, and a full retail copy of F.E.A.R. on DVD.
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| Click to enlarge |
The Killer NIC is a very interesting card and since the Halloween season is upon us we have to say the thought of removing the "K" heatsink and using it as part of our Blade costume came to mind several different times. The PCB is black in color and contains a significant amount of components that you would never expect to see on a typical NIC. There are also several red LEDs on the PCB whose blinking movements can be adjusted by the control panel. Overall, the card's design theme follows its naming convention.
The card is equipped with a Freescale MPC8347E communications processor, a Xilinx Spartan FPGA, an integrated Broadcom Gigabit PHY, and 64MB of RAM for the embedded Linux build that is accessed by the FNapp Console. The Freescale MPC8347E communications processor is designed for general communications requirements from Ethernet routers to Internet network appliances. The Xilinx Spartan FPGA is a programmable gate array that houses Bigfoot Networks' proprietary and patent pending algorithms that also utilize the 64MB of onboard RAM.
The card utilizes a standard RJ-45 port and includes a USB 2.0 port. The USB 2.0 port is not visible to Windows and is designed to be used by an FNapp. The thought process is that an FNapp can read or write data to a flash drive or external HD. This would be very advantageous for writing data directly to an external hard drive via a BitTorrent type FNapp as one example.
The amount of integrated components along with its basic design features is one of the reasons why this card costs $279.99. This is a price tag that generally puts this card out of reach for most users who are typically satisfied with their NIC's current performance.
The card was very easy to set up. You need to disable your current NIC for optimum performance and compatibility. This is an action that we highly advise after a couple of aborted installs with the original driver set. The card requires a single PCI 2.2 slot and is only compatible with 32-bit Windows XP at this time. After installing the card, a quick reboot, and hardware recognition by XP, you install the driver set off the CD although we highly suggest downloading the latest release first. Another reboot is required and then you are set to use the card for total world domination. Well, at least this is probably your thought process if you read through the marketing material and other documentation online.
Additional 64-bit XP and Linux support is expected within the next six to eight weeks. However, it is still uncertain as to what features will be enabled for Linux and what if any performance benefits will be gained. Windows Vista support should be available by the time the OS ships and it will be interesting to see if there are any improvements considering Microsoft has completely rewritten the network stack code for efficiency and latency reduction. At this point in time there are no plans for a PCI Express version of the Killer NIC. According BigFoot Networks the PCI interface was utilized to improve transactional latencies, programming familiarity, and the fact that most systems have the required amount of PCI slots. We disagree with that last point as the majority of performance oriented boards are now PCI slot starved, and we would expect PCI-E to be a future consideration depending on the success of the current design.
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DaveatBigfoot - Thursday, November 30, 2006 - link
Dave from Bigfoot Networks here. We wanted to reach out to comments and forums around the Internet, address some of the issues being discussed, and be available for any questions you may have.I worked with Gary while he was writing this review. We have a tremendous amount of respect for him and Anandtech.com. I'd be liar if I didn't admit that we were disappointed with the performance and experience that the Anandtech review reflects. We welcomed the "Pepsi Challenge", and appreciated the real-world approach taken.
While the performance numbers reported were lower than what our customers report, and what we see internally, we thought one of the best testimonials for the Killer was the blind test where a the Killer was added to gamers PC without his knowledge, and he thought there was a new video card or more RAM in the system. Truly, that is what the Killer is all about...smoother, faster gaming...less lag, better performance.
Back when this review was written, we did have some issues with our drivers. I believe each and every issue manifested itself during Anandtech's testing. It was very unfortunate and not anticipated. Bypassing the windows network stack and putting a Linux computer on a PCI slot is a bit tricky. We aren't using that as an excuse, just stating it as a fact. Our latest software suite addresses all the issues that are referenced in this review.
We have also recently released IPtables firewall for the Killer NIC. Many more FNApps are on the way, and with time the Killer's value will increase. A rarity in the hardware world.
We sincerely hope, at some point, Anandtech will give the Killer another shot. We firmly stand by our product and believe it holds tremendous value for online gamers.
I am also happy to answer any questions you may have about the Killer, so fire away!
lwright84 - Thursday, November 9, 2006 - link
http://hardware.gotfrag.com/portal/story/34683/">http://hardware.gotfrag.com/portal/story/34683/explains some of the features and shows some better results with this card.
goinginstyle - Wednesday, November 29, 2006 - link
They only tested two games and both were optimized for the KillerNIC. They give it an editors award for improving FEAR by 6.7%, come on.trajik78 - Sunday, November 5, 2006 - link
did i mention $300 is f'in crazy for a NIC?cotak - Sunday, November 5, 2006 - link
This is as useful as something that makes guys quicker during sex.As for people talking about this being enterprise storage technology. They use fiber for that with expensive fiber switches not Ethernet and not something you'd be able to afford at home.
What's the point of reviewing something like this. In the first part of the review they say "the internet is variable". That's your key right there. There's no point in speeding up your connection to your cable/dsl modem when everything else from here to whatever is unknown. 300 bucks on a card like this and connecting it to your typical linksys router with the new VxWorks firmware with limited number of NAT connections it's about as dumb putting huge spoilers on a shitty car.
trajik78 - Sunday, November 5, 2006 - link
yup, pretty much every review has confirmed that this product is more than not-worthy of the $300 that could be better used for say a couple kegs of beer, or towards college tuition.when it comes down to it, your built in MB ethernet interface is more than worthy of your use for any circumstance, even it be HUGE FRAGFEST AT YOUR FRIENDS LAN PARTY!!
aswinp - Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - link
Check out this site for more info on TNICS:In my (small) experience in enterprise storage solutions, I believe one of the main reason for using TOE NICS is for iSCSI (SCSI over IP) SAN applications, instead of using Fiber Channel or other SAN solutions. So you basically have a SAN whose fabric is not based on expensive Fiber Channel hardware but on regular Ethernet.
Top 10 Reasons to upgrade to a TNIC:
http://www.alacritech.com/html/toe_top_ten.shtml">http://www.alacritech.com/html/toe_top_ten.shtml
Benchmark Reports:
http://www.alacritech.com/html/benchmark_reports.s...">http://www.alacritech.com/html/benchmark_reports.s...
mlau - Thursday, November 2, 2006 - link
I strongly suggest you read this mail and the paper it links to:http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/linux/linux-kernel/2003-...">http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/linux/linux-kernel/2003-...
TOE is another marketing fad, nothing more.
aswinp - Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - link
I guess Killer NIC saw this technology starting to rise in popularity in the enterprise storage market and thought... "Hey, what happens if we apply this thing to gaming?". And so you get the Killer NIC.Although I admit the FNA feature is very interesting, if ever any software ever gets written to take advantage of it.
What I'd really like to see is what happens when the Killer NIC is put in comparison to true TOE NICS in IP SAN applications. Coz its less expensive than these guys.
soydeedo - Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - link
hey guys. there have been scores of complaints regarding lag and such when running the new titan mode in battlefield 2142. if the titan [a very large airship] is moving while many players are aboard it things can get a bit hairy. i've experienced this myself although not very often, but it's pretty aggravating and severely impacts playability. i'm requesting that you play a couple rounds with a moving titan [it's imperative that it's moving] and report back your results with this killernic. i've made a post about this on firingsquad and totalbf2142 to no avail so if you guys would test this out i [and potentially many others if it offers any benefits] would appreciate it. thanks. =)