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TomjNorthIdaho
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x86 ( Mikrotik x86 ROS and hardware switching )

Wed Mar 15, 2023 8:29 pm

Topic: x86 ( Mikrotik x86 ROS and hardware switching )

If/when an x86 system directly boots a Mikrotik x86 ROS - and more than one ethernet interface is added to a bridge , Does "Hardware Offload" work ?
If so , is this true - Hardware Offloading where a switch chip is actually connecting the ethernet interfaces together or is the CPU actually performing all of the work ( similar to not checking the Hardware Offload function ? ( this is assuming there is an Ethernet switch chip with more than one Ethernet interface in the chip ).

Question: What ethernet switch chips does x86 support ?
Question: Does x86 support any 100-Gig switch chips ?
Question: Is there a limit on how many ethernet interfaces x86 supports ?


Here are some reasons I am asking the above questions:
- I am currently looking for some 100-Gig switches. Mikrotik does not make any 8 or 16 or 32 or 64 100-Gig switches ( at this time ). There are several other big-name companies that do make 100-Gig switches with 8, 16, 32 to 64 port 100-Gig switches. I started looking at some Open Networking 100-Gig switches such as the Edge-Core 32-Port 100-Gig switches ( aka White-Box switch / Bare-Metal switch ). I know some/many of the White-Box / Bare-Metal switches are x86 based and I think they can boot a normal Windows/Linux and/or NVDIA Cumulus Linux - where the booted operating system can manage the ethernet switch chip ( aka manage the hardware switching functions between Ethernet interfaces ).
Sooo, I was wondering what would happen if Mikrotik x86 ROS was the booted operating system - can x86 ROS manage the ethernet hardware switch functions ?
If this is possible , what switch chips are supported in x86 ?
Is it possible to use x86 ROS on an x86 White-Box / Bare-Metal switch and have an 8 , 16 , 32 or 64 port 100-Gig switch ( hardware switching ) where the end result is a Layer-3 switch with many 100-Gig interface ports ( and possibly 1-Gig , 10-Gig 40-Gig, 100-Gig , 200-Gig , 400-Gig switched ports ).

If something like this is possible , then WOW !!! Mikrotik running on some big 64-port 100-Gig switches would be awesome !
* If not , then I would like to ask Mikrotik to add some switch chip drivers into their x86 ROS Linux and enter the switch Open Networking markets. Something like this could enable Mikrotik to compete against the Big switch manufacturers and grow a huge market share. ( could it be something as simple as adding more switch chip driver code , compile and presto x86 ROS for White-Box / Bare-Metal switches running on hundreds of other switches ? )

North Idaho Tom Jones

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