[K12OSN] Affordable Eprom source

[Rob Owens]

While we're on the topic, I'd like to point out that
www.disklessworkstations.com has a complete bootable
network card (not just the Eprom) for $20.  Now don't
ask me what the difference is between the $20 card and
the $45 card is, but I bought some of the $20 cards a
while back and have been happy with them.  

-Rob

--- Timothy Legge <tlegge at rogers.com> wrote:

> Terrell Prudé Jr. wrote:
> > Hardware don't grow on trees, Mel; unlike
> software, hardware costs money 
> > to reproduce.  If you want a hardware solution,
> you gotta pay for it.  
> > Jim McQuillan's saving you a ton already!  You
> want him to just *donate* 
> > the chips to you on top of that?
> > 
> > Eighteen dollars--that's pocket change.  Take a
> small piece of that 
> > truckload of money that you're saving by not going
> with MS 
> > Windows/Office and use that to fund your EEPROM
> purchase.  Geez...!
> 
> While I agree that Jim is doing fantastic things and
> that supporting him 
> however you can is a great idea $18 / eeprom is not
> cheap especially 
> when you consider that it could be the single most
> expensive parts of 
> some of the refurbished labs (excluding the server
> and network).
> 
> I spent the money for a Eprom programmer and an
> Eraser so I am able to 
> take advantage used EPROMs from ebay ($1 for used
> 27C256) as well as 
> this site:
> 
> http://www.futurlec.com/ICFLASH.shtml
> 
> That being said, for the number of EPROMS I have
> programmed, buying them 
> from Jim would have been the cheaper route.
> 
> However, a number of Network cards can flash
> eeproms.  The 3c905C is one 
> of those cards and is readily available pretty
> cheap:
> 
> http://www.vfxweb.com/index.php?productid=8006
> 
> I have purchased several from vfxweb and for some of
> them I got lucky 
> and received cards with PXE built in.
> 
> When it comes to remote booting I look for:
> 
> 1) PXE support for the onboard NIC
> 2) PXE on the card (these are cheap whn you find
> them)
> 
> Preprogrammed EEProms are for specific NICs (pci
> ids) and when you get 
> into programming them yourself via a NIC you should
> have more time than 
> money...
> 
> Tim
> 
> _______________________________________________
> K12OSN mailing list
> K12OSN at redhat.com
> https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/k12osn
> For more info see <http://www.k12os.org>
> 



 
____________________________________________________________________________________
Sucker-punch spam with award-winning protection. 
Try the free Yahoo! Mail Beta.
http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/features_spam.html