Jim,
A 350MHz FreeBSD box can easily handle three interfaces running
30~40Mb/s both directions on 100BaseT/FD interfaces. No network
performance issues seen running consortium gated and gtting a full
routeing table.
How well have you tested this across the packet size spectrum? Yes it
seems to work for best efforts bursty traffic but be a bit stringent
about the different packet sizes and you find that various flows
get different levels of "quality". As an internet router this works ok
with ethernet.
I would be very reluctant to try it with ATM interfaces of custom
hardware for hisgh speed serial interfaces.
I know someone who got an ATM card to work and for a single PVC upto
around 70M it was fine, it only fell apart when you started to mess
around with the packet sizes and we believe that to be more of an issue
with the PC than the ATM card or driver.
Neil.