Ask HN: Need advice on building a network card. Where to begin?

1 points by Sakes 12y ago ↗ HN

I'm trying to build a network card, or rather add on some special functionality onto a programmable network card. I am a developer and have no experience with hardware. I was hoping to find someone on HN to bounce a few questions off of.

1) Where should I start my hunt for a programmable usb network card?

2) Could I email you to ask a few questions about creating specialized network cards?

2 comments

[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 18.3 ms ] thread

mschuster91 12y ago ↗

Huh? What are you trying to accomplish? If you want to process some packets without them reaching the CPU, rather use an FPGA module with an Ethernet layer and connect it via USB to your machine.

wmf 12y ago ↗

Programmable NICs are definitely a thing, although I'm mostly aware of the $8,000 10 Gbps varieties. I wonder if you could jailbreak a Killer NIC...