Realtek 2.5Gbps Ethernet controller

[TheLostSwede]

It seems like no-one really noticed that Realtek announced a few 2.5Gbps Ethernet controllers (and a PHY) at Computex, myself included, despite going to their booth. Admittedly I was looking for something entirely different there, but it wasn't something they were highlighting either.

It looks like they'll have a few different variations.

• RTL8125/8125AG: Supports the PCIe 2.0 interface for PC embedded applications
• RTL8156/8156AG: Provides a USB3.1 interface for external Dongle and Docking applications
• RTL8226: A physical layer transceiver that supports 2500BASE-X, SGMII+, and USXGMII (2.5G) interfaces, and is ideal for Switch, Router, and other communications network devices

The press release points out that the "AG" versions are for gaming which means its supplied with their Dragon software, which should be something similar to what you get with the Killer NIC's.

Judging by the fact that Realtek supports USB 3.1 (mostly likely gen 1), we might get to see some sub $30 dongles, even if they're not based on Aquantia hardware...

Pair this up with their multi-speed (up to 10Gpbs) 8-port switch controller (which they told me would cost under $30 a chip) and we might actually get some quite affordable 2.5Gbps switches coming out soon as well. It looks like 2.5Gbps is set to be the new 1Gbps for consumer applications at least, where's 5 and 10Gbps will still be reserved for more corporate applications or those that have deeper pockets.

Impress PC Watch have a few pictures of the products - https://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/event/1126138.html

Full press release here - http://www.realtek.com/press/newsViewOne.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=0&PFid=1&Level=1&NewsID=454

 

[System Error Message]

i wonder how they will work with virtualisation as i heard thats usually a weak point with realtek chips, however realtek NIC chips usually boast a lot of features on the chip level too.

We can have 10Gb/s on the cheap too.

 

[sfx2000]

Cool - thx for bringing that up - the link provided from watch.impress.co.jp actually includes other product intros beyond the subject line, and some might find them interesting.

Let's hope they have decent Linux and BSD driver support (they've been hit or miss there)...

Anyways, good news as this does bring the price per port down into a more realistic level for home use.

 

[Balance]

Somebody should have told AnandTech

• Things We Missed: Realtek Has 2.5G Gaming Ethernet Controllers

 

[coxhaus]

We are getting to the point we will need 2.5 gig for the new Wi-Fi6 when you have lots of connections. Especially for small businesses with local traffic.

 

[sfx2000]

We are getting to the point we will need 2.5 gig for the new Wi-Fi6 when you have lots of connections. Especially for small businesses with local traffic.

The interesting thing about NBase-T is that is really was intended as a drop-in replacement using existing wiring - 2.5GbE can run on CAT5E just fine...

On short runs, 5GbE should be ok with CAT5, even though the chart below suggests CAT6.

Many of the NIC vendors I chatted with - their NBaseT designs are basically a drop-in replacement for the 1000Base-T NIC's and Switch chips... so prices should come down to parity with gigabit ethernet overall...

For most SOHO and Small Business installs, NBase-T is pretty straightforward - and much cheaper than 10GbE, where the price-per-port is still very high compared to gigabit ethernet.

 

[sfx2000]

Judging by the fact that Realtek supports USB 3.1 (mostly likely gen 1), we might get to see some sub $30 dongles

I agree - and across different chipsets - Realtek is not the only vendor playing in this space...

Should see it really as a replacement for the current gigabit chips... so price points from a hardware perspective should be around the same - some vendors obviously will pump the ASP up for "capability"

Similar to what we saw with fast ethernet to gigabit, and 11n to 11ac - once the tech goes commodity, the prices come down...

 

[TheLostSwede]

I agree - and across different chipsets - Realtek is not the only vendor playing in this space...

Should see it really as a replacement for the current gigabit chips... so price points from a hardware perspective should be around the same - some vendors obviously will pump the ASP up for "capability"

Similar to what we saw with fast ethernet to gigabit, and 11n to 11ac - once the tech goes commodity, the prices come down...

See, you got it in one. A lot of people on other forums have said it's stupid, we should move to 10Gbps instead, bla, bla, bla. But they don't seem to understand the cost difference and the fact that 2.5Gbps and even 5Gbps in some scenarios, will work over older cable infrastructure. And with 802.11ax, this is going to be something of a minimum requirement if you want to take full advantage of higher-end access points if not maybe directly routers.

Obviously pitching this towards gamers as something that will help them on the other hand, is a flawed marketing tactic, as it's not going to make any difference.

And yes, I'm surprised it took this long for the big tech sites to wake up and take notice, but hey, I guess they were too busy looking at "cooler" things back at Computex. Admittedly I missed it at the show as well, but I'm no longer working as a tech journalist so that's my excuse.

 

[DonCatoli]

Aquantia is already selling sub-$100 5gbit and 10gbit NICs and they both support 2.5g and 5g with some high end mobos sporting the 10gbit processor, realtek will take up the budget segment.