Network Connectivity (NIC, Switches) with Blackrock DAQs
Key points of consideration for ethernet cards (aka NIC, network interface card) in your Blackrock setup:
- Dedicated ethernet cards with PCI/PCIe connections are more reliable and support higher speeds. We recommend these cards over integrated ethernet ports built on the motherboard.
- Ethernet adapters (Ex. Ethernet to USB) can cause issues with communication between the Host PC and the data acquisition system (Gemini NSP, Gemini Hub, Legacy Fiber Optic NSP) due to bottlenecks or other communication disruptions. If possible, use a direct connection between the Host PC's ethernet card and the data acquisition system via a CAT6 ethernet cable.
- We recommend ethernet cards with the RealTek chipset (ex. RTL8111, RTL8111H, RTL8111G Network Interface Controllers > 10/100/1000M Gigabit Ethernet > PCI Express)
- The ethernet card should be able to support data speeds of at least 100 megabytes per second (Mbps), however we recommend cards that support 1000 Mbps (1Gbps) for ease of mind.
- Bus interface (# of lanes) that the cards use does not matter. A single lane (x1) card will work for your setup.
- The card should connect with copper ethernet cables (CAT6 Rj45 cables)
Examples:
Network Switches and Hubs (Splitting data streams)
Network switches and hubs create parallel data streams. The NSP's data (which is transferred in generic UDP format and can be packet sniffed) is essentially broadcasted to both PCs. You could have the PC running the tasks send a TTL pulse out into one of the NSP's analog input to synchronize the task timing with your neural recording. Doing this effectively disperses computational processes (Data acquisition and task generation) onto two PCs instead of one.
You can either approach this with a network switch or a network hub. A network switch and hub are similar in use, however hubs will broadcast data to all other ports on the hub, while switches are more directed and will only forward data to the device it intended for (MAC address of destination device dictates this).
Some specifications you may want to consider are:
Port Speed - 1 Gigabyte per second should be more than suitable for data acquisition. For reference, "high data loads" from the NSP are 35 megabytes per second and greater. You may wish to seek greater port speeds for peace of mind.
Unmanaged vs Managed - Managed switches allow for greater control, however unmanaged switches are easier to use plug and play.
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