Multiple ethernet connections
Hey guys,
Is it possible to run 2 ethernet connections, potentially one for upstream and one for downstream using a standard ethernet port and a thunderbolt ethernet adapter?
Cheers
Jacob
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.3)
I am not sure exactly what you mean by upstream,/downstream but yes it is possible to use two or more Ethernet interfaces on a Mac. Apart from the built-in Ethernet port, the second could be as you stated the Apple Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter, or a USB to Ethernet adapter.
Possible usage scenarios include using one for the LAN and one for WAN connections, or bonding them together to make a 2Gbps combined link using 802.3ad aka. LACP trunk connection, or using one for the Mac, and the other for a virtual machine running on the Mac. Another common use would be to use one interface for the LAN to talk to computers, and the other for talking to a SAN via iSCSI, by keeping the iSCSI traffic on a separate interface you ensure it has dedicated bandwidth improving performance.