Configuring a nearby network connection.
Configuring a nearby network connection.
Hello everyone! I recently purchased two ConnectX-3 cards to boost file transfer speeds between my PC and the server. My current configuration is as follows: 1) PC, server, and router should all be on the same network; 2) PC and server should use 40GbE for communication; 3) Internet access should rely on a 100Mbit link via the router; 4) Both PC and server are also connected through a SoftEther VPN running on a remote VPS. I’m curious if I can set up a solution so that requests from the PC in the SoftEther network go directly to the server, bypassing the VPS and going straight there. I considered using a Local Bridge but it didn’t work as expected. The VPN link is necessary for remote access to both devices. I also have Navidrome using this virtual network for broadcasting to other remote devices. Any suggestions or instructions would be greatly appreciated!
I don’t understand the VPN setup you’re using… However, for the direct connection, just install the connectX adapters, link them together, and configure a subnet on both devices in the network settings. On Windows, right-click the adapter, go to IPv4 settings, and set a custom subnet that differs from existing ones—like 10.10.10.1 (unless you’re using any other 10.x series). On the server side, do the same but assign 10.10.10.2. Then on your Windows PC, mount the network share at 10.10.10.2 so it can communicate over the point-to-point link for file transfers. Of course, the exact steps depend on the OS running the server… but that’s the general approach. Also, note that ConnectX drivers aren’t available for Windows 11, so you’ll likely need a newer Intel card. I believe x4 cards are currently the latest with driver support, and Win 10 is the only version compatible. A lot of details are available on Google, but it can be quite tricky.
I shared my experience on another forum regarding this problem. My system runs Windows 10 22H2 on a PC and Windows Server 2019 on the server side. Most Windows 10-based operating systems lack fully functional drivers for ConnectX-3 because their Ethernet components aren't compatible with Intel's new architecture. I've had to switch to IPoIB, which operates differently and doesn't rely on the same driver. On the network devices shown in the picture I posted, static IP addresses aren't possible, so remote access is only achievable via a VPN subnet. I'm planning to try that approach. Currently, the 100Mbit link appears to be stuck in an "initializing" state and drops during connection attempts. The interface seems to switch to a 192.168.1.x range while the 40Gbe IPoIB is on 192.168.2.x, which explains the intermittent connectivity issues.