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I am building a machine vision system (gigabit ethernet cameras made by Basler), and need 5 network inputs into my industrial PC. Due to bandwidth and IP address concerns, I can't use a network switch into a single network port.

I can't seem to find many PCI Express, non-Power over Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 4-port network adapter cards that aren't labeled "Server Adapter". I don't need support for teams, virtual machines, security, etc as this machine will not be internet-enabled.

Given that my other requirements are met (Intel chipset, support for jumbo frames) can I use a "Server Adapter" card for simple networking of cameras into an industrial PC?

EDIT:

The IP address thing seems to be a tripping point. I don't have a complete response for you; that tidbit came from a coworker was recently working on a similar machine with 2 linescan cameras and said that he had to jump through a number of hoops setting up separate subnets so that they would both be recognized. I'm (plainly) not a network guy so his explanation only made partial sense to me, and he's out this week.

Really, all I'm trying to ask is whether this question is relevant to what I'm trying to do, and is there any reason a server adapter card, with its extra features, wouldn't do something a regular desktop adapter can do?

EDIT 2:

I mistakenly thought that IP cameras and GigE cameras were more similar than they are. I updated the title to reflect this. They aren't IP cameras in the same sense as most surveillance cameras.

EDIT 3:

Per comment from David Schwartz, camera models listed:

All Basler cameras:
(1) Ace 2MP area scan, acA1600-60gm
(1) Ace 5MP area scan, acA2500-20gm
(1) Racer 2K linescan, raL2048-48gm
(2) Racer 4K linescan, raL4096-24gm

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    "The inputs need to have dedicated IP addresses, so I can't use a network switch into a single network port"... sorry, what? What does the number of physical ports connected on your PC have to do with the number of IP addresses on those ports?
    – MadHatter
    Aug 31, 2015 at 15:13
  • Sorry, what I meant was that I need only one IP address on each port. Does that make the mud any clearer?...
    – Dan A.
    Aug 31, 2015 at 16:01
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    Why on earth do you need that? You will still need five addresses. This question is accumulating downvotes, partly because it makes no sense. I strongly suggest that you tell us your actual problem, instead of asking us how to implement the solution you've already decided upon (see also XY problem).
    – MadHatter
    Aug 31, 2015 at 16:02
  • I have fallen prey to the XY problem before, because I am frequently learning about things of which I have little prior knowledge. But in this case, all I can say is that having each camera on a separate port is industry standard procedure. I will be able to give you a great answer in four months when this project is complete, just not right now!
    – Dan A.
    Aug 31, 2015 at 16:34
  • The whole point of GigE cameras is that it's easy to interface many of them because the interface bandwidth is much higher than the camera needs. Can you tell us the make and model camera you're talking about? Aug 31, 2015 at 17:08

1 Answer 1

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Your requirements aren't clear at all: why exactly do you need multiple Gigabit Ethernet ports on the same computer to handle a bunch of IP cameras? You should probably revise your design.

Anyway, the answer to your question strongly depends on the card model. If it uses a standard bus, like PCI Express or plain old PCI, it will work fine on any motherboard. If it uses some sort of proprietary connector (which is not an unusual sight in servers), it will only work on a compatible server.

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  • Thanks Massimo, even this helps. I revised my question to be clearer and to specify that I am using PCIe.
    – Dan A.
    Aug 31, 2015 at 16:36
  • It really depends on the card model, we can't be any more precise than this.
    – Massimo
    Aug 31, 2015 at 16:39
  • That's what I was afraid of. I appreciate your comments.
    – Dan A.
    Aug 31, 2015 at 16:45

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