Amazingly, the latest iMacs from Apple (the 27" Core i5/i7 models) do not support jumbo frames over Ethernet. This limitation is brought to you by the fact that the on-board Broadcom network controller does not support jumbo frames, therefore it is not a simple firmware fix to enable the feature -- these machines will never support it.
I'm thinking Apple's logic here was that consumer machines wouldn't be used by people who know what jumbo frames are, and therefore why not shave some money off the cost of the controller? I'm not sure I agree -- these are pretty high-end iMacs we're talking about here -- but I think anyone considering an iMac should be made aware of the limitation.
This generally means a hit to networking performance when using gigabit switches (more and more common these days), especially on write performance (say, to a NAS).
Perhaps this limitation is artificial to prop up sales of Mac Pros? Dunno.. Just be careful out there when considering an iMac.
I'm thinking Apple's logic here was that consumer machines wouldn't be used by people who know what jumbo frames are, and therefore why not shave some money off the cost of the controller? I'm not sure I agree -- these are pretty high-end iMacs we're talking about here -- but I think anyone considering an iMac should be made aware of the limitation.
This generally means a hit to networking performance when using gigabit switches (more and more common these days), especially on write performance (say, to a NAS).
Perhaps this limitation is artificial to prop up sales of Mac Pros? Dunno.. Just be careful out there when considering an iMac.
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