PCIe NICs & Ethernet Cables

For machine vision cameras, using a dedicated PCIe Network Interface Card (NIC) is far better than relying on the onboard network adapter. Onboard NICs are built into the motherboard and share system resources, such as CPU and memory, with other components. This can cause inconsistent performance with high-speed or multiple cameras.

A dedicated PCIe NIC provides:

• Dedicated Bandwidth for High-Throughput Streams – PCIe NICs use dedicated PCIe lanes, giving them more consistent bandwidth and lower latency. Onboard NICs, often share chipset resources with other devices, which can reduce stability under load.
• Reduced CPU load – Dedicated NICs include their own controller chip that handles tasks such as packet checks and segmentation directly on the card. This offloading means the PC’s main CPU doesn’t have to process every packet, freeing up more resources for camera data processing and other applications.
• Advanced settings for optimization – Features like jumbo frames, interrupt moderation, and adjustable receive buffers allow fine-tuning for machine vision applications. While some onboard NICs may offer basic tuning, dedicated PCIe NICs provide more control and better performance.

An important side note for the Network Card is to keep its driver updated. NIC drivers are a critical part of performance. Using outdated drivers can limit throughput or cause instability. Keeping drivers up to date is sometimes overlooked, but it ensures your NIC performs reliably. Usually the operating system takes care of this, but it’s good practise to keep it in mind when trouble shooting the system.

Speed Matching

A 10GE camera requires a 10GE NIC to sustain full throughput. If multiple 1GE cameras are operating at or near maximum bandwidth, a single 1GE NIC will become saturated and result in dropped packets or unstable acquisition.

In these cases, use a higher-speed NIC (such as 10GE) or multiple NICs to distribute the load across separate interfaces. It is also important to account for protocol overhead, as the usable bandwidth is always lower than the theoretical link speed.

If network capacity is limited, camera throughput can be reduced by adjusting resolution, frame rate, pixel format, or enabling data rate throttling. Proper speed matching ensures consistent image delivery and prevents intermittent performance issues during continuous acquisition.

Cabling Considerations

For reliable performance, avoid outdated Cat5 cables, as they can limit speed and stability. Ethernet cabling standards have evolved significantly over time, with each category introduced to support higher data rates and improved signal integrity. As a result, most modern Ethernet cables manufactured today can support machine vision applications, including high-bandwidth, and multi-10GE camera systems, provided the correct cable category is selected for the required speed and distance.

Make sure to check the category of your system's cable(s) - it's usually printed on the cable itself. 

• Cat5 – Supports up to 100 Mbps over distances up to 100 meters. Mostly outdated and not recommended for modern high-speed cameras.
• Cat5e – Supports 1GE over distances up to 100 meters. Suitable for single 1GE cameras and moderate network setups.
• Cat6 – Supports 1GE reliably and can handle 10GE over short distances (~37–55 meters). Ideal for 5GE cameras or short 10GE runs.
• Cat6a – Supports 10GE over distances up to 100 meters with improved shielding, making it suitable for high-speed cameras or multi-camera setups.
• Above Cat6a – Any higher-rated cable, such as Cat7 or Cat8, will also be sufficient for most machine vision setups and provides extra headroom for high-speed or future-proof installations.