Least expensive 10gb switch?

Joust

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I've been about a 10gb switch for the home network. They are quite expensive, evidently. Anyone away of or use a 10gb switch appropriate for humble, poor people?
 
How many 10g capable ports are needed? And do you need 10g ethernet or SFP+?
 
I'm not aware of any switches that are both cheap (under $200) and have more than two 10gb ethernet ports. 10gbps networking hardware is still in a bit of a gray area for consumers and can be far more complicated than 1gbps. If you're willing to get your hands dirty, 10gbps is achievable.

Now, as far as getting to 10gbps cheaply - the method I've been recommending to people is an SFP+ pcie card for each device (like one from 10Gtek or something that uses the x520 intel chipset) and a this Mikrotik Switch, though it only has 4 10gbps ports. You'll want to run fiber or a compatible 10gbps SFP+ DAC. You won't quite have the throughput of something more expensive from Cisco or even the relatively cheap Ubiquiti, but it's likely that your local traffic wouldn't saturate those devices anyhow. Here's a video that recommends basically the same setup:



Even if you decide to stick with Ethernet, you might have to re-run your cabling depending on the length of your runs. Technically, CAT 6A is usually the recommended standard for a 10gbps network, but 6 and even 5e have been known to work on especially short distances.

Edit: If you're determined to get the cheapest 10gbps switch with 8 ethernet ports, this is pretty much the cheapest, unless you can score something used on ebay.

Sorry if this isn't quite the information you wanted, but the path to 10gbps home networking isn't quite as simple as hopping over to Best Buy quite yet.
 
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I'm not aware of any switches that are both cheap (under $200) and have more than two 10gb ethernet ports. 10gbps networking hardware is still in a bit of a gray area for consumers and can be far more complicated than 1gbps. If you're willing to get your hands dirty, 10gbps is achievable.

Now, as far as getting to 10gbps cheaply - the method I've been recommending to people is an SFP+ pcie card for each device (like one from 10Gtek or something that uses the x520 intel chipset) and a this Mikrotik Switch, though it only has 4 10gbps ports. You'll want to run fiber or a compatible 10gbps SFP+ DAC. You won't quite have the throughput of something more expensive from Cisco or even the relatively cheap Ubiquiti, but it's likely that your local traffic wouldn't saturate those devices anyhow. Here's a video that recommends basically the same setup:



Even if you decide to stick with Ethernet, you might have to re-run your cabling depending on the length of your runs. Technically, CAT 6A is usually the recommended standard for a 10gbps network, but 6 and even 5e have been known to work on especially short distances.

Edit: If you're determined to get the cheapest 10gbps switch with 8 ethernet ports, this is pretty much the cheapest, unless you can score something used on ebay.

Sorry if this isn't quite the information you wanted, but the path to 10gbps home networking isn't quite as simple as hopping over to Best Buy quite yet.

I've run a bunch of cat6. I think, unfortunately, I'll be stick on gigabit a while longer. 10gb nics add up as well.

I do appreciate all the input, however. Hopefully someone else considering switching over will find it instructive as well.
 
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Unless you have multiple VLANs, or need multiple vlans I don't personally see the need for managed switches.
 
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I would pick up a used S60 for 60 whole dollars free shipping.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/YWMNY-DELL...ITCH-2x-10GB-SFP-S60-10GE-2S-PSU/352361785904


This one already has the extra 2x10sfp+ ports installed for a total of 4x SFP+ ports.

I use this as my main, is loud, not for the living room lol.

Force10 switches have an easy CLI as well, bonding and making lags are easy too.

Dude that thing is going to be loud, huge and complicated. Unless you have a way to hide this thing no way I'd run this in a house.
 
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Why does it seem like 10gbit ethernet should be common place as it is pennies on the dollar to implement the circuitry onto motherboards? It seems as if we are paying a premium for something that should be as common as a cheap ass TPLink switch on a Microcenter ghetto clearance shelf.

With the common place of NVMe and the fact I literally just read an aritcle that SATA is going the way of the dodo because of the massive push for all NVMe devices it would seem that 1g switching should also go the way of the dodo. Between my two PCs using NVMe drives I can fully saturate my Cisco 10gb links on my 4948-10GE switch.

I really want to get the Unifi XG-16 and would rather have the XG-6 as I do not need that much 10G switching but it makes no sense why the 6 port cost as much as the 16 port. Im on the ropes about ordering a switch because it would complete my home Unify ecosystem completely.
 
Why does it seem like 10gbit ethernet should be common place as it is pennies on the dollar to implement the circuitry onto motherboards?

Well, it is commonplace, just not in SOHO/consumer environments. But it's 10Gbit fiber ethernet, not copper.

The big issue is that 10Gbit copper isn't cheap, in terms of adapters or switches- and while CAT6a isn't so much more expensive itself, it is certainly more difficult to pull.

On the other hand, 'Multi-Gig', i.e. 2.5Gbit and 5Gbit over copper, is most certainly coming to SOHO, consumer, and enterprise hardware. We might have to step through Multi-Gig before we see widespread adoption of 10Gbase-T.
 
Well, it is commonplace, just not in SOHO/consumer environments. But it's 10Gbit fiber ethernet, not copper.

The big issue is that 10Gbit copper isn't cheap, in terms of adapters or switches- and while CAT6a isn't so much more expensive itself, it is certainly more difficult to pull.

On the other hand, 'Multi-Gig', i.e. 2.5Gbit and 5Gbit over copper, is most certainly coming to SOHO, consumer, and enterprise hardware. We might have to step through Multi-Gig before we see widespread adoption of 10Gbase-T.

But the thing is, it doesnt make sense why 10gb copper isnt cheap. The copper ethernet cables that do it are dirt cheap, and the copper traces in motherboards cost no more money to do than 1gb ethernet. And as tangoseal said, NVME uses more transistors on a die and copper on a board than 10gb eth does. So why do we get 3-4 nvme spots on a MB within a year of the format being released, yet putting 10gb eth on a board makes them charge 10x as much as something that actually does cost more to make?
 
It might have something to do with the fact that storage in the past couple of years is leaps and bounds better and so is networking technology. We may see higher jumps then just 10-gig being implemented. That and the fact that new thunderbolt and USB coming out has higher bandwidth anyway you might be able to get cheaper shity external nics. But this is just me speculating and I don't know shitt about how they decide what to put in boards.

I would like to see more motherboard manufacturers dedicating modular ports on motherboards to switch out daughter boards for nice like in a lot of servers. That would be hot
 
I would like to see more motherboard manufacturers dedicating modular ports on motherboards to switch out daughter boards for nice like in a lot of servers. That would be hot
Many do have modular ports its called SFP+ :p.

But the thing is, it doesnt make sense why 10gb copper isnt cheap. The copper ethernet cables that do it are dirt cheap, and the copper traces in motherboards cost no more money to do than 1gb ethernet. And as tangoseal said, NVME uses more transistors on a die and copper on a board than 10gb eth does. So why do we get 3-4 nvme spots on a MB within a year of the format being released, yet putting 10gb eth on a board makes them charge 10x as much as something that actually does cost more to make?

Part of the issue is the market demand for it, the majority of business are demanding/using 10Gb fiber instead of copper due to it's signal flexibility with transceivers, DAC low cost capability, ability to traverse longer distances, and the reduced latency vs copper (by about 10x).
I saw 10g copper alot more frequently about 4-5 years ago, I only see a select few that are copper now'a days and they're often on lower end equipment or costs more than the SFP+/QSFP+ counterpart.
More production normally equals less cost.
 
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Reminds me of the the time I paid $300 for a 15gb hard drive... man oh man have times changed.

lol. I remember getting a 10GB Deathstar for like $300 back in the day. NEVER thought I would fill that up.

Hell my first computer cost me like $5500.


As far as 10GbE being uncommon at the endpoint, its because copper 10GbE is uncommon. I have OM3 run around my IT Dept Floor and all the servers are running multiple ports of SR. Its all fiber inthe racks except for legacy iscsi. I have a few Copper 10GbE lines in the racks, but those were used to link Cat4948E's for iscsi duty in 2014, and at the time the coaxial SFP cables were cheaper than SR optics.

Plus *most* desktops cant even fill that pipe for very long.

But its cool to see cheaper 10GbE showing up.
 
I'm not aware of any switches that are both cheap (under $200) and have more than two 10gb ethernet ports. 10gbps networking hardware is still in a bit of a gray area for consumers and can be far more complicated than 1gbps. If you're willing to get your hands dirty, 10gbps is achievable.

Now, as far as getting to 10gbps cheaply - the method I've been recommending to people is an SFP+ pcie card for each device (like one from 10Gtek or something that uses the x520 intel chipset) and a this Mikrotik Switch, though it only has 4 10gbps ports. You'll want to run fiber or a compatible 10gbps SFP+ DAC. You won't quite have the throughput of something more expensive from Cisco or even the relatively cheap Ubiquiti, but it's likely that your local traffic wouldn't saturate those devices anyhow. Here's a video that recommends basically the same setup:



Even if you decide to stick with Ethernet, you might have to re-run your cabling depending on the length of your runs. Technically, CAT 6A is usually the recommended standard for a 10gbps network, but 6 and even 5e have been known to work on especially short distances.

Edit: If you're determined to get the cheapest 10gbps switch with 8 ethernet ports, this is pretty much the cheapest, unless you can score something used on ebay.

Sorry if this isn't quite the information you wanted, but the path to 10gbps home networking isn't quite as simple as hopping over to Best Buy quite yet.


i am so buying one of those.

fourth week of April though is the waiting time.

my infiniband switch is too loud
 
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I do remember it was 1997 or so and we used to lan party like it was a crack addiction. Anyways we had been using a 10base Hub for all the parties. Then I saved enough my teenager money and ordered a Dlink 100mbps switch. We were astonished at the speed and latency that switch gave us over the hub we were using. I think I paid about $200 something for it.

Now I have a (at one time it was $36,000) Cisco 4948-10GE at the top of my rack that you can get on ebay for $130 shipped. It is a mega low latency distro switch with 2 10g ports that actually use lasers for SR as opposed to new day stuff using LEDs.
 
I paid almost $300 for first Intel 80gb SSD. It seems the more things change the more they stay the same.
Mine was the OCZ 30GB and it was about $110, worth every penny (though the thing was finicky as hell).
 
So the Microtik switch listed above...Would it be possible to put 10gb PCIe x1 adapters into the two PCs I have that need the >1Gbps speed and use the RJ45 passthrough to connect it to a run of the mill 1 Gbps 8 port switch I'm currently using?
 
So the Microtik switch listed above...Would it be possible to put 10gb PCIe x1 adapters into the two PCs I have that need the >1Gbps speed and use the RJ45 passthrough to connect it to a run of the mill 1 Gbps 8 port switch I'm currently using?
I believe the RJ45 is primarily for management/inbound power, but could enable routing out the management port (not 100% on this though).
Worst case you could use a SFP to RJ45 adapter.

I don't think 10g pcie 1x adapters exist, pretty sure it needs at least a 4x lane for enough bandwidth.
Overall yes you could use a pcie 10gb SFP+ card with that switch though.
 
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You can use PCI-e x4 cards (or any oher) on "open-slot" PCI-e motherboard pci-e x1 slot, I even used to try 10g x4 card through an (mining) extender that way and it worked Ok for up to about 180MB/s (I believe pci-e 2.0 slot but could be 1.0, can't find info) but the CPU was a severe limiting factor then.
 
Don't seem to have pricing on the Mikrotik...

Also, be aware that their OS tends to border on arcane, which makes one wonder what it would look like for simpler deployments.
 
Hi,

I know this is a year old but just wondering if this is still the best way forward?

I have 2 unraid servers and a Desktop but only the Desktop and 1 unraid server have a 10gb/e connetion with just 2 cards and an underground fibre cable between them. In the garage I have a rack with the 2 servers and I have been looking at various infiniband switches but they probably are massively overkill as I only need 3 10gb/e ports and at a push maybe a 4th one day as the servers serve the whole house via cat6, the 10gbe is just for me to work with the servers from my Desktop PC and for the 2 servers to work with each other.

Thank you!
 
Hi,

I know this is a year old but just wondering if this is still the best way forward?

I have 2 unraid servers and a Desktop but only the Desktop and 1 unraid server have a 10gb/e connetion with just 2 cards and an underground fibre cable between them. In the garage I have a rack with the 2 servers and I have been looking at various infiniband switches but they probably are massively overkill as I only need 3 10gb/e ports and at a push maybe a 4th one day as the servers serve the whole house via cat6, the 10gbe is just for me to work with the servers from my Desktop PC and for the 2 servers to work with each other.

Thank you!
Mikrotik has a four-SFP+ switch now, has a single GbE as well:

https://mikrotik.com/product/crs305_1g_4s_in
 
Thank you for those replies!

Just to explain my setup, can anyone advise as to wether or not either would be beneficial please?

My Desktop is in my office and I have fibre running underground to my garage where my 2 servers are. 1 server runs all sorts of VM's dockers etc and the other runs my Sophos XG Firewall Router and a cctv etc, I would like 10gbe between all 3 devices and if possible connect the 10gbe switch to join my standard 1gb network but it looks like those ethernet ports are for service?

Any advice really welcomed as I am not much of a network expert!

Thank you :)
 
if possible connect the 10gbe switch to join my standard 1gb network but it looks like those ethernet ports are for service?
The port may be repurposed, or you may use a copper transceiver in one of the SFP+ ports.
 
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Hi, I received my CRS305-1G-4S+IN yesterday and carried out the updates, set my ip but have not been able to connect to it since! I have performed about 30 resets and cannot connect to the unit at all.

I only have the poe connected through my laptop and set my laptop IP to 192.168.88.59 and tried holding the reset button, turning on releasing after led's start blinking, also tried holding for longer, releasing at different times but cannot connect? After it has booted the power LED is on and the "E" LED is blinking but when pinging 192.168.88.1 I get either "Request timed out" or "Reply from 192.168.88.59: Destination host unreachable.

Have I killed it?

Thank you

 
Hi, I received my CRS305-1G-4S+IN yesterday and carried out the updates, set my ip but have not been able to connect to it since! I have performed about 30 resets and cannot connect to the unit .....equest timed out" or "Reply from 192.168.88.59: Destination host unreachable.

Have I killed it?

Thank you




Is there documentation on their website?
 
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