2.5/5/10G switches

Hello,

Struggling to find a viable multigig switch with these features:

* Managed (ideally)
* >= 8 ports in total, at least 5 multigig ports
* Don't really want to use SFP+ fibre
* Don't particularly care about PoE, can be handled using an injector if needed.

So far found these:

1. QNAP QSW-1105-5T 5 x 2.5G unmanaged
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08CKT147N/

That would barely fit the bill. Lacks LACP, would want a few more ports and there are some pretty poor customer reviews regarding reliability. There is also a slightly more expensive 5x2.5G TPLink model but not available until Feb and still unmanaged and shy of a few ports.

2. Netgear XS508M: 8x10G + 1x SFP+
https://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-8-Port-Multi-Gigabit-Ethernet-Unmanaged/dp/B07554MF44/

This is basically fine, but 3x the price and a bit of an overkill. Wondering if I have missed something in between.
A managed switch with say 2x 10G, 4-5 2.5G, and 4-5 1G ports would be ideal. I
Any suggestions? Many thanks.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/nbase-t-vs-sfp.834356/

I covered most of this when I was shopping around for ideas.

Managed = $$$$
8 ports either stick with 10GE or 1GE mixing in NBASE ports = $$$$$
SFP can be copper or fiber / $35/port module
POE = depends on # of devices needing POE / SWX = $$$ but more cost effective if more than a couple of devices

For instance I picked up a 4 port 5GE card for $200 whereas a switch will limit you to 1-2 ports of the same speed in the Netgear MS510 series and start out at $500

Keeping speed within the LAN I would probably go with something along the lines of QNAP QSW-M408S $179
This gives you 8 GE ports and 4 SFP ports (up to 10GE) which splits things out nicely for adding 2-3 higher bandwidth devices with appropriate SFP's ($35-$50/ea)

 

I wouldn’t get the QNAP listed above as 10G is for SFP+ only , there’s another that has 10G for both RJ45 and SFP+ and more flexible use case wise.

https://www.amazon.com/QNAP-QSW-M408-4C-Managed-Switch-Gigabit/dp/B08DKSFXNW?ref_=ast_sto_dp

TP-Link has a 5 port 10Gbe RJ45 model that will probably be cheap (relatively) but not sold yet.

 

My thoughts on the QNAP 408 in conjunction with 2-3 AP's it adds up to 179+70-110 / $240-$300 w/ SFP's vs the $299 for copper only. Either of them would work though depending on the implementation / speeds... $299 w/ the option to add SFP's later but provide copper up front is nice to an extent. It's like flipping a coin though wen it comes to planning for the future.

Option A - 408S = switch + 3 SFP+
Option B - 408-4C / add SFP's later potentially

Same price Though you can incrementally add SFP's to the 408S as needs grow or change. For instance starting with 408S + 2 modules = $50 less up front

If he decides to upgrade to a 10GE NAS later on adding another SFP adds $35.... Plenty of options coming to market more recently and different approaches to design.

 

I looked through that thread, wealth of knowledge and good info on NICs, but focused on BYOR rather than off the shelf switches. Thanks. Not really familiar wiith SFP, need to read up - NBASE seems more flexible and what I need. E.g. could use it with the Zyxel AP (without any adapters), as well as NBASE NICs I could plug into the NAS, or USB 3 ones to use with a laptop.

Looks good, but price-wise almost at the same level as the 8 port 10G NBASE NG... I guess ultimately the 8-port would be more useful long term + Netgear is probably a bit more solid than QNAP as a brand?

The thing I am missing though is why do I need SFPs at all. Isn't RJ45 + Cat 7e enough?

 

Not sure on QNAP as I haven't used any products but yes Netgear is usually well regarded for its switches even if consumer side routers can be a hit or miss. On the more expensive side I'm using a Zyxel XS1930-10, 8x 10Gbe Multi-Gig Rj45 and 2 SFP+ (~$480 from a Zyxel reseller) at the time the Netgear equivalent MS510TM drew like 70 Watts peak vs 44 Watts peak (30 Watts right now in my use) on mine and only had 1 SFP+ port so the Zyxel was better but Netgear just released the newer variant of the 510 with 2 SFP+ and peak power only at 48 Watts and seems to have better cooling than the Zyxel.

The QNAP seems relatively the better buy unless you need a lot more ports, in which case the ones below would be good 10Gbe Multi-Gig models. If going 2.5-5Gbe only, more options are showing up now.

Zyxel XS1930-10 ($~480 from resellers) (This is what I have)
https://www.zyxel.com/us/en/product...i-Gigabit-Smart-Managed-Switch-XS1930-Series/

Netgear MS510TXM ($460) + sign up for mailer to get additional 10% off.
https://www.netgear.com/business/wired/switches/smart-managed-pro/ms510txm

 

Depends on what your current and future needs are.

QNAP is a step up from run of the mill equipment. It's not quite SMB / Enterprise but it's more substantial than some lower tier products in most cases. For instance the 5GE card I mentioned I'm using is QNAP and their NAS's allow upgrades. Though in the NAS arena QNAP / Synology are common place and both perform well depending on the extent that you want to use them for. If it's just data they're equal, if it's streaming from it as a "server" you have to figure out if you need transcoding of the files to determine which CPU to go with.

SFP will give you the option of Fiber or Copper whereas copper has a 300ft limitation fiber does not. If you find the need for distance you'll want to go fiber and then either fiber or media converter on the other end.

BTW the AP / POE will work on 5e cabling.


I recently upgraded to Cat 6 though and the outputs from the AP on either show 2500mbps and the server side the same.

Settings for enp5s0:
Supported ports: [ TP ]
Supported link modes: 100baseT/Full
1000baseT/Full
2500baseT/Full
5000baseT/Full
Supported pause frame use: Symmetric Receive-only
Supports auto-negotiation: Yes
Supported FEC modes: Not reported
Advertised link modes: 100baseT/Full
1000baseT/Full
2500baseT/Full
5000baseT/Full
Advertised pause frame use: No
Advertised auto-negotiation: Yes
Advertised FEC modes: Not reported
Speed: 2500Mb/s
Duplex: Full
Auto-negotiation: on
Port: Twisted Pair

 

Thank you, very clear - I do not have a need for long distance transmission, hence it will come down to cost and interoperability.