3 ms·

Without drowning in fan noise? This world... Sure, I guess you can get a Mac Studio, or some other 'workstation' class PC, but your switch will still need to be

by mdb31 4y ago

Without drowning in fan noise? This world... Sure, I guess you can get a Mac Studio, or some other 'workstation' class PC, but your switch will still need to be within a few meters of that endpoint, and it's not going to be very green nor silent. 2.5Gb/s can easily be done with a lot of laptops and workstations these days; 10 Gb/s isn't quite there yet (and 25, 40 and 100Gb/s are definitely in the server-only fiber-or-DAC-only realm)

dale_glass 4y ago
Mikrotik makes a whole bunch of 10G hardware. The 8 port ones are fanless and have a heatsink on the back, and the 16 port model has a fan that only gets switched on when needed. I have one sitting behind me and it's been off all day. It's also easy to open and replace the fan with something less noisy. Just remove a few screws, it's a standard size with a normal connector on it. There's also big external heatsink so you could rig up a big, slow, fan to help it out a bit. If you want to be green by the way, use fiber/DAC. The 10G copper SFP+ modules are power hungry, and Mikrotik recommends not placing them next to each other. Also the extra power draw is likely to result in fan use if you have a lot of them.
- ericd 4y ago
  I have the Mikrotik 8 port, but the spacing requirement kind of sucks. If you want RJ45, I'd go with this one: https://www.qnap.com/en-us/product/qsw-1208-8c https://www.qnap.com/en-us/product/qsw-1208-8c
  - pilsetnieks 4y ago
    If you want RJ45, they also have a switch with 10G RJ45 ports built in: https://mikrotik.com/product/crs312_4c_8xg_rm https://mikrotik.com/product/crs312_4c_8xg_rm
    - ericd 4y ago
      Oh awesome, and pretty well priced! Know what the noise level is like? The QNAP is designed to be in a home office rather than a server closet, so it’s inaudible. But my mikrotiks are passively cooled, so even better.
- miahi 4y ago
  I had issues with 10G copper SFP+ modules even when there was only one installed in the switch (Mikrotik CRS305-1G-4S+IN), the other modules installed being DAC/fiber. I got random disconnects I could not attribute until I checked the switch logs - the module was shutting down because it was reaching >90C when the ambient temp was 26C. I had to add a fan.
  - vetinari 4y ago
    Not all transceivers are created equal; some need more power (and then dissipate the heat), some are satisfied with less. Some can do only 30m distance, others will run over 80m distance. The Mikrotik ones (S+RJ10) are based on Marvel chip and they are the more power hungry / run over 30m only variety. On the other hand, they can negotiate 2.5G or 5G if necessary and support a proprietary protocol to tell the switch about it, so you will that in SFP+ properties. As I have written in the sibling comment, I have good experience with BCM84891-based transceivers. CRS305 can handle two (still not next to each other, obviously).
vetinari 4y ago
> but your switch will still need to be within a few meters of that endpoint, and it's not going to be very green nor silent. Mikrotik CRS305 (4xSFP+) and CRS309 (8xSFP+) are both passively cooled. They are pretty much silent :) though the blue led takes some tape to be less shiny. > 10 Gb/s isn't quite there yet If you really, really need RJ45, look into BCM84891-based transceivers. They still get hot, but not as much as others (according to datasheet, takes 1.6W at 30m and 2W at 80m). I also managed to get stable 10g over 20m Cat5e with them.
ericd 4y ago
If you have a PCI-e slot, there are reasonably priced, passively cooled NICs. Here's an RJ45 one: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1344847-REG/asus_90ig0440_ma0r00_xg_c100c_10g_network.html?ap=y&smp=y https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1344847-REG/asus_90ig... There are a few quiet 10 GbE switches, the passive Mikrotik ones others are mentioning, but this one is a quiet actively cooled one if you want RJ45: https://www.qnap.com/en-us/product/qsw-1208-8c https://www.qnap.com/en-us/product/qsw-1208-8c (Lots of combo RJ45/SFP+ ports)

by mdb31 4y ago

dale_glass 4y ago

Mikrotik makes a whole bunch of 10G hardware. The 8 port ones are fanless and have a heatsink on the back, and the 16 port model has a fan that only gets switched on when needed. I have one sitting behind me and it's been off all day. It's also easy to open and replace the fan with something less noisy. Just remove a few screws, it's a standard size with a normal connector on it. There's also big external heatsink so you could rig up a big, slow, fan to help it out a bit. If you want to be green by the way, use fiber/DAC. The 10G copper SFP+ modules are power hungry, and Mikrotik recommends not placing them next to each other. Also the extra power draw is likely to result in fan use if you have a lot of them.

ericd 4y ago
I have the Mikrotik 8 port, but the spacing requirement kind of sucks. If you want RJ45, I'd go with this one: https://www.qnap.com/en-us/product/qsw-1208-8c https://www.qnap.com/en-us/product/qsw-1208-8c
- pilsetnieks 4y ago
  If you want RJ45, they also have a switch with 10G RJ45 ports built in: https://mikrotik.com/product/crs312_4c_8xg_rm https://mikrotik.com/product/crs312_4c_8xg_rm
  - ericd 4y ago
    Oh awesome, and pretty well priced! Know what the noise level is like? The QNAP is designed to be in a home office rather than a server closet, so it’s inaudible. But my mikrotiks are passively cooled, so even better.
miahi 4y ago
I had issues with 10G copper SFP+ modules even when there was only one installed in the switch (Mikrotik CRS305-1G-4S+IN), the other modules installed being DAC/fiber. I got random disconnects I could not attribute until I checked the switch logs - the module was shutting down because it was reaching >90C when the ambient temp was 26C. I had to add a fan.
- vetinari 4y ago
  Not all transceivers are created equal; some need more power (and then dissipate the heat), some are satisfied with less. Some can do only 30m distance, others will run over 80m distance. The Mikrotik ones (S+RJ10) are based on Marvel chip and they are the more power hungry / run over 30m only variety. On the other hand, they can negotiate 2.5G or 5G if necessary and support a proprietary protocol to tell the switch about it, so you will that in SFP+ properties. As I have written in the sibling comment, I have good experience with BCM84891-based transceivers. CRS305 can handle two (still not next to each other, obviously).

vetinari 4y ago

> but your switch will still need to be within a few meters of that endpoint, and it's not going to be very green nor silent. Mikrotik CRS305 (4xSFP+) and CRS309 (8xSFP+) are both passively cooled. They are pretty much silent :) though the blue led takes some tape to be less shiny. > 10 Gb/s isn't quite there yet If you really, really need RJ45, look into BCM84891-based transceivers. They still get hot, but not as much as others (according to datasheet, takes 1.6W at 30m and 2W at 80m). I also managed to get stable 10g over 20m Cat5e with them.

ericd 4y ago

If you have a PCI-e slot, there are reasonably priced, passively cooled NICs. Here's an RJ45 one: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1344847-REG/asus_90ig0440_ma0r00_xg_c100c_10g_network.html?ap=y&smp=y https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1344847-REG/asus_90ig... There are a few quiet 10 GbE switches, the passive Mikrotik ones others are mentioning, but this one is a quiet actively cooled one if you want RJ45: https://www.qnap.com/en-us/product/qsw-1208-8c https://www.qnap.com/en-us/product/qsw-1208-8c (Lots of combo RJ45/SFP+ ports)