I think I’m ready to elevate from bonded 1G networking to 10GB. I tend to have used/old netgear equipment at home, purchased on the cheap. I think I’m finally seeing enough latency when trying to run OS’s on my proxmox server with storage on my TrueNAS that I want to move to 10G networking.
Looking to replace my existing 12-port L3 switch (6 ports are occupied) with either RJ-45 or SFP based 10G, I think I will need realistically 16 ports. Storage will specifically be moved from my 48 port L2 witch with 4-1G bonds, carrying storage and networking, to probably 2 10G bonds dedicated to storage, which currently means I need an additional 6 ports right now, so 12 total used, then planning for future expansion, 16 port minimum.
I’ve been crawling ebay, but the barrier to entry is way higher than my foray from unmanaged to managed networking. I keep landing on Netgear M4300, where the price ranges from about $1000-$2400. I can save up for these, but is there a better way to get into 10G? I’ve seen some HP Procurve switches that seem way more cost reasonable, but my networking peers have told me to completely stay away from HP networking.
Any thoughts are appreciated!
Check out the FS stuff. It’s pretty cheap brand new
https://www.fs.com/c/10g-enterprise-switches-3256
They SFPs are cheap and work very well too.
This. FS or there’s some shockingly good (looking) stuff on Aliexpress I’ve been considering and have heard good (perhaps sponsored) things about.
If you can live with only 4 10G ports, those types of switches are far cheaper than 16 port ones, I’ve gotten them for ~$100AU off eBay auctions before.
And if you’re fine with spending a bit more you could get a 8 port ubiquiti aggregation switch, and then upgrade to a bigger switch once the price comes down.
The Brocade ICX switches are very affordable for the performance. Great way to get a mix of 1G PoE, 10G, and 40G for under $200. Sadly they do consume a fair bit of power and most are loud out of the box. Although, there is a fan mod you can do to make them run quiet and cool.
Here is a link to more info: https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/brocade-icx-series-cheap-powerful-10gbe-40gbe-switching.21107/
I have an actual bedroom closet with a 45U rack and dedicated power and cooling, so noise/power are not a concern, I’ll look into it. How is the mgmt of them?
Management is mostly done through CLI. You need a generic console cable to get it on the network and then you can do everything remotely. There is a web ui as well, I mostly use it for quick status checks.
I have only used an ICX6610-48P-E. As this was my first non-Unifi managed switch, I spent a few hours setting it all up. Now, I just go back to the guides on ServeTheHome whenever I want to change VLANs or something complicated.
My home server is connected to the switch using a Mellanox ConnectX-3 and a QSFP DAC cable. It was about the same price as a 10G card and link so I figured why not go 40G to future proof it.
