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5Gb gateway/router to 10Gb switches and 2.5Gb clients?

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SamS

Regular Contributor
I almost feel silly asking this, but I'm giving up and coming to the experts here :)

In a couple of weeks, I'm going to get a new gateway/router from AT&T with 5Gb fiber internet service. It's a Arris BGW320 that has a 5Gb LAN port. I plan on connecting that 5Gb port to my Netgear ProSafe M5300-28G3 which has two 10Gb ports. I'll use the 2nd 10Gb port on the M5300 to connect to a Netgear XS708T (several 10Gb ports) in another room. My client devices have 2.5Gb ports.

My question - will my two Netgear switches with 10Gb ports pass the 5Gb internet service, and deliver/transfer the full 2.5Gb bandwidth to/between client devices, even though the Netgears are rated as 100/1000/10Gbs?

I see many switches that specifically designate 1/2.5/5/10Gbs, so I'm unclear if both client and switch need to negotiate the exact same speed in order to pass at the (lowest) rated throughput.
 
To use 2.5 and 5GbE a device needs to support 802.3bz (NBASE-T). 10GBASE-T is an older standard and doesn't support 2.5 and 5GbE. I can't see anything on the Netgear datasheet that says it supports anything other than 10/100/1000 and 100/1000/10GBASE-T.
 
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To use 2.5 and 5GbE a device needs to support 802.3bz (NBASE-T). 10GBASE-T is an older standard and doesn't support 2.5 and 5GbE. I can't see anything on the Netgear datasheet that says it supports anything other than 10/100/1000 and 100/1000/10GBASE-T.
Ah shoot. I was afraid of that. Any workarounds? Replacing both of my 100/1000/10GBase-T switches gonna be $$$.
 
Do you have a link to the specs of the BGW320? I'm assuming the 5Gb port is NBASE-T and not something "odd".
 
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Do you have a link to the specs of the BGW320? I'm assuming the 5Gb port is NBASE-T and not something "odd".

This is the most info I can find on the BGW320 https://help.sonic.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500000066642-ARRIS-BGW320
The literature seems to indicate the single "blue" port on the back supports 100/1Gb/2.5Gb/5Gb

I know you struck the comment about the SFP+ module for the M5300-28G3.. that's an interesting idea, but I assume there is no such module?

I might just pull the trigger on the TRENDnet TEG-S750. That has 5 ports that each do 1/2.5/5/10Gb and I'll essentially use it to run a 1/2.5/5/10Gb LAN in my home office, and feed the rest of the house with the 1Gb ports via the M5300-28G3.
 
Here's what I would do......

The swx you have was released in 2004 according to Amazon so it's not going to directly be compatible.

If you get a SFF PC and throw in a 5G card and a 10G card you can convert / uplink through the device and add more features as a router / firewall setup or just get a media converter + SFP to change the speed.

Or you can go all out and get a new NBASE-T SWX
TRENDnet TEG-S750
 
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I know you struck the comment about the SFP+ module for the M5300-28G3.. that's an interesting idea, but I assume there is no such module?
Yeah, I realised after posting the same restriction applies to the SFP+ port. There was a similar discussion here a few months back. I think the conclusion was that a separate device (i.e. a switch) would be required.
 
Here's what I would do......

The swx you have was released in 2004 according to Amazon so it's not going to directly be compatible.

If you get a SFF PC and throw in a 5G card and a 10G card you can convert / uplink through the device and add more features as a router / firewall setup or just get a media convert + SFP to change the speed.

Or you can go all out and get a new NBASE-T SWX
I like the creative thinking :) I dunno it my main Netgear is 18 years old, but it's certainly 10 years. I didn't pay a lot for it, but I assumed the 10G ports would at least give me some bit of future-proofing. But now that 802.3bz is catching on, looks like 10GBASE-T is not as useful for SOHO.

But for $300 a TRENDnet TEG-S750 will be the most plug and play.
 
most plug and play
It would be.

If you're into a full revamp to more of a SMB power setup though the PC option opens more doors for future proofing by piece rather than by new HW each time something changes. I put a 4 port 5GE card info mine for $200. If 10GE comes along for wan then it's a simple swap.
 
It would be.

If you're into a full revamp to more of a SMB power setup though the PC option opens more doors for future proofing by piece rather than by new HW each time something changes. I put a 4 port 5GE card info mine for $200. If 10GE comes along for wan then it's a simple swap.
I can appreciate that. However (like many people) my home internet is crucial for me (and my wife's) work. So dinking around with a dedicated PC to handle routing (especially considering I'd surely stumble at first) would make for a very tenuous situation on the home front ha.
 
especially considering I'd surely stumble at first
Staging it for insertion to the network would mitigate most of that. Getting the HW / updates all installed beforehand would make the switchover a painless couple of minutes of downtime.

Some pieces of the setup don't work until it's inline though but, it's not as bad as you might think and a helluva lot more secure than the stuff of the shelf. Not being bound to devices using closed source software / firmware and ancient kernel versions that break stuff.

If you get the right case you can do anything you want when it comes to ports / density. The only drawback on density is 4 ports per slot due to sizing. However if you wanted to go overboard with a 40gbps Ethernet card you could. Even 100gbps options are out there.

Roll in a "NAS" since you have the space and ports to plug drives in. Maybe setup a DVR function instead of renting from the cable co.

With the NIC modularity though if ATT handed off Ethernet copper/fiber you wouldn't need their box and if some other provider came along and you needed to tag it with a VLAN for access it's easy to do.
 
Staging it for insertion to the network would mitigate most of that. Getting the HW / updates all installed beforehand would make the switchover a painless couple of minutes of downtime.

Some pieces of the setup don't work until it's inline though but, it's not as bad as you might think and a helluva lot more secure than the stuff of the shelf. Not being bound to devices using closed source software / firmware and ancient kernel versions that break stuff.

If you get the right case you can do anything you want when it comes to ports / density. The only drawback on density is 4 ports per slot due to sizing. However if you wanted to go overboard with a 40gbps Ethernet card you could. Even 100gbps options are out there.

Roll in a "NAS" since you have the space and ports to plug drives in. Maybe setup a DVR function instead of renting from the cable co.

With the NIC modularity though if ATT handed off Ethernet copper/fiber you wouldn't need their box and if some other provider came along and you needed to tag it with a VLAN for access it's easy to do.
Sounds like a fun project, but more complexity than I have the time for currently. I'm also considering upgrading my Orbi mesh system to take advantage of Wi-Fi 6E, so that adds more complexity with wired backhaul, the AT&T gateway and the Orbi router/access points in different rooms.

I already have a DIY DVR for OTA, so I know just enough to be dangerous.. but what you're describing is still more than I feel like biting off, at the present time.
 
DIY DVR for OTA
That's a good start and how I started rolling devices into a "server" as well. DVR + NAS and from there expanded devices after getting irritated with buggy firmware and not the best WIFI from off the shelf products. Next I rolled the WIFI into the server using a PCI card and hostapd to bring it up in AP mode and it had great coverage and speeds until I updated my laptop to WIFI 6 / 6E and then I wanted MORE!
 
I almost feel silly asking this, but I'm giving up and coming to the experts here :)

In a couple of weeks, I'm going to get a new gateway/router from AT&T with 5Gb fiber internet service. It's a Arris BGW320 that has a 5Gb LAN port. I plan on connecting that 5Gb port to my Netgear ProSafe M5300-28G3 which has two 10Gb ports. I'll use the 2nd 10Gb port on the M5300 to connect to a Netgear XS708T (several 10Gb ports) in another room. My client devices have 2.5Gb ports.

My question - will my two Netgear switches with 10Gb ports pass the 5Gb internet service, and deliver/transfer the full 2.5Gb bandwidth to/between client devices, even though the Netgears are rated as 100/1000/10Gbs?

I see many switches that specifically designate 1/2.5/5/10Gbs, so I'm unclear if both client and switch need to negotiate the exact same speed in order to pass at the (lowest) rated throughput.
Maybe work or maybe not.
 
Instead of media converters I would consider one or two of these.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TC3VJ61/?tag=snbforums-20



You can also get reasonably priced 5 and 8 port 2.5 GB dumb switches to add 2.5 GB ports.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0995S28PQ/?tag=snbforums-20
 
Instead of media converters I would consider one or two of these.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TC3VJ61/?tag=snbforums-20



You can also get reasonably priced 5 and 8 port 2.5 GB dumb switches to add 2.5 GB ports.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0995S28PQ/?tag=snbforums-20
Prices seem very reasonable on those!

I get my 5Gb Fiber installed in one week. I'm still kicking around some ideas, I'll report back!
 

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