8-port 1/2.5/5/10Gbe w/POE

[RacerX330]

Does anyone make an 8-port 1/2.5/5/10 Gbe switch with POE? only need 4 ports POE, max 15W

I do want all the ports however to be multigig up to 10, not just 2 that are 1/2.5 or or any other combo, all 5-way.

 

[Tech Junky]

All of the major players make them. It just depends on how much you want to spend.

 

[RacerX330]

any specific models come to mind? i can't seem to find a pure play model that is what i want. thanks in advance

 

[Tech Junky]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075Q66RKF
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BV2VYVF
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0916BNNML
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075Q5T7NH
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KSYP2TD
https://a.co/d/07DMC2F

If you dig into these you get some clues about how to find them. First thing I'm looking / searching for is "NBASE-T" and then the port density. It's still a limited field of players even though you can find options if you hunt for them. I use a QNAP card for 4-port 5GE on my server / router and that fits my raid speed w/ overhead to grow. I went this route because it was $200 for 4 ports and I suppose you could use 2-3 of them to make your own switch using a PC chassis for about the same price as the switches dedicated for use though you wouldn't have the 10GE port option.

When it comes to mGIG it's easier to make your own setup or you pay through the nose for devices prepackaged.

 

[RacerX330]

I have recently discovered the offerings from trendnet.
I'm all ears on the DIY mGIG, anymore info on that?

 

[Tech Junky]

Well, it simply entails taking a cheap PC and getting some cards and putting Linux on it and configuring it as a router or enable IP forwarding. I'm running my setup with a 12700k but, that's overkill for a switch. Anything with matching pcie specs for the cards would work. Most of them are gen3 which should be less intensive or costly. I would have to dig to see which generation of CPU introduced gen3.

 

[Tech Junky]

Looks like 4th gen Intel would be a starting point.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/363926695814 -- $125 / offers3 x4 and 3 x16 slots

If you need 10GE copper those tend to be dual port cards but, you can get quad port cards as well.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NJNF4PZ/?tag=snbforums-20 - dual 10GE $250 / $155 used

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/khWfVw - foundation system for cards / $280 + the MOBO $125 / $405

Before the crunch on chips I was seeing 10GE / duals going for ~$125 / quad SFP+ for about the same but, the SFP's are ~$60/ea and then you have to be careful to make sure they're genuine and mgig not just 10/100/1000/10000

Now, if you can deal with 5GE then the 4-port I got was ~$200 https://www.qnap.com/en-us/product/qxg-5g4t-111c

Accessories Selector | Compare and find your perfect Accessory

QNAP’s comprehensive range of PCIe cards and accessories allows users to upgrade core NAS/PC functionality to meet diverse needs and to maximize work efficiency and productivity.

www.qnap.com

So, ~$300 for the PC w/ 6 x4 slots for cards to be used in. Depending on speed / density could be as many as 24 ports @ 5GE/2,5GE or w/ SFP+ 10GE/5GE/2.5GE

It all comes down to how dirty you want to get your hands, how much you want to spend, and if you want to start with a card or two and expand or just go all out and fully load the board with ports.

 

[RacerX330]

yeah the chip crunch is screwing the budget hard.
i would really prefer to future proof the new house all the way up to 10gb, but that just doesn't seem in the realm of reasonable cost.

I don't have any heavy NAS needs, but I need to have backhaul capacity for wifi 6 access points, (4x4 on 5ghz minimum). originally, this was going to be ubiquiti, both after looking at the specs for their wifi 6 pro access points, they only have 1gb ports (for the love of christ why) so those are out. at least they put a 10gb sfp+ port on the dream machine

so i'm still on the hunt for core infrastructure pieces, the access points, switches, and wired router/firewall all capable of at least 2.5gb or more all the way through

 

[Tech Junky]

Well, I use a zyxel nwa210ax because it has a 2.5ge port because of the same thought you just mentioned. All of the crazy numbers thrown around don't make sense without the physical means to get back to the LAN.

While I can't hit that 2.5 speed with a single client I can break beyond 1ge. I picked up the new ax411 client card to play with and with dct it unlocked some more speed by using both bands simultaneously.

Now back to your AP issue. 2.5 switches are considerably cheaper to deal with at about $125 for 5 ports unless you need/prefer POE

I would scale back the PC option to the 5ge card and hook up the 2.5 switch to that for the APs/ clients. Then build the NAS drives into the PC case and skip the external NAS idea. This gets you raw drive speed on SATA and if you ramp up the storage beyond 2.5ge speed you can easily bump the NIC much cheaper than replacing a NAS.

 

[RacerX330]

how is the zyxel wifi ap management interface? are the controllers in the AP? are they managed on-premises or cloud?
i do want poe in the switch, i don't want to mess with poe injectors or power cables. the ceiling mounting locations are already pre-wired and they do not have power only ethernet

i am leaning heavily towards that trendnet switch

 

[Tech Junky]

Well, the Zyxel can be managed for free using the web GUI per AP or you can use nebula for a fee. It's an intuitive GUI and you can also dig deeper with ssh and do the command line.

POE would be easier with more than a single AP. I went injector since it's a single AP for me. I picked up a 10ge injector for $60. So, you would probably just need a 2.5ge poe switch with a few ports for APs and then maybe a 5ge 4 port card for other things of you go the PC/nas route for priority copies of data.