QNAP Releases Two 10GbE Unmanaged Switches For Small Business

[Julio Urquidi]

The 12-port QSW-1208-8C includes four SFP+ (fiber) and eight SFP+ (fiber)/ RJ45 (copper) combo ports, while the 8-port QSW-804-4C includes four SFP+ (fiber) and four SFP+ (fiber)/ RJ45 (copper) combo ports.

Targeting small businesses wanting to transition to faster networking speeds, QNAP’s new 10GbE unmanaged switches support Energy Efficient Ethernet (802.3az), have a built-in smart fan for heat dissipation, and include a rack mount kit with each switch for those not wanting a desktop switch.

The new switches let businesses move to faster networking speeds by supporting existing networking devices running at 10GbE, 5GbE, 2.5GbE, GbE and 100Mb speeds, while also saving customers money by allowing them to use their existing Cat 5e, 6, and 6a cabling.

The QSW-1208-8C is now available in the U.S. and priced at $589, while the QSW-804-4C will be available soon and priced at $489.

 

[teknojnky]

I don't understand why these manufacturers keep releasing somewhat inexpensive unmanaged 10gbe switches with SFP ports, when what I would expect most SMB/prosumers want is as many straight rj45 ports at the lowest price, ideally with LACP support.

The Buffalo BS-MP2008 is a near perfect example, but is missing the LACP bonding that will be needed or desired to integrate into existing managed or semi-managed lacp bondable 1gbit switches.

Give me 8-12 10gbe rj45 ports with lacp, so I can plug a few 10g nas and servers/desktops, then lacp at least 2 ports into an existing larger smart/managed switch.

SFP ports are irrelevant for smb/prosumer, in my not so humble opinion.

And when SFP are something that is actually needed for fiber and/or trunking/stacking, then going upscale is where you would need to go.

What market really needs an 8 port 10gb switch with 4 rj45 and 4 sfp ?!?!?

 

[Razor512]

I also dislike when they go with SFP+ ports, you end up having to spend a bunch more money to get RJ45 support.

Why can't they just do a basic switch with 5-8 10GbE ports on it, and then sell it for something like $60-80? it would appeal to users looking to do upgrades without being insanely overpriced.
There it no need to be seeking these astronomical profit margins when they are dealing with a market of potentially 4 billion customers if they would dial back the greed and use a more accessible price.

 

[TheLostSwede]

SFP+ = low cost for the manufacturer.

The problem is that most manufacturer do zero market research, so they don't seem to understand what there's a demand for. For some reason it also seems like most companies believe that prosumers/SMB users don't want configurable hardware, so they make basic hardware that doesn't really sell in the end...

It's partially the chipset makers fault as well, as they segment their products between consumer and business, which often means the consumer products end up being gimped versions of the business version. Or if the consumer chips has the higher-end features, they're rarely implemented in consume products, as it's too much work from a software perspective.

As for making a low-cost 10Gbps, not going to happen yet. The parts are still too expensive, but hopefully we should see some products this year. Last year at Computex, Realtek was showing off several 10Gbps boards with a combination of Realtek and Aquantia chips. Obviously there was no mention of pricing though. I would expect 5-8 port 10Gbps devices to retail for closer to $300-400 when they launch based on more affordable platforms like Realtek/Aquantia.

It's not always about profit margin, sometimes the parts are simply expensive. If a 10Gbps network card is $100, how can you expect paying less for a switch with 5-8x as many ports? Obviously the Aquantia cards has gone for far less (black friday deal), but unless there's a certain volume of a product being sold, prices are kept higher to make up for the low turn over of product. If you can convince 4 billion people to invest in 10Gbps network cards, I'm sure I can get you a very different price on those cards...

The QNAP products are based on Marvell and there's a teardown here - https://nascompares.com/2018/04/12/unboxing-the-qsw-1208-8c-qnap-10gbe-switch-its-finally-here/

 

[IronOak IT]

My typical use for unmanaged 10GbE switches is for dedicated Storage network for virtualization.
A switch like this gives me single 10Gb connections from Host server to storage Synology or QNAP.
and direct SFP+ copper links don't need RJ45 ports.

All the VLANs and management is handled on client facing switches where segregation is important.
On the Storage side we want it isolated from end users.