Last time I asked around on 2.5G ethernet I was told to skip it and go to 10 Gigs straight as its “cheaper” and better than 2.5G. So I started to investigate and I am baffled by the costs. Let me break it down:

Quality 10G switch Mikrotik CRS305-1G-4S+IN ~150 $ (this seems reasonable)

10G SFP+ RJ45 modules - these are starting from 50$ on ebay from china which seems excessive, given i would need at least 4 of them.

10G NIC -Intel X540 T2 for around 40 $ if I want to go with RJ45. X520 with SFP+ connector can be had for 30$ but does not seem to worth it, given then price of SFP+ modules.

So I am somewhere around 430 $ for connecting my NAS and desktop PC via 10Gig. Compared to that, I can upgrade to 2.5G only for approx. 80 $

I could partially go with fiber instead of copper, pushing down the SFP+ module costs to 15$, but i still need at least one RJ45 module to run to my home PC. Also I am concerned fiber will bring some additional complexities that I am not prepared for (have zero experience with it).

  • lvlint67@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    10G SFP+ RJ45 modules - these are starting from 50$

    Yeah I avoid 10g over rj45 whenever possible due to cost.

    I bought two of the switches you mentioned. Two sfp+ nics.

    Two DAC cables

    Two single mode fiber sfp+ modules and a length of single mode fiber to connect my desktop on the top floor to the server in the basement.

    Yes. It’s a little pricey… but I’m good until 100g becomes affordable in the home…

  • djgizmo@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    Don’t use more than two SFP transcievers in that CRS305, it’ll overheat otherwise.

  • supercamlabs@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    Is the 10g on WAN or LAN I think is the real question here.

    I think both costs are relative. You could argue 2.5g doesn’t make sense but it really depends on need.

    If it’s WAN then I’d argue both cases are expensive.

    If it’s LAN then maybe there is a minor cost difference between 2.5g and 10g.

    Also just because the network is 10g doesn’t mean your gonna get 10g across the network. If WAN ain’t 10g not happening. If storage/NAS isn’t SSD or SAS not happening. If the motherboard doesn’t have enough bandwidth to support the 10g output then it’s probably not happening.

  • hijewpositive@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    Fiber is completely unnecessary for short distances. You gain absolutely nothing from it. Obviously I’m making assumptions about your setup, but I think I have probability on my side when I say that I doubt you have runs in your homelab that span several hundreds of feet. Save yourself the extra coin and stick with rj45 for a now.

  • zap_p25@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    Get as much core infrastructure stuff as you can with SFP(+ or 28). Uses DACs where the lengths dictate (fairly reasonably priced) and transceivers/glass where you need further runs or confined space pulls to other rooms. Where you absolutely have to go with copper transceivers. For example, the only 10G I run at home over twisted pair is from my synology to my distribution switch. I only have one workstation that runs multigig which is my editing/gaming PC. Everything else is gig so no worries.

  • sk3tchcom@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    Just went through this - going Netgear XS724EM for primary ($800 Amazon Warehouse). Fiber 2.5G into house via ONT > eero PoE Gateway > Netgear XS724EM > eero Max 7 AP nodes. House wired for CAT6 throughout as we just recently did a remodel.

  • electrowiz64@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    I’m in a Ubiquiti world now. All the 2.5gb switches are more expensive and not many other vendors. SFP switches are more ubiquitous, atleast from Ubiquiti

  • BubbaDoug@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    SFP+ NICs require PCIe x4, but my PCs only had x1 slots available. So I used a 2.5Gb switch with an SFP+ port. My PCs and router connected via 2.5Gb and my server used a DAC cable to connect at 10Gb.

  • physx_rt@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    I tend to see 10G SFP+ modules for under $10, LCLC fibre cables are the same for ~10m lenghts and a NIC is, as you said, around $30. So fibre is cheap, but you can also occasionally find Aquantia-based 10GBASE-T (RJ-45) NICs which can do NBASE-T (2.5G and 5G) for $35, which is a good price, considering that these are generally more efficient than the older Intel chipsets and are just as fast.

    That aside, your plan sounds good, I hope it’ll work out well for you. USB3 adapters are also viable for 2.5G, so you can easily connect laptops and mini PCs that don’t necessarily have extra thunderbolt or PCIe connectivity for a 10G NIC. What I suggest you avoid is the 5G USB3-based NICs, because in reality, they can only do around 3.5G and they also run much hotter and are significantly more expensive than the 2.5G variants.

  • No-Mention-9815@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    For my setup, I’ve gone with Cat-6A cabling. It’s backwards compatible to all my devices (RBP, Printer, TV, any consoles I’d get, PVRs, etc…) and right now all I have is 1 Gig networking hardware to work with it.

    I also know copper way better than fibre (terminating fibre is a non-starter for me, but that’s just my ignorance talking).

    So for me I’m future proofing to 10Gbps, but I don’t even know how many years it’ll be before I feel the need.