Ah, that makes sense. Seems like you can get a 10GBaset-T PCIe NIC for about $50, so I suppose it’s a wash by the time you buy the SFP+ adapter.
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10GBit Ethernet?
- Thread starter BasilFawlty
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Ah, that makes sense. Seems like you can get a 10GBaset-T PCIe NIC for about $50, so I suppose it’s a wash by the time you buy the SFP+ adapter.
Apple's 10GbE socket also supports 2.5 and 5Gb/s .
10GbE switches tend to still be stubbornly a bit on the expensive side. There is probably more 2.5-5 stuff coming at what used to be 1Gb/E equipment prices. QNAP has a 2.5G switch.
https://www.qnap.com/en/news/2020/qnap-introduces-its-first-2-5gbe-network-switch
QSW-1105-5T has a street price under $100. ( so about $20/port ). Some midrange NAS devices are going to come with 2.5 ( that roll out has already started with QNAP and Synology in 2020) . The iMac with 10GbE of "overkill" for that equipment, but it also not a bottleneck either ( an iMac with 1GbE).
There is a catch-22 with 1GbE equipment being older and cheaper ( in part because largely refreshed old designs ). The "race to the bottom" on pricing of 1GbE is so steep now that network vendors are holding onto 10GbE to get decent margins. But the pressure to be faster than wireless is building. 1GbE just isn't going to cut it for setups that consist of 2020 and newer equipment going forward ( unless get to a congested WiFi zone in terms of traffic. Wired has much better performance gap when there is congestion over wireless. )
Widespread home networks with 10GbE may not arrive for a longer time but 2.5-5G probably will arrive sooner that the end of the "max service" lifetime of a 2020 iMac. (by 2026-7 that 2.5 swtich is going to be substantially more affordable). A couple of years before 2.5 goes standard on more than a few Intel reference design desktop boards. ( already some now. It is just going to grow from here. )
The "end" of 1.0 GbE is coming. ( frankly Apple could have made 2.5 standard for the price range of systems the iMac 27" is in. It is just a minor margin hit they probably don't want to do.... or "rock the boat" on design effort. )
P.S. 2.5Gb is coming but Intel has managed to stumble a bit on that too.
"..
Intel's i225 "Foxville" family of 2.5 Gbps wired Ethernet controllers have a design flaw that affects performance, according to an official advisory sent by Intel out to its motherboard- and OEM PC partners ...
The i225 family of 2.5 GbE chips are being extensively implemented in upcoming motherboard, desktop and notebook designs. The i225 "Foxville" family consists of the i225-V targeted at motherboards and notebooks with Intel chipsets that have integrated MAC; while the slightly pricier i225-LM has an embedded MAC, and targeted at other platforms (extensively found in high-end and upcoming AMD motherboards). ..."
Intel i225 "Foxville" 2.5GbE PHY Has a Flaw Affecting Performance, "Rocket Lake-S" 2H-2020 Production Confirmed
Intel's i225 "Foxville" family of 2.5 Gbps wired Ethernet controllers have a design flaw that affects performance, according to an official advisory sent by Intel out to its motherboard- and OEM PC partners (notebook- and pre-built desktop manufacturers). There are no security implications of...
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If I got a 10GBase-T NIC I'd still need the adapter to go from SFP+ to 10GBase-T to use it with my switch.
That's why it's cheaper for me to purchase a SFP+ $20 Mellanox card and then use a $10 Direct-attach-copper (DAC) to go from the server to the CRS309.
I have to use the adapter though for devices like my iMac (hasn't arrived yet) that have 10GBase-T.
Yes makes sense.
My switch (en route) is the Netgear M5300-28G3, which has two 10G ports, that can be either SFP+ or 10GBase-T. I guess I should keep my eyes open for a cheap SFP+ 4 port switch.
The new Netgear 10G switch will go in the main (half) rack, where I have about 80% of my gear. I’ll run CAT7 10GBase-T from the switch to my home office across the house, where my iMac Pro is about to go.
Nice, if you want a cheap SFP+ switch Mikrotik CRS305 is under $150. Four SFP+ ports.
As for the 10GBase-T, main issue I had when shopping for a switch was I like fanless, very easy for SFP+ like the CRS305 or CRS309, but difficult for 10GBase-T. Then cost, my CRS309 was under $250, but most 10GBase-T switches are $500+.
Yes, the Netgear M5300 has fans, and it’s rated at 37dB noise level. I’m not too concerned, because it will be in a rack with a door, and I’m not in that room very often 😃
Although it was used, I got the 24-port 1Gbps + 2-port 10Gbps Netgear M5300 for <$200. I had been kicking around the idea of replacing my non-managed 24-port DLink switch for a while. And some devices just don’t seem to work well with it, including Ethernet backhaul of my Orbi Wi-Fi system. So I’m hoping the Netgear does a bit better, at least I can fool around with the L3 mgmt layer and see if I can fix the problem.
Cat6 or Cat6a. I'm a Nancy that only uses TIA/EIA official standards. No CAT7/CAT8.
Actually I might own one flat Cat7 cable, but for devices that I want 10G on it's going to be cat6/6a.
CAT8 cables are more expensive, and kind of pointless for almost everyone in the consumer market.
I guess you can say future-proofing as a reason, but this doesn't fully make sense either as CAT8 would most likely get cheaper over time, and then you can buy it cheaper when you need it.
If you happen to find cheap CAT8 cable or patch cable, it may not actually meet the CAT8 specs, and is being advertised as CAT8. This has been very common with CAT6, 6a, 7, etc. cables being sold on Amazon in the past, so buy a trusted brand name if you can.
You can't always go by reviews for CAT8 cables, as most people probably are most likely using them with a 1000Mbps link.
Also, keep on mind that even CAT5e is capable of linking and running 10Gbps over short runs.
This is a thread on whether a 10Gb Ethernet port upgrade is worth it for a casual tech consumer, so the chances of people having the HW that utilizes the speeds that CAT8 is capable of achieving are a lot less.
Well in November the casual tech consumer here is going to have this available:
Hyperfibre - a new era of speed | Chorus
Hyperfibre is the next generation of fibre, dramatically increasing capacity and unlocking exponential upload and download speeds.
Thats nice for the people that would utilize those speeds, but I am sure that would be overkill for most people.Well in November the casual tech consumer here is going to have this available:
Hyperfibre - a new era of speed | Chorus
Hyperfibre is the next generation of fibre, dramatically increasing capacity and unlocking exponential upload and download speeds.hyperfibre.chorus.co.nz
2Gbps+ speeds have been available in my area for at least a few years. I haven't ever signed up for them due to the price and mostly because there isn't a need for speeds that high for me.
I am currently paying for 300Mbps down, and 350Mbps up @ $40 a month, and that is overkill for my family. If I could get 100Mbps for less money, I would be happy with that.
Is that speed adequate for you?
Speed and price can vary a lot here in the US depending on location.
I know someone that live in a rural area that pays more than you for a slower speed.
People in the US often overpay for internet speeds that they would never use. The ISPs ask silly questions like "How many devices do you have in your home that connect to the internet?", and use those answers to recommend overkill speeds to their customers.
That is kind of like the OP's question about the 10Gb Ethernet port upgrade. Of course some people will utilize the greater link speeds, but for the a lot of people, even Gigabit ethernet is overkill for what they do.
The Gigabit internet prices in my area are about the same.
Sometimes I get Gigabit offers for only $60, but I never take those deals.
Why pay more for Gigabit speeds when 300Mbps is overkill for me?
The 2Gbps+ service is really pricey. I think it is $300 a month with a contract for
It's fine. It's the cheapest unlimited bandwidth Internet for Netflix 4K to run I ever found.
Totally agree.
If you're copying about 200GB sets to Azure and the like 1Gb + services are a godsend. Saved me a ton of time driving up and down the motorway.
Yup, there are definitely some good uses for the Gigabit internet, just like their are some uses for the 10Gb Ethernet port upgrade on the iMac, but there are a lot of people that get these things thinking they should have them, but end up never coming close to taking advantage of the faster speeds.
There are plenty of homes out there paying for Gigabit service that use it for facebook and Netflix.
Currently, and I stress that word, ATT offers Gb internet in our neighborhood for $50. No installation fee, and a $100 gift card. $10/mo to rent their modem. This beats the next best, Comcast, by $20-ish/month.
Even if you only used the web for NYT crosswords on your iPad, you'd be crazy not to take this deal.
I should point out that in our area, the fastest Comcast upload you can get is 5Mb. Somewhat unworkable if there are 2 working from home.
Isssh. never do that.
Crazy that they allow gargantuan download speeds, but ridiculous upload speeds.
Here in Canada Bell offers 1.5gb/940Mbps download/upload for crazy 125$ CAD per month. 1 gbps/750mbps for 114$ CAD. 500/500 for 104$ CAD. And 150/150 for 94$ CAD. This is a day time robbery. If you want to pay less, you need to go with third party, and NO third party are allowed to sell package with more than 10 mbps upload. And best FTTH you can get is VirginMobile which is a Bell third party. 25/10(real 32/12) for 40$, 50/10 for 45$, 100/10 for 55$.
In their defense, and I am by no means a Comcast fan, they probably did this to address perceived user behavior, at least in Before Times. They saw residential users as overwhelmingly consumers, not generators, of content. Content generation (including web conferencing) happens at work. At home, a family of 4 has 6 screens going at once. That seems to be how they built out our area. I know other Comcast areas are different - you can get higher upload. In any event, you don't flip massive infrastructure easily, or quickly.
But in the last months, things changed !
With video conferencing, When my wife and I are doing video, I'm almost hitting my 10mbps limit with 1080p camera. It's only 1.25 MB/s peak, mostly 1 MB/s. Couldn't even imagine with 625 kbps.OK, I'll bite. What should I do, and I mean specifically? Let me know the model number.
Because with Comcast I did buy a Netgear CM and saved $100s over the years. But I spent a few minutes looking for a modem to buy in this case, and couldn't really find one. The things that were close had a break-even of 30 months. While I love the setup I have now - and even with the modem rental it's $20/mo cheaper than Comcast with a purchase modem - I have my doubts about pricing after 12 months. So I may switch, depending.
And, playing around with connectivity in the middle of a workday. "No really, honey. I'll get it working eventually. And we'll be saving $10 month. A month! starting in 2023. No I don't know why it's not working. Yes, I realize it's costing you more than $10 an hour. OK, I'll put the old one back."
But perhaps your household is different.