Which 10g NIC?

[Exord]

I would like to upgrade my Unraid server to 10g. My switch has 10G SFP+ ports and 10G RJ45 ports. Now I wanted to ask before buying a network card if there are cards that are to be preferred in connection with Unraid or if there are any that cause problems? The SFP+ cards from Inter-Tech, for example, are already very cheap to get, but are they any good?

Edited September 27, 2022 by Exord

[KingfisherUK]

I use a Mellanox ConnectX-3 card (CX311A) with a DAC cable to my switch and it's rock solid, they are usually fairly cheap on eBay.

[opentoe]

Unraid has the drivers for this card? I'm also looking to find out which 10GbE cards will work. I'm going 10GbE all the way. Small house, so I'll need to just wait a few weeks until it gets cooler out so my attic temp drops and I don't die of the heat.

On those DAC cables, do the SFP+ modules come off or are they on there permanently?

 

I'm looking for a 10GbE switch also with a couple SFP+ ports on it as well. Damn they are expensive. Been checking out Mikrotek which several users told me to check out.

 

Thanks.

[JorgeB]

2 hours ago, opentoe said:

Unraid has the drivers for this card?

Yes.

 

2 hours ago, opentoe said:

On those DAC cables, do the SFP+ modules come off or are they on there permanently?

Not sure those are standard modules but they are not removable anyway. 

[opentoe]

This may be a stupid question but why are some dual SFP+ cards $400+ and some are $100? For instance here is one for $160 on Amazon.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X9KRRFL?pd_rd_i=B06X9T683K&pf_rd_p=55defc4a-7c1e-47a7-8d1d-5cc458cca688&pf_rd_r=BBVS0FNXC9PPRE1H5HC8&pd_rd_wg=gMcJn&pd_rd_w=HEvUs&pd_rd_r=25169599-2abe-4ad6-a538-7593f86965ab&th=1

 

Would unraid support a card with that chipset on it? Is there a list somewhere that will let us know if it is compatible?

 

Thanks

[BlinkerFluid]

I and most others have used the mellanox connect x3. You can find dual sfp+ versions on ebay cheap. Why would you want to spend double or triple for one that will work the same? If you want to see if it supports, check the linux kernel version of unraid and see if that chipset has drivers in linux

[opentoe]

8 hours ago, BlinkerFluid said:

I and most others have used the mellanox connect x3. You can find dual sfp+ versions on ebay cheap. Why would you want to spend double or triple for one that will work the same? If you want to see if it supports, check the linux kernel version of unraid and see if that chipset has drivers in linux

I would want to buy a card that is still in production at least. The Mellanox ConnectX-3 is EOL. The card in the link in my previous  post is only $160. That's not bad for a dual SFP+ card. Just trying to see if it will work with our Linux kernel.  Thanks for responding.