Trying 10GB LAN mainly for the tech tinkering aspect and some future proofing.

[Failquail]

What i currently have is my old gaming PC repurposed as a NAS (Gigabyte AB350M, originally with a R7 1700, now a Ryzen 5 4600G) in a silverstone CS381 case and a 8x SAS PCIe card, which is running unraid with 6x SAS HDDs and two spare bays for tinkering (this setup is amazing for recovering dodgy HDDs in those two free bays with iSCSI i've found)

Switch is a Mikrotik CSS326-24G-2S+RM which has two SFP+ cages.
Currently i only want my NAS and main PC to be 10G, everything else can connect to the 1G ports. So i'm planning to just use the two SFP+ ports for these two PCs for now. (can add a small 10G switch later if needed)

The switch is literally next to the NAS, so i'm thinking a 1M direct attached cable there. What would be a okay (cheap preferably) SFP+ card to stick in the NAS for unraid? Any specific types to go for? Compatibility/low-cost i'd prefer here, my PC's are going to be the limiting factor for performance i think

For the switch to my PC link, i have a run of beefy cat6 between My PC and the switch laid. I just need to add the connectors.
On the switch's webpage, the S+RJ10 Is reccomended. Originals are very expensive, 'compatable' parts on aliexpress are relativelively cheap...

Any suggestions here? Need a SFP+ module on a Mikrotik switch to PCIe slot over cat6 cable setup.

Edited April 12 by Failquail

[MAM59]

13 hours ago, Failquail said:

Any suggestions here? Need a SFP+ module on a Mikrotik switch to PCIe slot over cat6 cable setup.

Get a used Mellanox X3 card (warning! there are different versions with 8x2.0 or 4x3.0 PCIe slot demand! look at your mobo which one will fit. DONT run these cards with less than 4 or 8 lanes!!!).

 

Microtik has CAT modules for 10G speed in stock, they are rather expensive and, worst of all, they get seriously HOT!. But if you run only one of them, this should work. But keep an eye on the temperature, if it gets too high, the switch turns the port OFF...

BTW, your CAT6 cable is not the problem, the plugs on both ends are! Usually they are NOT CAT6, therefor they can produce a lot of problems. Also, lenghts >10m can be problematic! Be prepared for Link losses, Line Drops and Port resets... you have been warned.

 

Better go for fiber or Direct Attach if possible.

 

[LeetDonkey]

I've used a Mellanox X3 with a fiber connection to a mikrotik switch, it worked fine.

Now I'm using an Intel X710-DA2 with a DAC for reduced power consumption.
I purchased a Dell branded one on ebay and crossflashed it to an original Intel firmware and removed the restrictions on the modules it will use.

TBH, I would go with the X710, even if it requires a little bit of extra work to make it accept all modules, just for the sake of reduced power consumption.

[MAM59]

42 minutes ago, LeetDonkey said:

Intel X710-DA2

Don't know that card. I have no 8x slot available in any pc (hmm, the new gaming pc could... but this would reduce the grafics slot to 8x too and the mobo has already a 10G card onboard... but I still use the Mellanox on this one too, much more reliable)

 

[_cjd_]

I have both connectx-3 and x710-da2, and in my (AMD) system power draw is a wash. DAC to switch. I have a 15m fiber DAC to a PC, draw at the switch is under half a watt when in use. I have two rj45 SFP+ for long cat6 runs - x540 on one PC, 550 on the other. 540 is what I should have done for both. Switch power draw ~2w, with the broadcom chip running lower power (also does multi-speed not fixed 10g). I'm using a Unifi aggregation switch and their SFP+ modules but have never had heat issues on either.. the other 6 spots are all DAC. 98xx to 99xx iperf scores over cat6 with jumbo frames and a couple settings tuned on windows (and mtu tuned all around). The 550 sometimes boots up missing so no network... Reboot fixes it.