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Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)

blog.benjojo.co.uk

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Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)

#21

Post by wtallis »

dhess wrote: post #17
baybal2 wrote: post #3

You don't need ONIE, nor any of that "Open" Compute stuff. Linux has recently got native framework for control of switching chips called "Distributed Switch Architecture." This turns a lot of very cheap hardware with very basic hardware switching chips into high performance routers.

Interesting! Is there a site that documents which off-the-shelf switch models work with DSA?

The most recent release of OpenWRT has started to migrate to DSA: https://openwrt.org/releases/21.02/notes-21.02.0#initial_dsa...

Their table of supported hardware for each of the platforms now using DSA probably includes all of the most affordable devices, since OpenWRT is mostly focused on consumer-grade equipment (and mostly routers/APs, but they support some purpose-built switches using Realtek CPUs).

Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)

#22

Post by rusk »

throwaway35i2 wrote: post #19
rusk wrote: post #9

Minor Quibble: £85 is not a cheap ethernet switch. It's an entertaining and informative read, but it's more like low-end datacentre hardware than that cheap €25 switch I've got in my home office. A little disappointing as I was hoping I'd have a cheeky high-bandwidth raspberry-pi alternative on my hands ...

it's cheap compared to the £3,000 one normally pays for datacenter switches.

> it's more like low-end datacentre hardware

yep covered that

Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)

#23

Post by dsr_ »

rusk wrote: post #9

Minor Quibble: £85 is not a cheap ethernet switch. It's an entertaining and informative read, but it's more like low-end datacentre hardware than that cheap €25 switch I've got in my home office. A little disappointing as I was hoping I'd have a cheeky high-bandwidth raspberry-pi alternative on my hands ...

It's an amazingly cheap 10g switch. (It has 4x10g along with the 1g ports).

It's even a very cheap fully managed switch.

Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)

#24

Post by potiuper »

bserge wrote: post #12
rusk wrote: post #9

Minor Quibble: £85 is not a cheap ethernet switch. It's an entertaining and informative read, but it's more like low-end datacentre hardware than that cheap €25 switch I've got in my home office. A little disappointing as I was hoping I'd have a cheeky high-bandwidth raspberry-pi alternative on my hands ...

My favorites are TP-Link's WDR3600/4300, AC1200 and AC1750. Yeah, not switches per se, but $20-40, Gigabit Ethernet, dual band Wifi, very stable and fast with OpenWRT, can do anything. You can daisy chain a few of them if you need more ports, it's rather fun.

Or instead of being a penny pincher get an AX wireless router and not contribute more ewaste.

Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)

#25

Post by cure »

hosteur wrote: post #20
wyager wrote: post #18

The author mentioned that 10gig switches were expensive and loud, but these days you can get fanless 10gig switches for pretty cheap. I have a fanless mikrotik switch at home with 4 10Gb SFP+ ports that cost like $130 (and has excellent industrial design).

Cool. Which one?

Presumably the CRS112-8G-4S-IN, though I'm not sure that those SFP cages can do 10 Gigabit...

Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)

#26

Post by brnt »

potiuper wrote: post #24
bserge wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My favorites are TP-Link's WDR3600/4300, AC1200 and AC1750. Yeah, not switches per se, but $20-40, Gigabit Ethernet, dual band Wifi, very stable and fast with OpenWRT, can do anything. You can daisy chain a few of them if you need more ports, it's rather fun.

Or instead of being a penny pincher get an AX wireless router and not contribute more ewaste.

Which would you recommend?

Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)

#27

Post by caminante »

Off-topic, but I just learned about another, practical networking utility, yesterday.

"powerline adaptors" [0]

Basically, buy these adaptors and for ~$100, you can have create a "wired" LAN connection using power outlets in a home.

[0] https://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-powerline-adaptors

Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)

#28

Post by techopoly »

caminante wrote: post #27

Off-topic, but I just learned about another, practical networking utility, yesterday. "powerline adaptors" [0] Basically, buy these adaptors and for ~$100, you can have create a "wired" LAN connection using power outlets in a home. [0] https://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-powerline-adaptors

Can confirm, these are legit. Make sure you're aware of any outlets on the outside of your building though, as these could be plugged into with malicious intent.

Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)

#29

Post by jchw »

caminante wrote: post #27

Off-topic, but I just learned about another, practical networking utility, yesterday. "powerline adaptors" [0] Basically, buy these adaptors and for ~$100, you can have create a "wired" LAN connection using power outlets in a home. [0] https://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-powerline-adaptors

In practice, my problem with these is reliability. They can have noticeable issues with maintaining an uninterrupted, low latency connection suitable for real time use, in my experience; and this was with a fairly high end powerline adapter. This is unfortunate, because it would be very convenient if you didn’t have to deal with making ethernet cable runs all over the place…

Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)

#30

Post by Amin699 »

This kernel is actually pretty new! This is a good sign for us, since embedded devices have a habit of running reasonably old kernels with limited features. The downside is that there is generally very limited support for ONIE devices running arm, and after a large amount of searching, there are no compatible ONIE images for this device at all, other than the already installed Dell OS.
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