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New 10 GbE USB adapters are cooler, smaller, cheaper

jeffgeerling.com

181–190 of 384 posts

Re: New 10 GbE USB adapters are cooler, smaller, cheaper

#181
post #63
post #53

All these USB version names. I used to know what they all meant, but then the USB IF went ahead and renamed them all and made a bunch of versions have the same name and renamed some versions to have the same name as the old name of other versions. I have absolutely no idea what anyone means when they say USB 3.2 gen 2x2. I used to know what USB 3.2 meant but it's certainly not that.

Oh, it's fine. The lack of clarity is in keeping with the USB C connector itself, which may supply or accept power at various rates or not at all, may be fast or slow, may provide or accept video or not, and may even provide an interpretation of PCI Express but probably doesn't. It probably looks the same no matter what, and the cable selected to use probably also won't be very forthcoming with its capabilities eithe…

… and a M1 MacBook will source 5V/3A all day long to a non-PD negotiated sink. Somewhere between the M1 and M3 Apple decided to buy into USB-IF compliance and limit to 500mA.

Has lead to some very embarrassing “works on my computer” situations on prototype boards shared with my EE colleagues (I’m a software guy who dabbles in hardware when I need to)

Re: New 10 GbE USB adapters are cooler, smaller, cheaper

#182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

10 Gb is cheap! Mikrotik has a 4x10Gb + 1x1Gb port switch for $150 USD and an 8x10Gb version for about $275. I have the 8 port version. SFP+'s and fiber are cheap, like maybe 50 bucks for the SFP+ set and fiber. 10Gb PCIe cards are maybe ~$50 new on Amazon with Intel chips and cheaper on eBay - I bought used 10 Gb Mellanox cards for $25 each - "they just work" under FreeBSD and Linux. Copper 10 Gb used to consume waa…

10 Gb is cheap! … $150 … $275. San Francisco checking in.

Keep in mind that $275 today is the same as $140 in January 2000. Tech gadgets used to be far more expensive, both in real terms and as a percentage of average income.

Re: New 10 GbE USB adapters are cooler, smaller, cheaper

#183
post #166
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That link notes: "Card supports 10Gbit/s and 10/100/1000/2500/5000/10000Mbit/s Ethernet" Nice to see; some NICs are shedding 10/100 support. Apparently, it's not necessary to do this, even in a low cost device.

Low cost? The link mentions no price, only a "notify me" button as far as I can see. Does it show a(n estimated) price point for you somewhere?

$99 when I look at the entry in https://frame.work/marketplace/expansion-cards

Re: New 10 GbE USB adapters are cooler, smaller, cheaper

#184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately "USB 3.2" is just a version of the standard, which does not give any information about the performance of a USB port or device. USB 5 Gb/s = USB 3.2 gen 1, available on Type A or Type C connectors (or on devices on a special extended micro B connector) USB 10 Gb/s = USB 3.2 gen 2, available on Type A or Type C connectors USB 20 Gb/s = USB 3.2 gen 2x2, available only on Type C connectors Moreover, "5 Gb/…

The fact that you had to list all of the versions and speeds at the top of your post is illustrative of what the parent was trying to say. We can all look up what speed is associated with what version, but it’s not exactly a consumer friendly experience.

A few computer manufacturers do the right thing and they mark the speed on the USB ports, removing ambiguities, for example ASUS does this on my NUCs and motherboards.

Unfortunately, there are too many who do not do this, even among the biggest computer vendors.

Re: New 10 GbE USB adapters are cooler, smaller, cheaper

#186
post #53

All these USB version names. I used to know what they all meant, but then the USB IF went ahead and renamed them all and made a bunch of versions have the same name and renamed some versions to have the same name as the old name of other versions. I have absolutely no idea what anyone means when they say USB 3.2 gen 2x2. I used to know what USB 3.2 meant but it's certainly not that.

USB is just a complete mess. I don't mind so much ports having different capabilities if they are well documented in the specification sheets of the hardware because then at least I can find out what they are capable of, but alas it never seems to be the case. Its very hard to work out whether a port can do Displayport and to what extent/performance or its true power capability or just its real data transfer speed. M…

USB is just a complete mess.

You have to go out of your way to make Apple's Lightning connector look sensible, but somehow the USB consortium has managed to do it.

Re: New 10 GbE USB adapters are cooler, smaller, cheaper

#187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

10 Gb is cheap! Mikrotik has a 4x10Gb + 1x1Gb port switch for $150 USD and an 8x10Gb version for about $275. I have the 8 port version. SFP+'s and fiber are cheap, like maybe 50 bucks for the SFP+ set and fiber. 10Gb PCIe cards are maybe ~$50 new on Amazon with Intel chips and cheaper on eBay - I bought used 10 Gb Mellanox cards for $25 each - "they just work" under FreeBSD and Linux. Copper 10 Gb used to consume waa…

10 Gb is cheap! … $150 … $275. San Francisco checking in.

10 years ago, you spent $40 for a few port unmanaged gigabit switch and $80-100 for the bottom tier web-managed crap.

That corresponds to $50 and $105-130 in today's money.

Now you can get it 10 times faster with an OK management layer for $150. This is after a -long- time of 10gbps prices stagnating.

10gbps is unexpectedly cheap.

Re: New 10 GbE USB adapters are cooler, smaller, cheaper

#188
post #74
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair they seem to have taken this often-stated criticism on board. USB 4's naming is more sensible, and they've pushed the simple data speed & power labelling that makes it easier to work out what you need.

I don't think they've taken the criticism on board, USB 3 still has the completely nonsensical names

The modern usb naming is to just list the speed or power output of the port.

Rather than some absurd version number it’s now just “USB 20 Gbits”

Re: New 10 GbE USB adapters are cooler, smaller, cheaper

#189
post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don’t we need at least four for 100 Mbps?

According to the technician I spoke with, he could only detect three on their end. The cable was chewed through by cats, so perhaps it was three just in that moment. The connection was overall unreliable, so I guess it must have been four, just not all of the time.

According to the technician I spoke with, he could only detect three on their end. The cable was chewed through by cats, so perhaps it was three just in that moment.

Ah, the old Cat-3 cable. Been there.

Re: New 10 GbE USB adapters are cooler, smaller, cheaper

#190
post #5

A Framework expansion card was also announced this week. https://frame.work/nl/en/products/wisdpi-10g-ethernet-expans...

That link notes: "Card supports 10Gbit/s and 10/100/1000/2500/5000/10000Mbit/s Ethernet" Nice to see; some NICs are shedding 10/100 support. Apparently, it's not necessary to do this, even in a low cost device.

I also appreciate the 10/100 support. I recently needed it for some old voip equipment, and it was shockingly difficult to find an SFP+ module that worked in my 10G switch and supported 100mbps.
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