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10Gb/s Ethernet: switching to a Broadcom SFP+ module

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Re: 10Gb/s Ethernet: switching to a Broadcom SFP+ module

#41

Post by qurren »

debayande wrote: post #17
qurren wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm also using the WAS groupon stick with a huge fan on it. I really wish they would build a proper fan and cooling duct into the stick and power it with the stick itself. It very much seems like a half-assed solution.

I'm considering that and the Nokia G-010S-A on my Uni-Fi Dream Router 7 (my area is serviced by multiple wholesale network access providers who operate either over GPON or XGS-PON, hence the need for both). However, I've heard enough horror stories that I'm a bit concerned about temperature issues...

What horror stories have you heard? Just hot temperatures or smoke and fire?

Re: 10Gb/s Ethernet: switching to a Broadcom SFP+ module

#42

Post by drnick1 »

thefz wrote: post #37
drnick1 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What for? Ethernet is what you ultimately need, because that is what devices such as PCs and WiFi access points use. I experimented with SFP for a while, but ultimately concluded that it isn't worth the effort to add SFP cards to PCs now that that low-power 10G Ethernet chips like the RTL8127 are available. High-end motherboards already have 10G Ethernet and soon lower-end models will too. 2.5G is practically standar…

Ever ran a single mode bidi fibre in a conduit? Push a wire puller, cleave and terminate ends, done. Zero effort unlike pulling a jacketed CAT7 cable, zero worries from electrical interference too, future proofing up to 40GBps. I ran double strands in my house so in case one breaks, there's another. The floors where native fibre is not needed have a cheap ethernet media converter from fs.com, everything else (3 floor…

The issue with this setup is that you need an extra switch with an SFP+ uplink or media converter in each room or place where Ethernet will be used. And then you still need Ethernet cables anyway for the end devices. I can't justify this complexity for 40Gbps when I can now get 10Gbps inexpensively and conveniently.

Re: 10Gb/s Ethernet: switching to a Broadcom SFP+ module

#43

Post by bigfatkitten »

simoncion wrote: post #38
nubinetwork wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

DAC cables can get expensive, and nobody knows what to buy when it comes to fiber, unless you're running entire spools of the stuff inside buildings... OM3/OM4/OM5? Single mode/Multi mode? LC/SC? Regular people don't know this stuff...

> Regular people don't know this stuff... Regular people don't know whether to get Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, or Cat7. So... yeah. > ...OM3/OM4/OM5? Single mode/Multi mode? LC/SC?... My answer is OM4, Multi-mode [0], LC. OM3, 4, and 5 will all work at 10gbit for any run you'd expect to make in most houses. I chose cable grade based on what was in stock at the local store. I chose connector type based on what fit into my NICs…

Go with single mode only for new installs.

Biggest install cost is labour. The cable and optics are cheap now, and with the future (200Gbps+) being multiple wavelengths in parallel[1], we’ve pretty much hit the end of the road for MMF.

[1] https://www.tiafotc.org/ieee-802-3-ethernet-standards-update...

Re: 10Gb/s Ethernet: switching to a Broadcom SFP+ module

#44

Post by simoncion »

bigfatkitten wrote: post #43
simoncion wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Regular people don't know this stuff... Regular people don't know whether to get Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, or Cat7. So... yeah. > ...OM3/OM4/OM5? Single mode/Multi mode? LC/SC?... My answer is OM4, Multi-mode [0], LC. OM3, 4, and 5 will all work at 10gbit for any run you'd expect to make in most houses. I chose cable grade based on what was in stock at the local store. I chose connector type based on what fit into my NICs…

Go with single mode only for new installs. Biggest install cost is labour. The cable and optics are cheap now, and with the future (200Gbps+) being multiple wavelengths in parallel[1], we’ve pretty much hit the end of the road for MMF. [1] https://www.tiafotc.org/ieee-802-3-ethernet-standards-update...

> Biggest install cost is labour.

Okay? If I had to run cabling through a wall, I'd make sure the guy sets it up so that I can use the cable he installs to pull new later. My time's free when I'm doing something that I don't mind doing, and I don't mind easy cable pulls.

> ...(200Gbps+)...

Don't you need 16x PCIe 4.0 for those guys? With everything other than workstation and server boards having exactly one 16x slot, you're "never" hooking that up to a gaming PC.

Re: 10Gb/s Ethernet: switching to a Broadcom SFP+ module

#45

Post by tombert »

PaulKeeble wrote: post #27

I feel like we have moved into the era now where if you were putting cabling in the walls for networking you should be choosing fibre now. Not necessarily because we are definitely at the stage where the home needs it, but because the off ramp is clearly happening for ethernet at 10gbit/s and its really high consumption and heat. Switching to fibre after 2.5gbit/s seems like the thing to do now and plenty of us now h…

I have ten gigabits throughout most of my house, and you're right: copper is not happy pushing ten gigs.

My 10 gigabit thunderbolt dongle weighs about a pound, and I think 90+% of that weight is just heatsink. If I've had it plugged in for awhile, if I accidentally touch that dongle it actually hurts because it's so hot. I cannot image that much heat is good for, well, anything.

I have another Thunderbolt dongle that has an SFP+ module, so I ran a fiber line from my switch to my computer, and that runs considerably cooler. That's what I use nowadays.

Re: 10Gb/s Ethernet: switching to a Broadcom SFP+ module

#46

Post by esseph »

PaulKeeble wrote: post #27

I feel like we have moved into the era now where if you were putting cabling in the walls for networking you should be choosing fibre now. Not necessarily because we are definitely at the stage where the home needs it, but because the off ramp is clearly happening for ethernet at 10gbit/s and its really high consumption and heat. Switching to fibre after 2.5gbit/s seems like the thing to do now and plenty of us now h…

You still need to power things.

Often that will mean running both Cat6A and fiber.

Re: 10Gb/s Ethernet: switching to a Broadcom SFP+ module

#47

Post by esseph »

drnick1 wrote: post #32
PaulKeeble wrote: post #27

I feel like we have moved into the era now where if you were putting cabling in the walls for networking you should be choosing fibre now. Not necessarily because we are definitely at the stage where the home needs it, but because the off ramp is clearly happening for ethernet at 10gbit/s and its really high consumption and heat. Switching to fibre after 2.5gbit/s seems like the thing to do now and plenty of us now h…

What for? Ethernet is what you ultimately need, because that is what devices such as PCs and WiFi access points use. I experimented with SFP for a while, but ultimately concluded that it isn't worth the effort to add SFP cards to PCs now that that low-power 10G Ethernet chips like the RTL8127 are available. High-end motherboards already have 10G Ethernet and soon lower-end models will too. 2.5G is practically standar…

My APs are fiber now.

Re: 10Gb/s Ethernet: switching to a Broadcom SFP+ module

#48

Post by whalesalad »

PaulKeeble wrote: post #27

I feel like we have moved into the era now where if you were putting cabling in the walls for networking you should be choosing fibre now. Not necessarily because we are definitely at the stage where the home needs it, but because the off ramp is clearly happening for ethernet at 10gbit/s and its really high consumption and heat. Switching to fibre after 2.5gbit/s seems like the thing to do now and plenty of us now h…

You cannot do PoE over fiber.

Re: 10Gb/s Ethernet: switching to a Broadcom SFP+ module

#49

Post by ciupicri »

simoncion wrote: post #38
nubinetwork wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

DAC cables can get expensive, and nobody knows what to buy when it comes to fiber, unless you're running entire spools of the stuff inside buildings... OM3/OM4/OM5? Single mode/Multi mode? LC/SC? Regular people don't know this stuff...

> Regular people don't know this stuff... Regular people don't know whether to get Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, or Cat7. So... yeah. > ...OM3/OM4/OM5? Single mode/Multi mode? LC/SC?... My answer is OM4, Multi-mode [0], LC. OM3, 4, and 5 will all work at 10gbit for any run you'd expect to make in most houses. I chose cable grade based on what was in stock at the local store. I chose connector type based on what fit into my NICs…

> Regular people don't know whether to get Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, or Cat7.

What are you talking about. It's right in the manual for some switches like the TP-Link TL-SX105 V4 [1]. It's not even an expensive or fancy one.

    Network Media (Cable)
    100BASE-TX: 2-pair UTP/STP of Cat. 5 or above (maximum 100 m)
    1000BASE-T: 4-pair UTP/STP of Cat. 5e or above (maximum 100 m)
    2.5GBASE-T: 4-pair UTP/STP of Cat. 5e or above (maximum 100 m)
      5GBASE-T: 4-pair UTP/STP of Cat. 5e or above (maximum 100 m)
     10GBASE-T: 4-pair UTP of Cat 6 (maximum 55 m) or STP of Cat 6, 6a, 7 (maximum 100 m)
If you're too lazy to read the manual you could probably ask chatgpt, gemini whatever. Or you could ask the guy from a store. A run of the mill store, not some crazy hobbyist store.

In the worst case you'll buy some overboard Cat 7 cable, but at least things are simple unlike with fiber optics last time I've asked [2]. With cable all you need to know is the speed. You don't have to ask yourself what kind of module you have or maybe you don't even have one. All you need to know is the speed and perhaps the length although I think only "the 1%" will need more than 55 meters :-)

[1]: https://static.tp-link.com/upload/manual/2025/202501/2025012...

[2]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47901136

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