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Question 10Gb Network cards

Markeyse

Markeyse

Member
I'm thinking about going with a 10Gbps networking setup. I'm mulling around the idea of building out a pfSense box and running that as my new router. I've been looking at cards, and it seems like I'll need a single and dual port cards for this to work. Intel prices seems to be around the $300 mark. Is there anything else I should be looking at?
 
If using this primarily for FreeBSD, I'll go against the grain and recommend a Chelsio card. Old T420's with dual ports can be had for $30, and Chelsio is pretty solid with their FreeBSD support. Normally I'm Intel camp all the way, but for dedicated PFSense, I'd say do the Chelsio card.
 
Muadib said:
Just found this: They rate the Intel X540-T2 as good:

Top Picks for pfSense Network Cards (NICs)

We have 1GbE, 10GbE (SFP+ and 10Gbase-T) and 40GbE networking options for the top pfSense network cards (NICs) as they are key components in firewalls
www.servethehome.com www.servethehome.com
Click to expand...

I'll check it out! Thanks!

thecoolnessrune said:
If using this primarily for FreeBSD, I'll go against the grain and recommend a Chelsio card. Old T420's with dual ports can be had for $30, and Chelsio is pretty solid with their FreeBSD support. Normally I'm Intel camp all the way, but for dedicated PFSense, I'd say do the Chelsio card.
Click to expand...

Yea. So Basically I have my workstation, Windows 10 pro, then my NAS server, FreeNAS. I am like I will upgrade my router sometimes this year, but would it be better to add a PfSense box, since there is more options, and I heard the firewall is better than even a lot of the top routers. So the bulb went off in my head. And gives me an excuse to build something :blush:

Basically probably just put together a 1U box. Since I'm building my new workstation in a few months, It would be nice to get 10Gbps. I could do it direct, but why not take advantage of all the goodies with pfsense, and have all the devices connected to it, and be able to be better at separating networks and LAG options.
 
Yeah. pfSense is based on FreeBSD and it's driver support is directly from FreeBSD.

Maybe it's a matter of fine tuning?

forum.netgate.com

High CPU load with X11SSV-M4F and Intel X540-T2 Dual 10GbE RJ45

Just finished up installing and configuring the devices bellow and I noticed that the system experiences 100% load(sometimes on 1 core, sometimes spread on 2...
forum.netgate.com forum.netgate.com

10GbE network speed slow on Netgear XS716-T

Hi, we have problems with our 10GbE network speeds and need help. This is the setup: There are ten workstations here (lenovo p700s with dual 14core xeons, 64gb ram), each with a Sun Dual Port 10GbE PCIe 2.0 Adapter (Intel x540-T2) Base-T (which we got for cheap on ebay). All the NICs have the...
forums.servethehome.com forums.servethehome.com

SOLVED - 10Gbe Transfer Speed issue + Guide?

SOLVED: So I created a stripe/RAID0 and iperf continued giving me the exact same results, however, with a ramdisk I was getting full 10gbe throughput both ways. I guess with RAIDZ was the bottle neck for the write speeds! =( lol. Also, for anyone using this as a guide, I deleted all the...
www.ixsystems.com www.ixsystems.com

If I were OP, I would rather get a NIC that does not require fine tuning, however.

==

Upgrading internal LAN devices to 10Gbps has nothing to do with WAN though, unless OP already planning getting service that's over 1G.

If OP need routing inside LANs, a managed switch probably is a better option instead a pfsense box.
 
Last edited:
I'd look into used enterprise equipment. 10G stuff is dirt cheap in that work since 40G and 100G are the 'fast' ones. 😀
 
SamirD said:
I'd look into used enterprise equipment. 10G stuff is dirt cheap in that work since 40G and 100G are the 'fast' ones. 😀
Click to expand...

Yep.



linustechtips.com

40Gbit Tutorial

Install the two cards in your system, ours sadly came with no PCI slot covers, however we don’t recommend using the cards without a bracket, so you might have to get creative. For the purposes of this video, our setup will be a “Gaming-PC” and a “NAS-PC” Boot up systems and head to windows device...
linustechtips.com linustechtips.com

40Gb Mellanox card setup

I've got two Mellanox 40Gb cards working, with FreeNAS 10. One in server, one in a Windows 10 PC. Getting between 400 MB/s to 700 MB/s transfer rates. Hardware: 2 x MHQH19B-XTR Mellanox InfiniBand QSFP Single Port 40Gbps PCI-E, from eBay for $70. 1 x Mellanox MC2210130-001 Passive Copper Cable...
www.ixsystems.com www.ixsystems.com

8 port used infiniband switch IS5022 (up to 640 Gbps) is just around $100 on eBay

Don't know why people insist using 10GBaseT when they have cheaper & faster options?
 
Last edited:
mxnerd said:
Don't know why people insist using 10GBaseT when they have cheaper & faster options?
Click to expand...
Because don't know or are scared of the demeanor of enterprise stuff. It's actually really nice once you get past the demeanor as the documentation is really nice.
 
Markeyse said:
I'm thinking about going with a 10Gbps networking setup. I'm mulling around the idea of building out a pfSense box and running that as my new router. I've been looking at cards, and it seems like I'll need a single and dual port cards for this to work. Intel prices seems to be around the $300 mark. Is there anything else I should be looking at?
Click to expand...

Used fiber gear

Don't see why you need 10gbps for wan though.
 
mxnerd said:
Yep.



linustechtips.com

40Gbit Tutorial

Install the two cards in your system, ours sadly came with no PCI slot covers, however we don’t recommend using the cards without a bracket, so you might have to get creative. For the purposes of this video, our setup will be a “Gaming-PC” and a “NAS-PC” Boot up systems and head to windows device...
linustechtips.com linustechtips.com

40Gb Mellanox card setup

I've got two Mellanox 40Gb cards working, with FreeNAS 10. One in server, one in a Windows 10 PC. Getting between 400 MB/s to 700 MB/s transfer rates. Hardware: 2 x MHQH19B-XTR Mellanox InfiniBand QSFP Single Port 40Gbps PCI-E, from eBay for $70. 1 x Mellanox MC2210130-001 Passive Copper Cable...
www.ixsystems.com www.ixsystems.com

8 port used infiniband switch IS5022 (up to 640 Gbps) is just around $100 on eBay

Don't know why people insist using 10GBaseT when they have cheaper & faster options?
Click to expand...

I honestly didn't know about any of this. My thing is how can we use it to go out when I need to FTP? Regular Ethernet still?
 
16 port 10Gb edge switch for $670+s/h

www.ui.com

UISP EdgeSwitch 16 XG - Ubiquiti Store

Fully managed, 10-gigabit aggregation switch with (12) SFP+ ports and (4) 10 GbE RJ45 ports.
www.ui.com www.ui.com

I haven't look at specs, no idea what SFPs are supported.

Or, if you prefer their unifi line, $600

www.ui.com

Switch XG 16 - Ubiquiti Store

Layer 2 aggregation switch with (12) 10G SFP+ ports and (4) 10GbE RJ45 ports.
www.ui.com www.ui.com

edit: found this link about SFP modules

SFP/SFP+ modules and DAC cables Compatibility | Ubiquiti Community

Here are some SFP modules that have been tested either internally or by community members and reported to be working with the EdgeSwitch (10G modules for ES48
community.ui.com community.ui.com
 
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mxnerd said:
Don't know why people insist using 10GBaseT when they have cheaper & faster options?
Click to expand...

its because some of us like to save our hearing...
GL finding a quiet infiniband switch, while you can pick up a mikrotik 10gb SFP+ switch which is dead silent.

Also unless your running massive amounts of IO your probably never going to fully saturate that 10gbe+


First off how many PC's are you looking at connecting?
Why do you need a 10gbe on a Router? That makes absolutely no sense unless you have a direct line to your ISP.
Your never going to get 10gbe on your bandwidth to your ISP, and if you can, you wouldn't worry about cost.

So im assuming you'll be putting it on your NAS which is more logical solution.
So count up how many PC's you want in your network on that 10Gbe.

I would first start off with these:
www.ebay.com

IBM Mellanox CONNECTX-2 EN Dual Port SFP+ 10GBE PCI-E 2.0 Adapter 81Y1541 Network Adapter for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for IBM Mellanox CONNECTX-2 EN Dual Port SFP+ 10GBE PCI-E 2.0 Adapter 81Y1541 Network Adapter at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
They work and are supported by FreeNAS which is on FreeBSD, and most other enterprise software as well as consumer software,

Then i would pick up this as your switch:

Amazon.com: MikroTik 5-Port Desktop Switch, 1 Gigabit Ethernet Port, 4 SFP+ 10Gbps Ports (CRS305-1G-4S+IN): Electronics

Amazon.com: MikroTik 5-Port Desktop Switch, 1 Gigabit Ethernet Port, 4 SFP+ 10Gbps Ports (CRS305-1G-4S+IN): Electronics
www.amazon.com

And i would run DAC cables to it and not fiber, unless your talking really long distance.
 
aigomorla said:
its because some of us like to save our hearing...
GL finding a quiet infiniband switch, while you can pick up a mikrotik 10gb SFP+ switch which is dead silent.

Also unless your running massive amounts of IO your probably never going to fully saturate that 10gbe+


First off how many PC's are you looking at connecting?
Why do you need a 10gbe on a Router? That makes absolutely no sense unless you have a direct line to your ISP.
Your never going to get 10gbe on your bandwidth to your ISP, and if you can, you wouldn't worry about cost.

So im assuming you'll be putting it on your NAS which is more logical solution.
So count up how many PC's you want in your network on that 10Gbe.

I would first start off with these:
www.ebay.com

IBM Mellanox CONNECTX-2 EN Dual Port SFP+ 10GBE PCI-E 2.0 Adapter 81Y1541 Network Adapter for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for IBM Mellanox CONNECTX-2 EN Dual Port SFP+ 10GBE PCI-E 2.0 Adapter 81Y1541 Network Adapter at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
They work and are supported by FreeNAS which is on FreeBSD, and most other enterprise software as well as consumer software,

Then i would pick up this as your switch:

Amazon.com: MikroTik 5-Port Desktop Switch, 1 Gigabit Ethernet Port, 4 SFP+ 10Gbps Ports (CRS305-1G-4S+IN): Electronics

Amazon.com: MikroTik 5-Port Desktop Switch, 1 Gigabit Ethernet Port, 4 SFP+ 10Gbps Ports (CRS305-1G-4S+IN): Electronics
www.amazon.com

And i would run DAC cables to it and not fiber, unless your talking really long distance.
Click to expand...



Sorry for not being clear. This is for connecting to my FreeNAS server.

Right now I have one Windows 10 Pro Workstation, and one FreeNAS server. I'm upgrading my workstation to the big boy stuff, and the motherboards I'm looking at includes some 10Gbit ports on them, so I was like lets take advantage of it. I may add another, or been talking with some buddies and buying a room and doing a studio next year too. So I figured this may be something to test out.

And I only need a couple of feet of cable so I don't need fiber. I'll check out your link. Thanks.
 
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