Question Home Network: First Step 10G Need some input

Netopia

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Hello All!

I've got a Buffalo NAS with a built-in 10GBase-T port and two 1G Ports.

I've got a Dell 7040 with 48GB Memory, setup as an ESXi server.

I need to get a connection over 10G from the computer to the NAS which I'll set up like a SAN.

Here's where things get convoluted for me. Since I don't need a 10G switch at this point, I thought I would go with a crossover between the two machines and assign them each an IP from a different subnet than my normal home network.

The problem is, how do I do it while also thinking about future-proofing? I would think I'd go after a used SFP+ card with a 10G-BaseT RJ45 jack transceiver and be done with it, but I'm having a hard time figuring out which SFP+ cards are compatible with what 10G-BaseT RJ45 jack transceivers. I'm only looking at eBay sort of stuff because I don't have a ton of money for this.

I've also thought about just buying a standalone card that has 10GBaseT and an RJ45 jack, but then when I expand and do buy a switch, I'll have to either buy a 10GBaseT RJ45 transceiver for the switch or just ditch the card and buy an SFP+ card and likely go with DA copper. And from what I've found, the cards that are prebuilt with an RJ45 for UTP are not cheap, even used.

And then there's the whole issue (because I'm buying older stuff) with ESXi 7.0 compatibility.

All of that said, I'm sort of a neophyte with the 10 Gig stuff. I've been looking things over for about a week and finally decided that I likely would have saved a TON of time had I just ask my questions here. At any rate, suggestions, thought, opinions are VERY sought after.

Thanks for even reading this far, many thanks for any replies.

Joe
 

mxnerd

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2007
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Maybe


You need a bracket for your PC though.

compatible with ESXi

Chipset Intel® 82599 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller


==

Well, it turns out the HPE FlexLOM adapter requires a special adapter to fit in generic PCIe slot.

If you don't want to go this route, consider INTEL X540

 
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Fallen Kell

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Hard to say what to do. If you go with an intel card, the 540 chipset would be my preference, but be aware that there are tons of Chinese counterfeit cards out there. I would absolutely not purchase any that are shipping from Hong Kong, and even the ones shipping from elsewhere are possibly suspect.

I don't think they have found counterfeit Supermicro cards based on the Intel 540 yet, or Dell cards based on the 540, so those would be my suggestion.
 

mxnerd

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Jul 6, 2007
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Hard to say what to do. If you go with an intel card, the 540 chipset would be my preference, but be aware that there are tons of Chinese counterfeit cards out there. I would absolutely not purchase any that are shipping from Hong Kong, and even the ones shipping from elsewhere are possibly suspect.

I don't think they have found counterfeit Supermicro cards based on the Intel 540 yet, or Dell cards based on the 540, so those would be my suggestion.
Wow. OP probably should be careful. Couldn't view the pictures though since I'm not a member.
 

KentState

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Oct 19, 2001
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The X540 is an older design. I would suggest either the X550 based cards or look at Chelsio. You can find their cards on eBay for a good price and they are compatible with most operating systems from what I've seen.

The one thing to consider when doing 10Gbe is that a lot of devices shipping are also multi-gig (2.5Gb and 5Gb) which requires a switch capable of multi-gig. If you go down the SFP+ rabbit hole, you will need to be careful when getting a switch. A pure SFP+ switch will run the multi-gig devices at 1Gbe if you use an RJ45 to SPF+ transceiver. For a home environment, the extra power requirements of RJ45 is not a huge concern. In a data center with thousands of active ports, it becomes a bigger concern.
 

Netopia

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Thank you everyone for your help. I learned much through reading each of your thoughts and suggestions.


I ended up with a used Dell x540-T2.

Dell x540-T2

I was SHOCKED that this thing uses (according to Dell) PCIe 1.1 x8 WOW... 1.1... but as long as I can get connected, that's all that matters. And at $50, it didn't break the bank.

Again, thank you to everyone!

Joe