Question The perfect SOHO switch? (QSW-2104-2T-US) 2x 10gbe + 4x 2.5gbe from QNAP for $159 (AMZN) / $169 (B&H)

[VirtualLarry]

https://www.amazon.com/QNAP-6-Port-QSW-2104-2T-US-unmanaged-Network/dp/B09B9DS5DG/ref=sr_1_261

QSW-2104-2T | A plug & play switch featuring 10GbE and 2.5GbE connectivity, suited for SOHO and professionals

The QSW-2104-2T is an easy-to-use unmanaged switch with 2-port 10GbE RJ45 and 4-port 2.5GbE RJ45, allowing you to upgrade your network environment by connecting a wider range of devices with different bandwidth requirements. Featuring a near-silent fanless design and compliance with IEEE 802.3az...

www.qnap.com

They also have a version with 2x SFP+ 10gbe.

 

[mv2devnull]

"Near-silent fanless design" ... where does the sound come from?

 

[VirtualLarry]

B&H has both listed with a 7-14 day lead time for orders:

$159:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1643881-REG/qnap_qsw_2104_2t_us_plug_play_swit0ch.html/DFF/d10-v21-t1-x1119267/SID/EZ

$129 for the SFP+ model:

QNAP QSW-2104-2S 4-Port 2.5G Unmanaged Switch with 10G SFP+

Buy QNAP QSW-2104-2S 4-Port 2.5G Unmanaged Switch with 10G SFP+ featuring 4 x 2.5G Ethernet Ports, 2 x 10G SFP+ Ports, 60 Gb/s Switching Capacity, Desktop Design, Automatic Loop Detection, Passive, Fanless Cooling, Plug-and-Play. Review QNAP null

www.bhphotovideo.com

 

[SamirD]

Solid find! Looks like 2.5Gb upgrade options are really coming down in price.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Solid find! Looks like 2.5Gb upgrade options are really coming down in price.

Yep. I was hoping that Zyxel would have come out with a variant of their 8x 1gbe + 2x 10gbe + 1x SFP+ switch, managed or unmanaged, with instead, 8x 2.5gbe. That would have been ideal to me. For $200 or under.

I wasn't entirely enthralled with purchasing a pair of 8x 2.5gbe TrendNet switches, with NO 10gbe uplink / trunk ports, for close to $200.

Thankfully QNAP to the rescue, with the current switch in the OP.

 

[VirtualLarry]

QSW-M2116P-2T2S | 90-watt 10GbE PoE++ and 30-watt 2.5GbE PoE+ Managed Switch for the Wi-Fi 6 Generation

The QNAP QSW-M2116P-2T2S is a L2 PoE Managed Switch with sixteen 30-watt 2.5GbE PoE+ ports, two 90-watt 10GbE PoE++ ports. Offering a total power budget of 280 watts and two 10GbE SFP+ ports, the QSW-M2116P-2T2S not only enables a high-speed and high-power PoE network infrastructure for Wi-Fi 6...

www.qnap.com

This one's kind of neat too. 16x 2.5gbe POE+ + 2x 10gbe POE++ + 2x SFP+.

Probably around or over $1000.

QNAP QSW-M2116P-2T2S 18-Port Multi-Gig PoE++ Compliant Managed Switch with SFP+

Buy QNAP QSW-M2116P-2T2S 18-Port Multi-Gig PoE++ Compliant Managed Switch with SFP+ featuring 16 x 30W PoE+ 2.5G Ethernet Ports, 2 x 90W PoE++ 10G Ethernet Ports, 2 x 10G SFP+ Ports, 160 Gb/s Switching Capacity, Desktop and Rack Mountable Design, 280W Power Budget, Extensive Layer 2 Management...

www.bhphotovideo.com

B&H has it listed as "Special Order - Notify When Available", for $599.

Edit: A little commentary, the D-Link managed rack-mountable switch with 8x 2.5gbe and 2x 10gbe SFP+ is around $550 on Amazon, and it doesn't have POE (there is another variant that does, for a little more).

So $599 for 16x 2.5gbe with POE is quite competitive.

 

[SamirD]

Nice, but these are far more than the used 10Gb enterprise sfp+ switches out there. Of course there would be a cost to 10Gb nics and sfp and fibre (or dacs), but in the end it would cost probably about the same but be far faster.

And this is the issue that has plagued 2.5/5Gb from the beginning--10Gb can be cheaper in a lot of situations. It's getting to be less of an issue as 2.5Gb stuff comes into market simply replacing 1Gb, but as you've pointed out with these switch deals, the switching side of it is still not doing that yet so prices aren't as competitive with 10Gb.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Among the problems that I see with enterprise 10G gear, is it is almost always 1/10G, and not "multi-gig", which, even if Joe buys a new mobo with 2.5gbe built-in, doesn't do him a lick of good. To say nothing of the expense of ripping and replacing good Cat5E, and having to buy sFP+ to copper trancievers, which also many don't support multi-gig.

There's a real reason why consumers choose consumer-oriented NAS builds, rather than the "more for your money" solutions involving cast-off enterprise rack-mounted servers running unRAID. Now, enthusiasts who know how to get the most out of hardware, might choose the latter, but your average Joe consumer wants something small and quiet that doesn't interfere with the decor. Not everyone owns a rack.

The same is true for networking gear.

 

[mv2devnull]

Among the problems that I see with enterprise 10G gear, is it is almost always 1/10G, and not "multi-gig", which, even if Joe buys a new mobo with 2.5gbe built-in, doesn't do him a lick of good. To say nothing of the expense of ripping and replacing good Cat5E, and having to buy sFP+ to copper trancievers, which also many don't support multi-gig.

Fair point, for now. Google finds couple "2.5GBase-T transceivers". About á $30.

QSW-2104-2S is cheaper than QSW-2104-2T. You can afford one transceiver with the difference?

 

[sdifox]

"Near-silent fanless design" ... where does the sound come from?

Coil whine xd

 

[Fallen Kell]

Among the problems that I see with enterprise 10G gear, is it is almost always 1/10G, and not "multi-gig", which, even if Joe buys a new mobo with 2.5gbe built-in, doesn't do him a lick of good. To say nothing of the expense of ripping and replacing good Cat5E, and having to buy sFP+ to copper trancievers, which also many don't support multi-gig.

Not all enterprise 10G gear has this problem. Case in point, the Brocade ICX6610 that I run has no problems running most of the SFP+ to NBase-T transceivers out there. I have 2 of the Wiitek ones, and 1 Microtik, all of which work at either 1, 2.5, 5, or 10gbe speeds. This is yet another reason I love this switch. Sure, there are many switches out there that will not work correctly with NBase-T transceivers, but those are switches that are typically picky about what transceivers they work with in general (looking at you CISCO and HP).

Also, you don't need to rip and replace Cat5E to buy a SFP+ transceiver, you simply connect the transceiver into the switch, and then the Cat5E into the transceiver. Cat5E will limit you on distance, but I think for 2.5gbe, it is something like 100feet.

 

[fkoehler]

Dang, that Brocade seems like it might replace my Cisco. Don't really care about the 2.5, however $100 for Brocade ICX6610 with 8 1/10 SFP's is sweet for 100-200. I've got about 25 NIB SFP's which have been sitting alone and in the cold for 5 years... Sigh, looks like you need a licen$e to get the 10g SFP's working.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Dang, that Brocade seems like it might replace my Cisco. Don't really care about the 2.5, however $100 for Brocade ICX6610 with 8 1/10 SFP's is sweet for 100-200. I've got about 25 NIB SFP's which have been sitting alone and in the cold for 5 years... Sigh, looks like you need a licen$e to get the 10g SFP's working.

Go read the master thread over on serve the home forums under their networking forum on the brocade ICX switches and follow the instructions.

 

[VirtualLarry]

QNAP QSW-M2116P-2T2S 18-Port Multi-Gig PoE++ Compliant Managed Switch with SFP+

Buy QNAP QSW-M2116P-2T2S 18-Port Multi-Gig PoE++ Compliant Managed Switch with SFP+ featuring 16 x 30W PoE+ 2.5G Ethernet Ports, 2 x 90W PoE++ 10G Ethernet Ports, 2 x 10G SFP+ Ports, 160 Gb/s Switching Capacity, Desktop and Rack Mountable Design, 280W Power Budget, Extensive Layer 2 Management...

www.bhphotovideo.com

Connecting Non-PoE Devices to PoE Ports - Sorta Techy

PoE devices, like NETGEAR’s 5-Port adaptor (on Amazon), allow both information and electricity to travel along an ethernet cable, which is very convenient and easy …

sortatechy.com

According to that, could I buy that switch and safely use it with both PoE drives AND non-PoE devices?

 

[mxnerd]

Netgear claimed that its POE devices are all active.

Active or Passive PoE, That is the Question - NETGEAR Blog Archive

Power over Ethernet (PoE) switches use Ethernet cables to supply power to other PoE capable devices on the network, such as Wireless Access Points, IP cameras, VOIP phones, and other switches, etc. This feature allows the user to power these devices without the need for a separate power supply...

blog.netgear.com

Initially, it might seem like a good idea to opt for passive PoE over the industry-standard active PoE, but it could very well end up costing you a lot more, in the long run. The only way to ensure complete compatibility with the majority of PoE devices on the market is to stick with the industry standard, active PoE.

Do not mix with Unifi passive 24v POE devices though according to the post here

https://community.ui.com/questions/M2-Loco-with-Netgear-GS305P-Sorry-for-swearing-and-using-Netgear/d2eb415a-1ecb-4880-8762-6be3757cdd9a