
In the Lab: The Netgear XS724EM, a 24-port 2.5G/5G/10GBase-T Switch - jseliger
https://www.anandtech.com/show/13397/in-the-lab-netgear-24port-10gige-switch
======
en4bz
You can get 40GbE if you buy used theses days for roughly the same price using
this switch [1] and NIC [2] combo. The only downside is cables [3] are still
expensive and copper cables are limited to 20' but if you're in a lab
environment that shouldn't be an issue.

[1] [https://www.ebay.com/itm/Arista-
DCS-7050QX-32S-R-32-Port-40G...](https://www.ebay.com/itm/Arista-
DCS-7050QX-32S-R-32-Port-40GbE-4-Port-10GbE-Switch-w-2x-B-F-PSU-
Ears/283084791842?epid=664277829&hash=item41e92b2022:g:1x8AAOSwF2xbZHY5)

[2] [https://www.ebay.com/itm/MCX353A-FCBT-DELL-Mellanox-
ConnectX...](https://www.ebay.com/itm/MCX353A-FCBT-DELL-Mellanox-
ConnectX-3-VPI-Single-Port-QSFP-40GBE-PCI-E-
CX353A/202307805284?hash=item2f1a7c2064:g:i2QAAOSwH~ta8WhV)

[3]
[https://www.fs.com/products/30795.html](https://www.fs.com/products/30795.html)

~~~
walrus01
Two strand, 9/125 single mode fiber cables (LC-LC) are actually really cheap,
a 20 meter is about $6. Shorter distances are like $3-4 a piece.

in bulk, two strand single mode fiber optic cable is actually less costly per
meter than Cat5e. Glass is cheap, copper isn't. This does require having a
$1500 fusion splicer to put ends on it.

~~~
timthorn
But you do need the transceivers at both ends which inflates the cost
significantly.

~~~
walrus01
For 40G/100G, sure, but for intra-facility connections, 1310nm/LX 10GbE SFP+
are like $27 a piece now.

For servers and connections that will be upgraded in the future, fiber is the
way to go. If you need low cost, relatively unskilled labor to run cat6 cable
to ceiling mounted wifi access points, by all means use copper. But 2.5 and
5GBaseT (nevermind 10GBaseT) are really pushing the limits of how fast we'll
ever be able to send down a 8-wire copper cable, even with advanced modulation
and signal processing. Singlemode is futureproof for probably the next 50
years.

------
KaiserPro
HP's weird h3c switches are super cheap:

[https://www.ebay.com/itm/H3C-S5820X-28S-24-Port-10GB-
Managed...](https://www.ebay.com/itm/H3C-S5820X-28S-24-Port-10GB-Managed-
Network-Switch-NO-PSU/173405754022?hash=item285fc9d2a6:g:OqEAAOSwsh5bRgHs)

I used them in prod 5ish years ago. they were workable. Not as nice as arista,
but still solid workhorses.

leaving loads of cash left over for copper SFPs and 10gig nics:
[https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-NC523SFP-10Gb-2-Port-Server-
Adap...](https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-NC523SFP-10Gb-2-Port-Server-
Adapter-593742-001-593717-B21-10-gig/232624435224?hash=item36297f3018:g:fGYAAOSw8i9aVBYf)

~~~
snaky
What do you mean by weird?

~~~
KaiserPro
Well, they were/are the outcome of the merger between 3com and and HP.

They are 3com hardware running Huawei/3com software, allowed to run HP SFPs

That may have changed now, it appears they have been spun out into a separate
company.

