Question 1

Can someone tell me how to deploy this item in a network? Does this unit plug into a typical consumer grade Cable Modem/Router or is there a more robust router for profession use? I know that my link speed is limited to my ISPs data plan, which is 150/20 Mbps down/up. But I constantly struggle with bottlenecks and firewalls everywhere.

I would like to build a 10G network with a fast NAS of some sort to feed three video editing computers. But this switch doesn't look like the kind of thing you simply plug into your home router.

Accepted Answer

Nothing is going to help your Internet upload/download rates except changes to your ISP service and hardware.  But this unit will make your local area network very fast indeed - with caveats:

- Your connected systems must have 10GB NICs or you are wasting your money. 
- You must use CAT6 (or better) cables.  These are widely available.
- Unit is designed for Data Center use - you should keep it cool and clean if you want it to last.  And expect a little fan noise.

The unit uses standard RJ45 for network and standard NEMA power connector.  So you shouldn't have any issues deploying from a connectivity standpoint.

We are using ours as redundant SAN switches instead of Fibre Channel.  They work very well and deliver a full 10GB.

The unit has some modest VLAN capability but with only 8 ports, what is the point?

Question 2

If I buy a QNap NAS with 10Gbe NIC card, what can I expect for transfer speeds with this 10Gbe switch if my NAS is setup in RAID 5?

Accepted Answer

Using *good* CAT6 cables you should get anywhere between 200~550 MB/s in a Windows transfer.  Your bottleneck will be your slowest drive(s) or bus speed.  You can calculate all day long but there are a lot of factors involved.  My speeds come from my Synology (RAID 6) to/from a PC with a fast SSD PCIe.  I'm sure if I go to/from a RAID 5 on both sides then I would get faster speeds. If you have dual NICs on each machine then you should be able to LAG two ports on each and get 20 GbE on each side!

Question 3

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a Jumbo Frame?

Accepted Answer

MTU is the largest amount of data that can be transmitted at one time.  Data is split into many small pieces (called frames) when transmitted over a network.  The normal size MTU for Ethernet is 1500 Bytes.  Anything larger is called Jumbo.  Generally a Jumbo packet means a packet of 9000 Bytes.

Question 4

How loud is this switch?

Accepted Answer

Virtually silent

Question 5

does this switch has spanning tree protocol (802.1D)? I do not see it listed.

Accepted Answer

I do not see any facility for it.  Very simple switch with few options other than vlan and lag

Question 6

Does anyone know if the fans can be replaced by Noctua A-Series NF-A4x10 40mm Blades with AAO Frame, SSO2 Bearing Premium Fan's to make it more quiet? I haven't bought this yet but am planning a 10gb upgrade and need a quiet 10gb switch with port mirroring. Thanks in advance!
-Danny

Accepted Answer

I keep this switch in my basement, so noise levels are not really a problem for me.  But I have noticed that the fans could be quieter.

Question 7

Can this switch be uplinked to my current 1G switch? I am thinking of a buildout using this switch as a 10G backbone to connect my 3 servers to the rest of my 1G network.

Accepted Answer

Yes, any of the ports can be connected to your 1G switch. Placing your servers on this switch would perform at the 10G speeds (if they have the required interfaces for 10G) and they would also have access to the devices on your 1G switch at 1G speeds.

Questions & Answers