Mikrotik CRS317-1G-16S+RM / 10GbE

[BLinux]

the fan noise issue on the crs317 is a software bug that has been fixed.
The problem is the switch not reading info from the sfp+ transceivers correctly, so they report a temperature in the transceiver, that is plain wrong.
It has been fixed in v6.41rc31 and newer.

-Jannis

from what i've read on mikrotik forum, the fix for the fan has only been released for their routeros and not yet for their switchos. so, for anyone who plans to use switchos, there is still no fix yet with no eta of when it will be released (although it seems mikrotik person on forum has acknowledged they know about the problem).

 

[Necrotyr]

from what i've read on mikrotik forum, the fix for the fan has only been released for their routeros and not yet for their switchos. so, for anyone who plans to use switchos, there is still no fix yet with no eta of when it will be released (although it seems mikrotik person on forum has acknowledged they know about the problem).

Mine is pretty quiet, can't hear it over my R720, it's running SwOS 2.6

 

[I_D]

so any reviews and actual testing/benchmarks on this switch yet? i'm debating between this, ES-16-XG, and LB6M... mainly need a simple 12 or more SFP+ ports L2 switch (LACP,VLAN)... The ES-16-XG just seems to have a lot of compatibility issues, the LB6M seems to consume too much power..

I am in exactly the same spot, where I need to decide on a new switch.
Can someone who owns the Mikrotik please comment on the performance as a "dumb" L2 switch?

1.) Will the Mikrotik be able to handle VLAN's and LACP without issues if we run it in swOS instead of routerOS?
2.) How is the performance between servers in different VLAN's? What kind of throughput can we expect? How about when they are in the same VLAN? How about without VLAN's?
3.) How hot does the Mikrotik get under heavy load?
4.) How loud is the fan?
5.) Does it have any compatibility issues with DAC cables and modules like the Ubiquiti?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Necrotyr]

I am in exactly the same spot, where I need to decide on a new switch.
Can someone who owns the Mikrotik please comment on the performance as a "dumb" L2 switch?

1.) Will the Mikrotik be able to handle VLAN's and LACP without issues if we run it in swOS instead of routerOS?
Mine does this with no problems, and it's easy to setup once you figure out the GUI.
2.) How is the performance between servers in different VLAN's? What kind of throughput can we expect? How about when they are in the same VLAN? How about without VLAN's?
I can't speak of inter-VLAN routing as I've not tried that yet, but I have linespeed on same VLAN and with no VLANs, when multiple servers are transmitting.
3.) How hot does the Mikrotik get under heavy load?
Mine doesn't go above 47C (this is in a 25C room), but I only have 8 ports active at any one time.
4.) How loud is the fan?
Can't hear it over my R720 and R620, but they are not very living room friendly either, so can't really give you a good estimate.
5.) Does it have any compatibility issues with DAC cables and modules like the Ubiquiti?
I've tried some noname HP amphenol 10G DAC, FiberStore generic DAC and Cisco DAC, and they all work without issues.

Thanks in advance!

Hope this helps

 

[I_D]

@Necrotyr thanks for your reply, this was most helpful!
Are you able to test VLAN performance as well please?

 

[neggles]

You will not get more than 1-2Gbps of throughput between VLANs if using the switch to route between them, and in swOS you don't get even get the option.

If you're just asking it to do basic layer-2 stuff it'll hit full line-rate across all ports at the same time with no trouble, as Necrotyr said above - but you'll need something else to do inter-VLAN routing.

 

[BLinux]

between Mikrotik vs Ubiquiti, which one is the better switch for L2 switch?

 

[neggles]

The ES-16-XG has been around for a lot longer and is a "known quantity" - it's also much simpler to configure, and has four copper 10G-T ports (with some interesting interoperability issues that are mostly fixed by now AFAIK)

The MikroTik has better compatibility (it'll work with pretty much anything) and is a bit cheaper, but it's a new MikroTik product so I wouldn't count on it to be perfectly stable/reliable just yet. The chipset used in it does support hardware inter-VLAN routing, it's just not been implemented by MikroTik yet & i wouldn't count on that feature making it in anytime soon. It'd also need 4 of their S+RJ10 module (not quite available yet, but on their way to distributors) to give you the same 4 10G-T ports as the ES-16-XG

If you're comfortable spending a few hours messing around with configuration and reading poor documentation and loading different firmwares, and you're comfortable with command lines and their weird approaches to some functions, the MikroTik is the better option. If you need 10G-T, a simple web UI, and better support - the ES-16-XG is the go.

For most people and most purposes I'd recommend the ES-16-XG over the CRS317-1G-16S+ right now...

 

[Necrotyr]

The ES-16-XG has been around for a lot longer and is a "known quantity" - it's also much simpler to configure, and has four copper 10G-T ports (with some interesting interoperability issues that are mostly fixed by now AFAIK)

The MikroTik has better compatibility (it'll work with pretty much anything) and is a bit cheaper, but it's a new MikroTik product so I wouldn't count on it to be perfectly stable/reliable just yet.
My switch has been on since they released it in Europe and I haven't had a single fault or error yet.

If you're comfortable spending a few hours messing around with configuration and reading poor documentation and loading different firmwares, and you're comfortable with command lines and their weird approaches to some functions, the MikroTik is the better option. If you need 10G-T, a simple web UI, and better support - the ES-16-XG is the go.
You don't need to load different firmware, just update to SwOS 2.7 and you are good to go. I'll concede to your remark about documentation, it's rather horrible when you first look at it.

I don't know about you, but I feel that the UI on SwOS is very intuitive once you get to know what each tab is, and it's much simpler that the sub-menu hell that is an ES-16-XG.

 

[randyruiz]

The ES-16-XG has been around for a lot longer and is a "known quantity" - it's also much simpler to configure, and has four copper 10G-T ports (with some interesting interoperability issues that are mostly fixed by now AFAIK)

The MikroTik has better compatibility (it'll work with pretty much anything) and is a bit cheaper, but it's a new MikroTik product so I wouldn't count on it to be perfectly stable/reliable just yet. The chipset used in it does support hardware inter-VLAN routing, it's just not been implemented by MikroTik yet & i wouldn't count on that feature making it in anytime soon. It'd also need 4 of their S+RJ10 module (not quite available yet, but on their way to distributors) to give you the same 4 10G-T ports as the ES-16-XG

If you're comfortable spending a few hours messing around with configuration and reading poor documentation and loading different firmwares, and you're comfortable with command lines and their weird approaches to some functions, the MikroTik is the better option. If you need 10G-T, a simple web UI, and better support - the ES-16-XG is the go.

For most people and most purposes I'd recommend the ES-16-XG over the CRS317-1G-16S+ right now...

 

[randyruiz]

I have had both switches and I returned the ES-16-XG. It had horrible compatibility issues and the 10G copper ports didn't work for sh1t. I am familiar already with both interfaces so that was a wash for me. I don't use the Mikrotik for layer 3 stuff for that I a pfsense box LACP'ed into the mikrotik with two links.

What I like about the Mikrotik is that for a layer2 switch it is completely silent, wire speed across all ports, completely stable for me so far and cost me $340 for 16-ports of 10G goodness. Not sure what anyone else wants from this type of switch. For the home lab and small business its really hard to beat.

 

[BLinux]

I have had both switches and I returned the ES-16-XG. It had horrible compatibility issues and the 10G copper ports didn't work for sh1t. I am familiar already with both interfaces so that was a wash for me. I don't use the Mikrotik for layer 3 stuff for that I a pfsense box LACP'ed into the mikrotik with two links.

What I like about the Mikrotik is that for a layer2 switch it is completely silent, wire speed across all ports, completely stable for me so far and cost me $340 for 16-ports of 10G goodness. Not sure what anyone else wants from this type of switch. For the home lab and small business its really hard to beat.

as a L2 switch, you said it is completely silent? i had read the fan control problem was still there in the SwitchOS side. What version are you running?

 

[randyruiz]

I am using 6.40.5. Full disclosure I replaced my fans with Nactua fans. That being said, I owned the switch for weeks before I replaced the fans and never heard it. I have the switch against a wall behind a book shelf in my living room and no one knows its even there.

 

[BLinux]

I am using 6.40.5. Full disclosure I replaced my fans with Nactua fans. That being said, I owned the switch for weeks before I replaced the fans and never heard it. I have the switch against a wall behind a book shelf in my living room and no one knows its even there.

6.40.5? is that for the RouterOS? I thought SwitchOS was still 2.x?

 

[Necrotyr]

6.40.5? is that for the RouterOS? I thought SwitchOS was still 2.x?

Yes that is RouterOS.

SwOS is 2.7 ATM.

The fan problems with SwOS was fixed in 2.4 or 2.5, mine only runs the fans when it's over 40C.

 

[Mark]

Tossed this unit into my network and I was able to secure one of the S+RJ10 10gbe modules works flawlessly with the x540. As others have stated its really a dumb switch at this point but really is a great value.

 

[BLinux]

how do you boot SwOS? I followed the instructions for RouterOS and select boot to SwOS and clicked apply in WebFig. Then I tried to do soft reboot but the unit didn't do anything. So I unplugged the power cord and powered it back on, but then it appears it won't boot anymore; runs fans at full speed constantly and never appears on the network again on the default IP (192.168.88.1). The only way I can access it again was to do a factory reset. Now I'm back to RouterOS in default settings. The unit came with RouterOS 6.40 it seems.

Any suggestions?

 

[Necrotyr]

When I changed it, I did it from serial console, maybe try that?

 

[BLinux]

When I changed it, I did it from serial console, maybe try that?

what are the commands to do that? or, please point me to reference...

i'll need to see if I have a RJ-45 to serial cable somewhere... or make one

 

[Necrotyr]

When you get to the cli it should just be a menu, there should be an option to check flash for images and switch boot image.