Smoking (US) Aquantia 5G/10G Cards for cheap
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Are these Aquantia cards better than these Mellanox ones?
2x Mellanox MNPA19-XTR 10G SFP Optical Network Card +1x SFP 10G gigabit cable 3M | eBay
2x Mellanox MNPA19-XTR 10G SFP Optical Network Card +1x SFP 10G gigabit cable 3M | eBay
better … depends. simple answer is No.
I have both and I paid $100 for Aquantia and $12-$20 for the Mellanox.
different. Yes.
Mellanox uses SFP+ ports and needs fiber that goes to different rooms plus transceivers.
Aquantia has RJ45 ports and works with my standard copper cat5e wiring in the home.
On the rack I use SFP+ or QSFP+ since the cables are short and don't go through walls.
If I can terminate my multimode fiber next to my cat5e copper then I will just use the Mellanox.
I already bought the transceivers, they were cheap on ebay.
Of course the other big issue is switch cost, noise and transceiver compatibility.
I have both and I paid $100 for Aquantia and $12-$20 for the Mellanox.
different. Yes.
Mellanox uses SFP+ ports and needs fiber that goes to different rooms plus transceivers.
Aquantia has RJ45 ports and works with my standard copper cat5e wiring in the home.
On the rack I use SFP+ or QSFP+ since the cables are short and don't go through walls.
If I can terminate my multimode fiber next to my cat5e copper then I will just use the Mellanox.
I already bought the transceivers, they were cheap on ebay.
Of course the other big issue is switch cost, noise and transceiver compatibility.
for Windows 10 version 1803 I had to download special new drivers in WinOF (1803) from Mellanox. Previous versions of windows 10 just worked fine with older drivers. I verified RDMA was active. I did flash to newer RDMA capable firmware using other instructions on this site.
I have used these for ethernet and have not set them up for IBoIP … but I could run a test with some long fiber between rooms to a Mellanox switch in garage. Right now I am using ConnectX-3 over QSFP+ running IPoIB for server backbone. This is way easier to deal with compared to my old 4G fiber channel SAN.
This is my only concern with moving to 10Gbit is this apparent issues with transceivers being incompatible.
Is this common? Isn't it all meant to be standardised?
I'm going to have to make sure I buy Mellanox compatible transceivers. I was going to go down the Aquantia route but it seems to me, surprisingly, that the Mellanox cards and a transceiver are about the same price, but with less power overhead. More likely to attain full 10Gbit and compatibility with my FreeNAS machine.
There are threads here on transceivers that work but most of the issues are with the big boys that lock their units to only work with their transceivers.
I have the Mellanox working with the first 2 brands I tried which were from Arista and Avago.
I bought 8 from this seller who has 4 for 20.65 BO
Mellanox is likely more forgiving than Cisco
I have the Mellanox working with the first 2 brands I tried which were from Arista and Avago.
I bought 8 from this seller who has 4 for 20.65 BO
Mellanox is likely more forgiving than Cisco
Is that only $60 US for 4 of the things!?
$15 US each?
They work on the Mellanox?
NEW **LOT OF 4** FINISAR 10GBASE-LR/LW 1310nm TRANSCEIVER XFP FTLX1412D3BCL | eBay
$15 US each?
They work on the Mellanox?
NEW **LOT OF 4** FINISAR 10GBASE-LR/LW 1310nm TRANSCEIVER XFP FTLX1412D3BCL | eBay
These are $15 but the ones I bought were 4 units for $20 or $5 each and they worked with my Mellanox card and Mikrotik and Netgear switches.
Its BO so I suspect the seller will go lower.
NEW **LOT OF 4** AVAGO 10GB SFP+ SR MULTIMODE TRANSCEIVER AFBR-709SMZ | eBay
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That's insanely cheap. The 10Gb Mellanox cards can be as low as $35 US
That's a total of probably $45 US + a fibre cable. I dunno why I ever considered 10Gbit over copper. I should've done my reading.
That's a total of probably $45 US + a fibre cable. I dunno why I ever considered 10Gbit over copper. I should've done my reading.
I get fiber optic cables for $4-$10 depending on length so $10 for 2 transceivers + say $5 for a short length is $15 cable.
But terminating my fiber in the wall costs more than that so its not fair to compare to my in wall Cat-5e. That makes the Aquantia 10G much cheaper overall since I need to cleave and connect fiber which costs a lot more than a simple wired connector.
But terminating my fiber in the wall costs more than that so its not fair to compare to my in wall Cat-5e. That makes the Aquantia 10G much cheaper overall since I need to cleave and connect fiber which costs a lot more than a simple wired connector.
Well I have a single 7meter run to my server, which has only ONE CAT6 cable anyhow.
When I update the server, to add IPMI, I need to run 2 cables anyhow.
I'm happy to do 1xCAT6 IPMI and 1xFibre for the link.
So I'm more than glad to switch to fibre in hindsight. I can't believe how cheap fibre is, I'm so shocked.
When I update the server, to add IPMI, I need to run 2 cables anyhow.
I'm happy to do 1xCAT6 IPMI and 1xFibre for the link.
So I'm more than glad to switch to fibre in hindsight. I can't believe how cheap fibre is, I'm so shocked.
Sure but how can you connect different rooms back to the switch.
Even in my newer house which is 15 years old the in-wall Cat-5e is much easier to deal with than fiber. Depending on your home and room it could be difficult to pull the fiber. I am lucky enough to have in wall fiber in this house … and even terminating that is hard and expensive.
For 40G, I had to run fiber through the closet floor on 2nd story into my garage. The Mellanox cable with transceivers was $50 and I had to drill and do a lot more work. But QSFP is 4-pairs and I was happy with a $50 Mellanox cable. The 40G cards are also pretty cheap.
The thing is, I really like the idea, in theory, of using my existing CAT5 / CAT6 for 2.5/5 and 10Gb over Ethernet, it seems very cool and techy to use old cables at higher speeds.
At the end of the day though, my loungeroom has
PS4, PS3, Laptop, Amplifier.
Even in 5 years time, a PS5 or even PS6 and new TV and better amp, NONE of them will have 10Gbit ethernet or fibre, Wireless AC or 1Gbit will be fine
So with that in mind, there's just my run from my Desktop PC to the switch (1.5 Metres) and my Switch to my Server in the kitchen (7 metres)
I can use one of those direct attach cables for the desktop.
I was being shortsighted - in this instance a switch with 8x1Gbit and 2x SFP+ is perfect for my needs.
At the end of the day though, my loungeroom has
PS4, PS3, Laptop, Amplifier.
Even in 5 years time, a PS5 or even PS6 and new TV and better amp, NONE of them will have 10Gbit ethernet or fibre, Wireless AC or 1Gbit will be fine
So with that in mind, there's just my run from my Desktop PC to the switch (1.5 Metres) and my Switch to my Server in the kitchen (7 metres)
I can use one of those direct attach cables for the desktop.
I was being shortsighted - in this instance a switch with 8x1Gbit and 2x SFP+ is perfect for my needs.
For runs over 5m which are easy to pull, fiber is pretty simple and not that expensive if you buy used.
I did this a few years ago for 4G Fibrechannel which was down to $2.50 per port near the end. I think the cables cost more than the ports then.
Cat-5e is best when its in the wall already and requires no additional wiring through walls, floors etc.
My wife asked me what benefit there was to 10G, especially in the family room with the equipment you mentioned … and she has a EE degree.
I just want to light the fiber that was installed by the previous owner who thought some day this will be handy.
And after 20+years in marketing … answering questions on benefits is easy
