Cheap 8+ ports sfp+ - low noise

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J

Jannis Jacobsen

Active Member
Mar 19, 2016
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Whats the cheapest 10gig sfp+ switch you can get these days?
Needs 8 ports minimum, low noise.
Can be a stupid non-manageable switch.
Will only be used for iscsi network.

-Jannis
 
F

Freebsd1976

Active Member
Feb 23, 2018
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tplink release 8 port sfp+ only umanagement swith tl-st1008f in tplink china, price is only 99$ .
 
R

RTM

Well-Known Member
Jan 26, 2014
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Wow 99$ is really cheap, I am not sure what I can do with it, but I want it :D

The cheapest I'm aware of (that is available) is the Mikrotik CRS309 switch, but it is more expensive at around 220 EUR.
Of course it is also managed, but if you don't need that...

On another note, I remember reading somewhere that you may want to be mindful of the amount of buffer the switch has for good iSCSI performance, I have no idea how either of these switches fare with regards to this, but you may want to look into it (or someone more knowledgeable of these things can chime in).

At least here is a thread on stackoverflow/serverfault that discusses it a bit:
Recommended switch for an iSCSI implementation
 
A

azev

Well-Known Member
Jan 18, 2013
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Spartacus said:
Interesting, I wonder what the non-blocking throughput capability is on that thing.
Sounds like a solid solution for 10gig lab network.
Click to expand...
Using google translate and visiting TPLINK china website it says that it has a nonblocking and wire speed verbiage.
 
Spartacus

Spartacus

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May 27, 2019
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azev said:
Using google translate and visiting TPLINK china website it says that it has a nonblocking and wire speed verbiage.
Click to expand...
I did that it doesn't list details though.
If that non-blocking is rated for 20GB you can only max out 2 ports at a time, I want the detailed numbers, which it doesn't provide.
 
nasbdh9

nasbdh9

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Aug 4, 2019
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ST1008F is an unmanaged switch, the more advanced ST5008F supports L3 management

TL-ST1008F 全万兆以太网交换机 - TP-LINK官方网站

TP-LINK（普联技术有限公司）是领先的ICT设备与解决方案提供商。自1996年成立以来，我们提供的海量设备已服务千行百业、千家万户，用以构建万物互联的世界。我们致力于让我们的系统和解决方案，成为农业、工业、流通和服务业等广泛领域的生产力工具，提高社会效率，节约社会成本，创造社会财富，为数字化社会的建设提供服务。
www.tp-link.com.cn

TL-ST5008F 全万兆三层网管交换机 - TP-LINK官方网站

TP-LINK（普联技术有限公司）是领先的ICT设备与解决方案提供商。自1996年成立以来，我们提供的海量设备已服务千行百业、千家万户，用以构建万物互联的世界。我们致力于让我们的系统和解决方案，成为农业、工业、流通和服务业等广泛领域的生产力工具，提高社会效率，节约社会成本，创造社会财富，为数字化社会的建设提供服务。
www.tp-link.com.cn
The price of ST1008F is about 100 usd, and ST5008F is 250 usd

ST5008F has a smaller size than CRS309 and has a built-in power supply. The firmware of CRS309 has more functions than ST5008F, but basically there is not much difference.
 
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jmsq

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Dec 30, 2019
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I made a couple interesting discoveries about the TL-ST1008F that don't appear to be mentioned elsewhere on the (English-speaking) internet:

1. There's at least two hardware revisions of the switch, and they have one significant feature difference.
2. The TP-Link TL-SM410U 2.5G SFP module (TL-SM410U 2.5G SFP电口模块 - TP-LINK官方网站) actually does work, but its compatibility is extremely limited.

I originally bought the ST1008F and a couple of the SM410U SFP modules from AliExpress a while back, but was never able to get the modules to work with anything, either NICs or switches I had on hand. The ST1008F itself worked fine with my other gear so I put it into service.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, and I ordered a second ST1008F to expand the network. To my surprise, this one is actually hardware rev 2.0 instead of the rev 1.0 of the original switch. They generally work and look nearly identical, but with one key difference: an additional switch that enables 2.5G mode in place of 1G mode on the switch-side. This switch revision is what those cheap 2.5G SFPs were designed to be used in.

Rev 1.0: PXL_20220602_085457202.MP.jpegPXL_20220602_085521354.MP.jpeg

Rev 2.0: PXL_20220602_085618211.jpegPXL_20220602_085643654.jpeg

The rev 2.0 switch has 3 modes: all 10G/1G port operation, half 10/1G and half 10G/2.5G, and all 10G/2.5G port operation. When a port is in 2.5G mode, the TP-Link SFPs work like pretty much any other Base-T transceiver, and they're around half the cost or better of the 10G multi-gig ones from what I've seen. Note the significantly expanded LED activity light set denoting the current mode on v2 as well.

So if you need an SFP switch that can flexibly and semi-cheaply bridge between 10G and 2.5G hardware, the ST1008Fv2 is the one to get :p
 
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Spartacus

Spartacus

Well-Known Member
May 27, 2019
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jmsq said:
I made a couple interesting discoveries about the TL-ST1008F that don't appear to be mentioned elsewhere on the (English-speaking) internet:

1. There's at least two hardware revisions of the switch, and they have one significant feature difference.
2. The TP-Link TL-SM410U 2.5G SFP module (TL-SM410U 2.5G SFP电口模块 - TP-LINK官方网站) actually does work, but its compatibility is extremely limited.

I originally bought the ST1008F and a couple of the SM410U SFP modules from AliExpress a while back, but was never able to get the modules to work with anything, either NICs or switches I had on hand. The ST1008F itself worked fine with my other gear so I put it into service.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, and I ordered a second ST1008F to expand the network. To my surprise, this one is actually hardware rev 2.0 instead of the rev 1.0 of the original switch. They generally work and look nearly identical, but with one key difference: an additional switch that enables 2.5G mode in place of 1G mode on the switch-side. This switch revision is what those cheap 2.5G SFPs were designed to be used in.

Rev 1.0: View attachment 23040View attachment 23041

Rev 2.0: View attachment 23042View attachment 23043

The rev 2.0 switch has 3 modes: all 10G/1G port operation, half 10/1G and half 10G/2.5G, and all 10G/2.5G port operation. When a port is in 2.5G mode, the TP-Link SFPs work like pretty much any other Base-T transceiver, and they're around half the cost or better of the 10G multi-gig ones from what I've seen. Note the significantly expanded LED activity light set denoting the current mode on v2 as well.

So if you need an SFP switch that can flexibly and semi-cheaply bridge between 10G and 2.5G hardware, the ST1008Fv2 is the one to get :p
Click to expand...

do you have a link to the ali express listing? as well as the SFP+ 10g and/or 2.5g modules you used that were compatible?
 
Spartacus

Spartacus

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May 27, 2019
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J

jmsq

Member
Dec 30, 2019
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Spartacus said:
do you have a link to the ali express listing? as well as the SFP+ 10g and/or 2.5g modules you used that were compatible?
Click to expand...
SFP: 23.8US $ |Tp link 2.5g SFP to RJ45 SFP TL SM410U SFP Module 2.5Gbps RJ45 SFP Module SFP Copper RJ45 SFP Transceiver| | - AliExpress
Switch: 128.26US $ |Tp-link 10gbe Switch 10gb Switch 10 Gigabit 10g Switch 10gbps Switch 10000mbps Optical Sfp+ Tl-st1008f 8 Ports Plug And Play - Fiber Optic Equipment - AliExpress

The image in the listing is v1 but I received a v2 from this seller; YMMV.
 
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Spartacus

Spartacus

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May 27, 2019
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jmsq said:
SFP: 23.8US $ |Tp link 2.5g SFP to RJ45 SFP TL SM410U SFP Module 2.5Gbps RJ45 SFP Module SFP Copper RJ45 SFP Transceiver| | - AliExpress
Switch: 128.26US $ |Tp-link 10gbe Switch 10gb Switch 10 Gigabit 10g Switch 10gbps Switch 10000mbps Optical Sfp+ Tl-st1008f 8 Ports Plug And Play - Fiber Optic Equipment - AliExpress

The image in the listing is v1 but I received a v2 from this seller; YMMV.
Click to expand...
Thanks, after reflecting I think for how few ports I need, I may end up going with ubiquiti's 5 port Flex XG, its $300 but most of my equipment is already ubiquiti so management would be easy. Addtionally it can do 1, 2.5, 5, or 10 gig and is already ethernet handoff
 
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