Cheap 8+ ports sfp+ - low noise

[unmesh]

...
It’s also quite useful that the switch can be reset and re-configured through a gigabit port as opposed to a 10G one.
...

I had not thought of that since my current switch has SFP+ ports, GE ports and a console port.

I also took a look at the documentation and it has a lot of features. I'm wondering if its processor complex can deal with turning them on! Also, the power supply and fanless cooling will likely be a problem if one isn't using mostly DAC cables.

 

[dawgyy]

The sellers of 2.5G SFP modules at Aliexpress are sending messages about compatibility with the buyers switches...
I have an CRS309-1G-8S+IN ( firmware 7.3.1 ) that support Tplink 2.5G modules ( TL-SM410U ) since you manually configure the sfp+ port to operate at 2.5Gb/s. Speed is 2.47Gb/s in both directions using MTU 9000.
My Tplink TL-SG3428X have the 2.5gb/s option but it's not accepted in any port.
I now have ordered Onti 2.5Gb/s modules to test since the low cost.

22.6US $ 50% OFF|Onti 2.5g Rj45 Sfp Module 2.5gbps Sfp Copper Rj45 Sfp Transceiver Module Compatible For Cisco/mikrotik Ethernet Switch - Fiber Optic Equipment - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

The main trouble is that this type of module uses 2500Base-X what looks isn't very supported in switches.

I actually ordered the same model (just a week [ish] ago) as it was the cheapest 2.5G SFP I could find on AliExpress.

Granted, it wasn’t that great of an investment given that 10 GbE SFP+ modules are only ~2x more but often support all (1/2.5/5/10G) modes, so….yeah. Hoping this works so I can get my new Prime Day (tm) sponsored Omada 2.5G AP up and running.

(note: I’m not actually sponsored)

 

[dawgyy]

Just received the 2.5 GbE SFP+ module in the mail. Will edit this post once I’ve tested it.

 

[prdtabim]

Just received the 2.5 GbE SFP+ module in the mail. Will edit this post once I’ve tested it.

I'm still waiting for the delivery of that modules.
Until now the Tplink TL-SM410U works ok with Mikrotik CRS309 with sfp+ port in 2.5Gb/s mode.

I'm very interested in your results with that modules ... Which brand/model is your switch ?

 

[dawgyy]

I'm still waiting for the delivery of that modules.
Until now the Tplink TL-SM410U works ok with Mikrotik CRS309 with sfp+ port in 2.5Gb/s mode.

I'm very interested in your results with that modules ... Which brand/model is your switch ?

A TP-Link TL-SX3008! Still haven’t gotten a chance to plug the modules in, but I should have my results ready by tomorrow.

 

[dawgyy]

Update: I've had a chance to plug the 2.5G SFP+ module (OFF|ONTi 2.5G RJ45 SFP Module 2.5Gbps SFP Copper RJ45 SFP Transceiver Module) in. It does not work with the switch (TP Link TL-SX3008F).

While the module fakes being 10G (the 10G activity light blinks on the port, so I assume it's reporting itself as such) and powers up, it does not pass any actual traffic outside of a few kilobytes used in negotiation.

TL;DR: The ONTI 2.5G SFP+ module appears to be incompatible with the switch (tried re-adopting it through Omada SDN to no avail).

If you absolutely require 2.5G, I'd honestly just go with a proper ethernet (copper) switch that supports the 2.5G standard. If you're stuck with the switch (worst case scenario) and need 2.5G, you can probably buy a media converter or another switch (not exclusively SFP) that connects back to the SX3008F over a 10G DAC/cable/whatever. If you have a 2.5G device, you'll need to connect it to a 10G RJ45 SFP+ module.

Edit: Re-arranged a few things to improve clarity.

Edit #2: While native support is iffy, the switch doesn't seem to care if you connect a 2.5G NIC up to a 10G copper module (given how the module reports itself as 10G regardless of what's connected to it).

Edit #3: I appear to be wrong about the 2.5G module reporting itself as 10G. A useful review under the AliExpress listing writes that the module only supports "2.5G rate on both the SFP side and the RJ45 side."

 

[Citizen03212]

So... so far nobody has discovered a transceiver that lets the 2.5G copper version (TL-SH1008) talk to the 10G SFP+ version (TL-ST1008F v2)? Or the TL-SM410U does work?

If you got 7x2.5G copper ports and 7x10G SFP+ ports (losing 1 port each for the bridge cable) that would be the cheapest homelab setup out there! You'd get to use the 2.5G ports that come with most new motherboards... plus take advantage of cheap used ConnectX-3s!

 

[prdtabim]

So... so far nobody has discovered a transceiver that lets the 2.5G copper version (TL-SH1008) talk to the 10G SFP+ version (TL-ST1008F v2)? Or the TL-SM410U does work?

If you got 7x2.5G copper ports and 7x10G SFP+ ports (losing 1 port each for the bridge cable) that would be the cheapest homelab setup out there! You'd get to use the 2.5G ports that come with most new motherboards... plus take advantage of cheap used ConnectX-3s!

The TL-ST1008F V2 comes with a switch to enable 2.5Gb/s mode in all or half of the SFP+ ports. So it will be compatible with TL-SM410U.

Verify not robot.

https://service.tp-link.com.cn/download/20227/TL-ST1008F V2.0安装手册 1.0.1.pdf see page 7

Using so many transceivers side by side is a bad idea. The power consumption can be over the power supply capability and the thermals of the tranceivers/switch wil be bad ( very hot ).

 

[dawgyy]

So... so far nobody has discovered a transceiver that lets the 2.5G copper version (TL-SH1008) talk to the 10G SFP+ version (TL-ST1008F v2)? Or the TL-SM410U does work?

If you got 7x2.5G copper ports and 7x10G SFP+ ports (losing 1 port each for the bridge cable) that would be the cheapest homelab setup out there! You'd get to use the 2.5G ports that come with most new motherboards... plus take advantage of cheap used ConnectX-3s!

Yeah, I definitely regret choosing the SX3008F (and TP Link in general). Had I known how much pain TP-Link’s software (bad compatibility, no auto negotiation with modules on stock firmware) would cause, I would’ve gone with a 10 GbE Ethernet switch instead.

Oh well — having fibre runs to my NAS in my home lab is still pretty nice.

On that note, I need to find someone to give the 2.5G module away too. It’s worthless to me given how poor compatibility is with 2.5G SFPs.

 

[prdtabim]

Just received the Onti modules SFP -> 2.5Gb/s Base-T.
Like the TL-SM410U it works ok in both sides ( tx/rx up to 2.43Gb/s using mtu 9000 ) since the switch support 2.5Gb/s at the sfp port.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Server listening on 5201
-----------------------------------------------------------
Accepted connection from 192.168.99.123, port 40392
[  5] local 192.168.99.191 port 5201 connected to 192.168.99.123 port 40396
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
[  5]   0.00-1.00   sec   278 MBytes  2.33 Gbits/sec                  
[  5]   1.00-2.00   sec   293 MBytes  2.46 Gbits/sec                  
[  5]   2.00-3.00   sec   286 MBytes  2.40 Gbits/sec                  
[  5]   3.00-4.00   sec   290 MBytes  2.44 Gbits/sec                  
[  5]   4.00-5.00   sec   293 MBytes  2.45 Gbits/sec                  
[  5]   5.00-6.00   sec   292 MBytes  2.45 Gbits/sec                  
[  5]   6.00-7.00   sec   293 MBytes  2.46 Gbits/sec                  
[  5]   7.00-8.00   sec   289 MBytes  2.43 Gbits/sec                  
[  5]   8.00-9.00   sec   285 MBytes  2.39 Gbits/sec                  
[  5]   9.00-10.00  sec   293 MBytes  2.46 Gbits/sec                  
[  5]  10.00-10.01  sec  1.81 MBytes  2.45 Gbits/sec                  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
[  5]   0.00-10.01  sec  2.83 GBytes  2.43 Gbits/sec                  receiver

-----------------------------------------------------------
Server listening on 5201
-----------------------------------------------------------
Accepted connection from 192.168.99.123, port 40402
[  5] local 192.168.99.191 port 5201 connected to 192.168.99.123 port 40404
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr  Cwnd
[  5]   0.00-1.00   sec   297 MBytes  2.49 Gbits/sec   16    962 KBytes       
[  5]   1.00-2.00   sec   295 MBytes  2.47 Gbits/sec   12    980 KBytes       
[  5]   2.00-3.00   sec   295 MBytes  2.47 Gbits/sec   10    971 KBytes       
[  5]   3.00-4.00   sec   295 MBytes  2.47 Gbits/sec   12    998 KBytes       
[  5]   4.00-5.00   sec   296 MBytes  2.49 Gbits/sec   11    954 KBytes       
[  5]   5.00-6.00   sec   295 MBytes  2.47 Gbits/sec   11    971 KBytes       
[  5]   6.00-7.00   sec   295 MBytes  2.47 Gbits/sec    9    980 KBytes       
[  5]   7.00-8.00   sec   295 MBytes  2.47 Gbits/sec   10   1024 KBytes       
[  5]   8.00-9.00   sec   295 MBytes  2.47 Gbits/sec   10    989 KBytes       
[  5]   9.00-10.00  sec   295 MBytes  2.47 Gbits/sec   10    936 KBytes       
[  5]  10.00-10.00  sec  1.25 MBytes  2.73 Gbits/sec    0    709 KBytes       
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr
[  5]   0.00-10.00  sec  2.88 GBytes  2.48 Gbits/sec  111             sender

 

[Meekys]

For anyone with a TL-ST5008F wanting a (mostly) English UI, and you're comfortable with the development tools in your browser (F12)

- Switch to the Sources tab and open up the index page
- Set a breakpoint on line 4 (The line after var g_lan = 'ch') by clicking on the line number


- Refresh the page (F5), the debugger will stop at the breakpoint
- Switch to the Console tab and type the following, then hit enter: g_lan = 'en'
- Switch back to the Sources tab and hit F8 (Resume) or click the Play button
- Close the developer tools

Most things should now appear in English until the next time you next login (or refresh the page)

 

[Aluminat]

@Meekys
Does this apply for other model like TL-ST1008F?

 

[Meekys]

@Meekys
Does this apply for other model like TL-ST1008F?

I couldn't say, I've only got the TL-ST5008F. If they're using a similar framework for the web UI it might work.

 

[DaveLTX]

I've got the ST1008F and 2.5G on all ports working (M3 also has 10G it just changes from 1G to 2.5G for M3, M2 is 10G/1G for the left hand 4 ports then 10G/2.5G for the right hand 4 ports)
Tested with 2.5G Base-X to RJ45 module, DAC cables and Avago AOC 10G SFP+ to Connect X3 (the OCP ones) they all work like a charm.
The TP link 2.5G SFP to RJ45 works well as well but I do not have it (according to chinese comments on taobao)

 

[unmesh]

Ordered a TL-ST1008F to use with 10G DAC cables and Acquantia RJ45 2.5G capable modules. Will report on how it turns out.

Would have spent the extra on the managed version with the console port but it isn't clear whether it supports the 2.5Gb transceivers.

 

[unmesh]

I've got the ST1008F and 2.5G on all ports working (M3 also has 10G it just changes from 1G to 2.5G for M3, M2 is 10G/1G for the left hand 4 ports then 10G/2.5G for the right hand 4 ports)
Tested with 2.5G Base-X to RJ45 module, DAC cables and Avago AOC 10G SFP+ to Connect X3 (the OCP ones) they all work like a charm.
The TP link 2.5G SFP to RJ45 works well as well but I do not have it (according to chinese comments on taobao)

Still waiting on my TL-ST1008F to be delivered. Got my unit and tested it in M2 mode only to the extent that a 10G DAC cable, an Aquantia RJ45 SFP+ module with a 2.5G at the far end and another Aquantia module with a 1G at the far end each show that the link is up. However the link LED on the switch shows 10G for all three whereas the far ends show the correct link speed.

I can imagine that it needs a SFP to be plugged in to light up the 1G LED since the modules are presenting themselves as 10G modules but did the 2.5G LED light up for you with the module that you've got working successfully at 2.5G? Or does that require the TL-SM410U module which can present itself as a 2.5G module?

 

[unmesh]

I've run some tests on the TL-ST1008F and two Linux servers with Mellanox ConnectX-3 NICs connected to the switch via DAC cables do very well with iperf3, approaching 10G.

The combintion of the switch and an Aquantia module that supports multirate however don't seem to be doing flow control very well over a 2.5G link when running iperf3, barely breaking above 1G. The module is plugged into one of ports 5-8 in the switch which is in Mode M2 and connected using an Ethernet cable to a Realtek USB 2.5G dongle in a Windows laptop. FWIW, Windows says the link rate is 2500Mbps. The other end for iperf3 is one of the aforementioned servers.

I also have a 1G SFP module and it can do 1Gbps with iperf3 against the 10G server.

I will likely buy the TL-SM410U and see what it does though I should probably first figure out a way to determine that the problem isn't with the Realtek dongle or its drivers. Maybe a Linux LiveUSB.

 

[unmesh]

Ubuntu 22.04 Live achieves 2.35Gbps with the same laptop and Realtek 2.5G USB dongle!

 

[DaveLTX]

I've run some tests on the TL-ST1008F and two Linux servers with Mellanox ConnectX-3 NICs connected to the switch via DAC cables do very well with iperf3, approaching 10G.

The combintion of the switch and an Aquantia module that supports multirate however don't seem to be doing flow control very well over a 2.5G link when running iperf3, barely breaking above 1G. The module is plugged into one of ports 5-8 in the switch which is in Mode M2 and connected using an Ethernet cable to a Realtek USB 2.5G dongle in a Windows laptop. FWIW, Windows says the link rate is 2500Mbps. The other end for iperf3 is one of the aforementioned servers.

I also have a 1G SFP module and it can do 1Gbps with iperf3 against the 10G server.

I will likely buy the TL-SM410U and see what it does though I should probably first figure out a way to determine that the problem isn't with the Realtek dongle or its drivers. Maybe a Linux LiveUSB.

Try M3, it turns all ports into 10G/2.5G

Still waiting on my TL-ST1008F to be delivered. Got my unit and tested it in M2 mode only to the extent that a 10G DAC cable, an Aquantia RJ45 SFP+ module with a 2.5G at the far end and another Aquantia module with a 1G at the far end each show that the link is up. However the link LED on the switch shows 10G for all three whereas the far ends show the correct link speed.

I can imagine that it needs a SFP to be plugged in to light up the 1G LED since the modules are presenting themselves as 10G modules but did the 2.5G LED light up for you with the module that you've got working successfully at 2.5G? Or does that require the TL-SM410U module which can present itself as a 2.5G module?

Nope. it lit up as 2.5G despite being NOT tp link module. Got it off taobao.
I connected it to a RTL8125 and no problems there

 

[unmesh]

What is the model number of your 2.5G module? The 10G module running at 2.5G is hot to the touch and I'm wondering if the 2.5G ones run cooler.