Hi,
I am currently looking into switching from Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45) to SFP+/SFP28 (Fiber).
I have one general question and I got different answers.
I plan to hook up Mellanox ConnectX-4 Lx EN (Dual SFP28) cards with optical transceivers (10/25GbE) to a 10GbE SFP+ Switch.
Compared to hooking up the onboard Gigabit Ethernet of a PC to that switch (RJ-45 1GbE port) or using a the above stated connection with the Mellanox card - which connection has the better latency aka is better for things like online gaming:
The specs of the card state sub-microsecond latency, Google says "SFP+ uses simplified electronics without encoding, and its typical latency is around 300 nanoseconds per link“.
For Gigabit Ethernet I found values of "ranges from 50 to 125 microseconds“. On FS.com website they state 0.1 microseconds (SFP+ Fiber) compared to 2.6 (they only compare to 10GbE in that overview but I guess 1GbE would be similar?).
So I would assume the Mellanox ConnectX-4 Lx SFP+ (Fiber) combination would be better than the Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45) when it comes to latency / online gaming?
But then I also found this statement pointing out Gigabit Ethernet might be better:
„In general, SFP+ has a higher latency than Gigabit Ethernet due to its higher data rate and the more complex signaling involved. The latency of SFP+ can vary depending on several factors, including the distance between the communicating devices, the quality of the optical fiber, and the network equipment used.
In some cases, the higher data rate of SFP+ may offset the higher latency, resulting in overall faster transmission times compared to Gigabit Ethernet. However, for applications that require low latency and real-time interaction, such as online gaming or video conferencing, Gigabit Ethernet may still be a better option due to its lower latency."
I guess in general it might be negligible since we are talking sub-microsecond / nanoseconds and there are other factors introducing way higher latencies but just out of curiosity I wonder which method would be faster ...
I am currently looking into switching from Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45) to SFP+/SFP28 (Fiber).
I have one general question and I got different answers.
I plan to hook up Mellanox ConnectX-4 Lx EN (Dual SFP28) cards with optical transceivers (10/25GbE) to a 10GbE SFP+ Switch.
Compared to hooking up the onboard Gigabit Ethernet of a PC to that switch (RJ-45 1GbE port) or using a the above stated connection with the Mellanox card - which connection has the better latency aka is better for things like online gaming:
- 1 GbE Ethernet (RJ-45) ?
- 10 GbE SFP+ (Fiber) ?
The specs of the card state sub-microsecond latency, Google says "SFP+ uses simplified electronics without encoding, and its typical latency is around 300 nanoseconds per link“.
For Gigabit Ethernet I found values of "ranges from 50 to 125 microseconds“. On FS.com website they state 0.1 microseconds (SFP+ Fiber) compared to 2.6 (they only compare to 10GbE in that overview but I guess 1GbE would be similar?).
So I would assume the Mellanox ConnectX-4 Lx SFP+ (Fiber) combination would be better than the Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45) when it comes to latency / online gaming?
But then I also found this statement pointing out Gigabit Ethernet might be better:
„In general, SFP+ has a higher latency than Gigabit Ethernet due to its higher data rate and the more complex signaling involved. The latency of SFP+ can vary depending on several factors, including the distance between the communicating devices, the quality of the optical fiber, and the network equipment used.
In some cases, the higher data rate of SFP+ may offset the higher latency, resulting in overall faster transmission times compared to Gigabit Ethernet. However, for applications that require low latency and real-time interaction, such as online gaming or video conferencing, Gigabit Ethernet may still be a better option due to its lower latency."
I guess in general it might be negligible since we are talking sub-microsecond / nanoseconds and there are other factors introducing way higher latencies but just out of curiosity I wonder which method would be faster ...