HP FlexFabric 10Gb 2-port 533FLR-T does only offer 1 or 10 GBit speed - no 2,5 or 5 GBit ?

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flashdisc

New Member
Apr 13, 2021
7
0
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Hello, is it possible to set up the NIC with 2,5 or 5 GBit mixed mode?

The NIC HP FlexFabric 10Gb 2-port 533FLR-T does only offer 1 or 10 GBit speed, no 2,5 or 5 GBit inbetween in Windows 10. TrueNAS only shows a 1 GBit connection as of yet since I do not have another 10 GBit card.


HPE drivers and firmware update have been applied:

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Online Firmware Update Tool for Windows (5.2.3.0)
Copyright (c) 2011-2019 Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Development LP
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Upgrade library: LibQLGC_HpFwUpg.dll (ver 8.15.0.0)
Found 1 adapters

Examining NIC HP FlexFabric 10Gb 2-port 533FLR-T Adapter at Ethernet 6
Update firmware MBI from version 7.10.33 to 7.18.80? [y]es/[n]o/[q]uit/[c]ontinue (y) y
Flash file name: C:\...FW\hp_mbi_7.18.80.bin
Updating HP FlexFabric 10Gb 2-port 533FLR-T Adapter...please wait.

takes longer than 10 minutes, be patient

upon PC boot "CTRL+S" will enter the NIC setup
 
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AndreiL

New Member
Jun 30, 2019
23
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No, this NIC will not link-up at 2.5/5 Gb. The reason is: this NIC is a 10GBASE-T and this standard is older than the newer 2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T standards covering 2.5 GbE and 5 GbE, as a result 10GBASE-T NICs are only backwards compatible to 1000BASE-T and only support 10GbE and 1GbE
 

RTM

Well-Known Member
Jan 26, 2014
956
359
63
No, this NIC will not link-up at 2.5/5 Gb. The reason is: this NIC is a 10GBASE-T and this standard is older than the newer 2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T standards covering 2.5 GbE and 5 GbE, as a result 10GBASE-T NICs are only backwards compatible to 1000BASE-T and only support 10GbE and 1GbE
You are correct for this device.

But not all 10GBASE-T NICs are unable to do 2.5/5G, some of the newer ones like Intels X550-T2 and X710-T2L do support it.
Interestingly enough while the X710-T2L supports it, the X710-T4 does not, I assume because of the PHY chip Intel is using.
 

flashdisc

New Member
Apr 13, 2021
7
0
1
Thank you for the info @AndreiL and @RTM .

So in the end - for home usage - what one is saving in purchasing 2nd hand 533FLR-T nic's one can spend otherwise in terms of switches or Laptop 10 GBit adapters.

Again - home usage - since mentioned HPE nic needs a DIY adapter to run in non-HPE system.

edit:

this downward incompatibility seems to be a non-issue / error in my R&D (newbie to 10Gbit via Ethernet):

I was testing a Asus XG-U2008 10G Switch (2x 10G Ports, 8x GB-LAN Ports, Unmanaged)

The 2x 10G Ports are also not compatible with 2,5G or 5G - therefore my 5G USB dongle was downgrading to 1G at the 10G connetor of the Asus switch.

Alternatives with MultiSpeed Support which should work out with the max speed of each device:

  1. ZyXEL XGS1250 Desktop Gigabit Smart Switch, 11x RJ-45, 1x SFP+ (XGS1250-12-ZZ0101F)
  2. Netgear ProSAFE XS500M Desktop 10G Switch, 4x RJ-45, 1x SFP+ (XS505M-100)
 
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