In need of a simple 2.5G/10G switch

[kingmouf]

Hi all,
I need to help a friend with a small office to upgrade his network switch. Currently he has a Netgear GS110MX (Gigabit with 10-Gigabit/Multi-Gigabit) that has 2x10GbE ports and 8x 1GbE ports, all RJ45. On the switch, there is a NAS supporting 10Gb ethernet where all media files are stored (connected apparently to the 10GbE port), three workstations with 1GbE network cards and the connection to the fiber internet router (100Mbit). All workstations process large photo files which are directly stored on the NAS. He is currently upgrading the workstations and one (Mac Studio) will provide 10GbE connectivity, the other two PCs have 2.5GbE cards on their X570S-based mobos. A fourth laptop with 1GbE connection will be connected (Mac) but since the wired connection is through an adapter, a higher performance connection is also feasible. From the switch there are no serious management requirements (so an unmanaged switch would be fine) but there are performance requirements since media files can be several MBs of size (not uncommon to work on 100 to 500MB RAW/PSD files). A quick search for something that combines 10GbE ports and 2.5GbE ports in a rather tight budget has not shown that many results - however QNAP switches seem like a good compromise. I have never used QNAP switches, neither did I know that they had such an extended lineup. The problem is that the reviews I am reading are quite a mixed bag. Examples of switches that seem interesting for the use case are the QSW-2104 and QSW-M2106 series (QSW 10GbE Switches).

Has anyone any experience (positive or negative) with these switches? Can anyone suggest other switches from other manufacturer in this category that I may have missed?

Thank you in advance,
Andreas

 

[neo243]

A friend of mine has the QSW-M2106-4C. He uses fibre sfp+ modules from fs.com you can ask their support which are compatible. I think he owns the switch for a year now without problems.

 

[kingmouf]

Cool, thanx!

 

[seacycle]

TL-SG3210XHP-M2 from tp-link might be a contender. I’ve been using one only a short while so can’t comment on its durability. On the negative, reviews suggest there might be some quality control issues. On the positive, it does have a lifetime warranty.

It is a bit on the noisy side, which may or may not be a concern. It is fine in a closet, but I wouldn’t really want on the desk next to me.

The biggest thing to make me go “Hmm…” so far is how ancient the SSH server appears to be, and what else that could be an indicator of. Once you get it setup like you want, turning all the in-band management access off, or carefully restricting it seems prudent.

 

[neo243]

the zyxel XGS1250-12 looks also great for the money.

 

[ptyork]

I've got the 2104-2S model. No problems that I'm aware of, but I'm not exactly taxing it. Unfortunately, I think QNAP have discontinued 2104 line. Leaving a BIG gap...as you have discovered. I think there's a few in stock at inflated prices, but nothing like the $160 I paid from B&H WAY back in...May. As noted above, Zyxel XGS1010-12 is the closest in terms of value if you can get away with only 2 x 2.5Gbe.

 

[kingmouf]

the zyxel XGS1250-12 looks also great for the money.

only 3x10G ports does not cover requirements, otherwise this is an interesting switch Thanx for the recommendation!

 

[kingmouf]

TL-SG3210XHP-M2 from tp-link might be a contender. I’ve been using one only a short while so can’t comment on its durability. On the negative, reviews suggest there might be some quality control issues. On the positive, it does have a lifetime warranty.

It is a bit on the noisy side, which may or may not be a concern. It is fine in a closet, but I wouldn’t really want on the desk next to me.

The biggest thing to make me go “Hmm…” so far is how ancient the SSH server appears to be, and what else that could be an indicator of. Once you get it setup like you want, turning all the in-band management access off, or carefully restricting it seems prudent.

Thanx for the recommendation! I am not interested in PoE, so I do not really know whether I should consider this switch. I have been looking also at the TL-SX105 and TL-SX1008. Reading mixed reviews on the internet about their quality, but the price points are quite good. What almost all the reviews confirm is that the larger one (SX1008) has a quite disturbing fan but the situation improves tremendously if you change it with a Noctua one.