Looking for a QSFP 40G Layer 3 switch, without license problems.

[filedotzip]

Hi,
Im upgrading my home lab to let my servers talk to each other over 40Gb DAC links.

Im looking for a Layer 3 capable QSFP switch (yes i know its overkill) and I have found three contestants.

1: Juniper QFX5100 It seems capable of L3 routing and it looks like they support alot out of the box without licensing. but theyre hard to come by under a grand.

2: Dell S6000 32p 40GbE Does this one require a license for features or does it work out of the box?

3: Cisco Nexus N3K-C3132-40GE 32p They just what im looking for, integrating 4x SFP+ ports. But they require licensing for L3 routing. Is there any firmware or info on here to 'crack' or apply a faux license to unlock the features of this hardware If I already own it?

I understand that if im looking for a 40gbe switch and I see them for "good deals" theyre probably too good to be true if under 1,500$.

My question is, Do we have the ability to spoof licenses/firmware on these older switches? If not, should I build a seperate server with 5x Dual 40GbE NIC's and run PFSense on it to do my routing? Anyone have experience in this area?

 

[bitbckt]

There are threads on Arista and Brocade models on this very forum that would likely be better options.

Be careful of treading into piracy. That’s not tolerated here.

 

[filedotzip]

Its not pirating. I paid for the hardware.

Im not a multi million dollar corporation that can pay exorbitant prices for software unlocks, im a college student with a home lab learning this stuff.

So pardon me while I actually get things done.

 

[bitbckt]

Its not pirating. I paid for the hardware.

Oh, sweet child.

No, you did not buy the right to access or discuss how to bypass legal vendor licensing requirements openly on this forum.

As I said, if you need secret internet files for Arista or Brocade, there are threads with helpful hints.

Good luck with the other vendors.

 

[alsenior]

Junipers Licencing is soft enforced. It nags in the logs and at commit time but it still works.

 

[BoredSysadmin]

Oh, sweet child.

No, you did not buy the right to access or discuss how to bypass legal vendor licensing requirements openly on this forum.

As I said, if you need secret internet files for Arista or Brocade, there are threads with helpful hints.

Good luck with the other vendors.

Dear @filedotzip , In addition to what @bitbckt helpfully said, I'd drop one last hint if you search networking subforum by most replies threads - you could find the info which should be helpful to you.

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?forums/networking.20/&order=reply_count&direction=desc

 

[NablaSquaredG]

Mellanox SX6036 can do Layer 3 and can be unlocked via generated licenses