Netgear MS510TX - SFP+ Help

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Allan74

Member
May 15, 2019
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(for reference) Netgear MS510TX

Can someone who is currently running this switch recommend either an SFP+ DAC or a Copper Module that is friendly with the unit ?

I am going to connect my media server to the SFP+ port on the switch, within a 3-10ft total run length and want to keep it simple with either cat6 or a DAC.

If I go Copper, I will grab an Intel x520-T or x540-T for simplicity.
if going with a DAC or modules at both ends, I will go with either a Mellanox CX-2 or CX-3 (depending on the motherboard board I use, pcie-gen2 or 3).
Sadly, it will be a Windows box, being semi-replaced and pieced back together from an existing Windows box.

I welcome all suggestions, including cards/cables/modules. The easier the better.

Thanks in advance,
Allan
 

Falloutboy

Member
Oct 23, 2011
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First thing is what are the specifications for your windows box, motherboard and CPU the easiest mistake to make is not have sufficient PCIe lanes to be able to run everything you are trying to hang off the board.
 

Allan74

Member
May 15, 2019
132
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I will most likely throw in a dual LGA1366 Xeon board that I have kicking around, hence the x8/pcie-gen2 NIC choices.
I have a few pairs of 6c/12t CPUs to fill it (x5650, x5670, L5638) and a ton of ECC REG DDR3, so it makes sense as it doesn't have to be a powerhouse.
 

Falloutboy

Member
Oct 23, 2011
221
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Cool so you won't run out of PCIe lanes in a big hurry then :). For SFP+ from what I saw suggested you should use active if you are going above 3m so you should be able to get away with passives up to that point, I can't comment on the Intel cards as I don't know them my 10GbE card is an Aquantia which is okay and only uses 4 PCIe lanes, they are now owned by Marvell I believe. I am waiting on my SX6036 before I get my ConnectX3s up and runnning and even though they are only short run distance I have active 5m cables just because I got them cheap.
 

rafale77

Member
Sep 28, 2020
89
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All the ones I have tested work. It doesn't appear to me like the netgear is very picky. I have cisco, mikrotic, FS and more generic brands I can't remember and they all work flawlessly with the switch.
 

Allan74

Member
May 15, 2019
132
13
18
It's good to know that the Netgear switch isn't picky. I will just have to decide on an older gen2 pcie nic to suit my board of choice.
 

randman

Member
May 3, 2020
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I have two of these switches. Each switch has, connected to its SFP+ port, a Windows 10 Pro PC with a Mellanox MCX311A-XCAT 10GbE SFP+ NIC. On one PC, I used a 3.0 meter SFP+ DAC. On the other PC, I needed a longer cable, and I wanted to play with a fiber optic patch cable (plus, I like how skinny they are) and got these:

- 2 Cisco SFP-10G-SR Compatible SFP+ transceivers: Cisco SFP-10G-SR Compatible 10GBASE-SR SFP+ Transceiver Module, and
- a 7m (23 feet) Fiber Optic Patch cable: OM4 50/125 LC-LC Multimode Fiber Optic Cable Duplex 7m (23ft) - Aqua

Between the two Netgear switches is a Zyxel XS1930-10 switch. The 3 switches use 10GbE Multi-gigabit ports. I got 10GbE connectivity between the switches and PCs.