PCIe 3.0 x8 4 Port SFP+ Card with Multigig support?

[knuxyl]

I am trying to find a 4 port SFP card that does 10Gbe on all four ports and supports 1, 2.5, and 5Gbe. No 10Gbe SFP card I can find actually advertises support for multigig speeds so I'm a little confused.

I'm currently looking at the X710-DA4 from amazon and I see there are unlock utilities on github for using any module, but will that allow a 10Gbe module that supports multi gig speeds to actually negotiate multigig speeds?

I want a 4 port card for the ability to connect my home router directly or just upgrade in the future to fiber optic, while also maintaining my home network's 2.5gbe rj45, all in one card. I already have 2 2.5GBe SFP modules but I can't verify what SFP cards will work. I'm not sure these will work because they don't support 10Gbe and I obviously know nothing about all this.

I currently have a xeon e5 2683 v4 with a bkhd micro atx board but I'm wanting to start the upgrade to 10Gbe. I only have 1 free PCIe 3.0 x8 slot available.

What are my options?

 

[Muppet17]

As far as I know, if you want to run HSGMII SFP modules (i.e. 2.2 Gbps ONTs, direct fibre connection from ISP) the only option available is the BCM57810S, which is a 2 port card.

For multigigabit modules, from what I understand most of these are 10G RJ45 modules which sync at 10G on the SFP side, and have a built in switch chip to negotiate at lower speeds for the RJ45 side. So in theory the X710-DA4 will work. However, these modules get very hot, and running 4x of them in the X710 will probably result in thermal issues.

 

[nereith]

X710-T4L if NBaseT is acceptable.

If it's four SFP+ ports you are after, you will want something that doesn't reject modules coded as RJ45.

 

[nexox]

I already have 2 2.5GBe SFP modules but I can't verify what SFP cards will work.

Those mostly work in switches that support the non-standard signaling rate on the SFP side, I would guess the Broadcom NIC is your best chance to make them work. I don't know what exactly you're trying to do but the usual solution is a cheap 2.5G switch with 10G SFP uplinks.

For multigigabit modules, from what I understand most of these are 10G RJ45 modules which sync at 10G on the SFP side, and have a built in switch chip to negotiate at lower speeds for the RJ45 side.

There are definitely SFP modules that only run up to 2.5G and can't do 10G on the SFP side, also the occasional multigig module which supports 2.5/5G on the SFP side, but support on the module or switch side is usually questionable (aside from the Mikrotik 6 speed module in a Mikrotik switch,) and requires some trial and error to get the right combination and configuration.

 

[knuxyl]

Well my Xeon PC is my htpc, wifi router, and home server. I have OpenWRT running in a VM with a Debian host running things like monero node and jellyfin with a gnome desktop. I don't want a bunch of computer/switches/routers to plugin, the goal is to have an all in one device. I already achieved that goal, I'm just trying to find a good upgrade path that allows for fiber optics and maximum flexibility.

I don't know about Broadcom, every piece of hardware I have touched from them has ended up being a major dissappointment (wifi cards, tp-link routers, raspberry pi, etc) and they are like apple in the pc space, with closed source drivers, if drivers even exist. I could be wrong but I learned early on to stay away from that company.

I can't compromise by adding additional computers to the network. I have a very capable system that can handle the bandwidth.

The mystery to me is if I had a 10Gbe SFP module that supports multigig speeds, would it negotiate the multigig speeds in a X710-DA4, with the link between the SFP and X710-DA4 being 10Gbe regardless (which I have also heard elsewhere).

I'm suprised a lot of people haven't already tested this. I thought using SFP like this was a reasonable thing to do?

I could just get a multigig 10Gbe RJ45 card and a 10GBe SFP card and call it done but the only small sff case I could find doesn't have pcie slot 4 of a micro atx board on it, and my board only has slots 2-4 on it, and 2 is being used for my radeon wx 4100. I want a PCIe slot open anyways though because I'm tapping into SATA power soldered to a buck converter to get higher 3.3V amps on a mini pcie to m.2 board for my WiFi, and I found a PCIe to mini pcie that uses the 12V for the 3.3V power. Taiwan shipping is expensive though so I'm waiting, but point is I really need just one card for upgrading the networking.

I have been considering changing case to this one

Amazon.com: mATX PC Case,10L Micro-ATX Mini Tower PC Cases Not Include Fans Support Micro ATX and ITX Motherboards and Half Height GPU 190mm High-Performance Hardware Compatible with USB 3.0 for Desktop Computers : Electronics

Buy mATX PC Case,10L Micro-ATX Mini Tower PC Cases Not Include Fans Support Micro ATX and ITX Motherboards and Half Height GPU 190mm High-Performance Hardware Compatible with USB 3.0 for Desktop Computers: Computer Cases - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

So I can add my slim blu ray to it, but I don't know if my noctua NH-L12S would block it. It wouldn't matter though, I still need the upgrade to be in one card.

 

[nexox]

The mystery to me is if I had a 10Gbe SFP module that supports multigig speeds, would it negotiate the multigig speeds in a X710-DA4, with the link between the SFP and X710-DA4 being 10Gbe regardless (which I have also heard elsewhere).

They usually do connect at 10G on the SFP side and then end up dropping packets because most of them have no buffer or congestion control, at which point you are lucky to get even 1G performance.

I thought using SFP like this was a reasonable thing to do?

SFP only supports 1G max, if you mean SFP+, that standard pre-dates 2.5/5G Ethernet by several years so it's not really reasonable to expect it to work, even 10GBaseT adapters aren't quite officially supported by lots of hardware because they tend to draw more power than the SFP+ spec defines.

I'm suprised a lot of people haven't already tested this.

Lots of people have tested it, there are quite a few pages of threads about the subject on here, they all end up with people buying a switch or finding the rare SFP+ module that features congestion control.

 

[kapone]

SFP+ module that features congestion control.

And to add - Those modules add a bit of latency as well. Not sure if that's a big issue in this case or not (it was in mine, I need my WAN latency to be as low as possible).

 

[RecursiveG]

Yes the congestion control is an issue. But it sounds like you have a powerful enough CPU and a proper Linux distro, in that case you can fix it with queueing (at least that works for me.) e.g. If your RJ45 side is 2.5GbE and the port shows up as 10G in your system, use tc qdisc or equivalent to limit the outgoing bandwith to something like 2.4G.

 

[nexox]

Last I checked tc wasn't that precisely accurate on bandwidth control over very short time spans and so you may need a more headroom between the target throughput and link rate to avoid dropping frames on TX bursts. Not sure you would really need that powerful of a CPU.

 

[blunden]

If it's four SFP+ ports you are after, you will want something that doesn't reject modules coded as RJ45.

As far as I know, Intel NICs generally don't support those, similarly to many switches etc. That's why most of them are programmed to appear as 10GBASE-SR, often including fake DDM data as well.

Regardless, heat would be a major concern with 4 of those in a single NIC, even with the more power efficient ones.