Stupid question regarding switches with 2x 10GB ports. What about an uplink?

[level42]

I have been in the market for a 10GB switch, preferably something without SFP+, since I don't necessarily want to have to purchase SFP+ Ports, and or Fiber cables, etc. Hoping to get away with CAT5e, or at least CAT6 cabling in house. Currently, I have 8GB symmetrical fiber to my house, and I want to take advantage of it.

I have my router (provided by the ISP at this time, until I can afford to swap this out), and it has a single 10GB output port on it. I'd like to connect 2 internal devices (my desktop, and NAS) to 10GB networking, and all other devices in the house to 2.5GB networking.

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I've seen a bunch that have a various configuration of ports. Example 8x 2.5GB and 2x 10GB ports.

My questions (is probably dumb), but how does this work exactly?

Would one of the 2x 10GB ports not need to act as an Uplink? Thus leaving me with only 1x 10GB port to connect a device? And by that logic, is the switch just not acting as a glorified network extension cable?

Seeing these switches, that have 2X 10GB ports, seems ideal to me, but I just can't wrap my head around how they'd be utilized... why only 2? Where does the uplink go?

Switch Examples:

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https://www.qnap.com/en/product/qsw-2104-2t

 

[NachoCDN]

if you don't mind noise you could go with a older brocade switch and have like 8-10Gb ports that you could use a SFP-RJ45 adapter?

like this one? Brocade 48 Port network Switch ICX7250-48P-2X10G "GRADE B" SKU 4068 | eBay

 

[tamuin]

My understanding is that an "uplink" port is really no different than any other port. While you would typically use the uplink port to connect to other switched/routers or a server you do not need to. I think a typical use case for a switch with 8x2.5 and 2x10 is that one of the 10gbe ports would be connected to your NAS and the other would be connected to another switch/or router.

If you need 3x10gbe ports you might look into switches that have all 10gbe ports, like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Switching-Connections-Protection-TEG-S708/dp/B09M7KSZB2?th=1

I am probably sounding like a shill for Trendnet, but I actually don't own a Trendnet switch, it is just that they are the cheapest switches that you can buy right now unless you want to buy something off of aliexpress (which is what I did)

 

[WANg]

The 2 SFP ports are the backhaul ports.

The idea is that the distribution layer is 1/2.5 and your backhaul uplink/downlink is 2.5 or 10.

If you run singlemode fiber (with the correct optical module for 2.5/5/10/whatever) from your upstream router / top of rack switch to your 10 port switch (much longer reach and you won't need a wide conduit to snake them), then everything else is 1 or 2.5Gb copper, which is what it is intended for.

You can get OS2 fibers serving as backhauls between floors or different rooms, use SFP 1 or 10Gb optical modules for now, and then switch to QSFP later and use the same fiber for 40/100Gbit if needed be. What's that other SFP port for? Fiber backhaul daisychain to another distribution switch somewhere else...or maybe connection to a NAS?