Upgrading my home to 10Gb ready - Recommendations

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thewatcher

New Member
Dec 11, 2023
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Hello Community, first post, please be gentle.

I am trying to upgrade my home network to 10Gb.

I currently have: AT&T Fiber with the Gateway in the master wiring closet. Capable of up to 5Gb internet, setup in passthrough mode.
Then connected to a PFsense passively cooled 6 port gigabit router/miniPC ProtectLi with a A/C infinity fan blowing on the fins (need to upgrade Qotom?)
Then connected to a 24 Port gigabit switch that functions as my core switch (needs to replaced with the Cafe Switch).
Cafe Switch = TPLink 24 Port 2.5GbE / 8 Port 10Gb SFP slots

From there additional switches are fed in bedrooms/Gameroom/den and Office from the core switch.
All the other rooms can have 1GbE link, but the office needs a 10GbE link.
The office already has the Tplink Cafe Switch, and DAC cables running to my servers, and main desktop.

I want low-power and low-noise solution but have max internet available to the core and my office.
So, no repurposed rack servers or large computers. Small, reliable, and power efficient if possible (so the UPS can keep it running if the power goes out).
If you have a compelling solution on price or capability that doesn't match these specs, recommend them out there, if the don't work for me perhaps someone else will benefit.

Is the Qotom PC running PFSense, DAC Cabled to the TPlink Cafe Switch, then CAT 6a uplink from either the Qotom or the Cafe Switch to my office sound like the best solution?

After this upgrade, then I can start work on upgrading my Ubiquti to Wifi 7 with 2.5GbE POE. Whenever that is out, tested, and reliable.
 
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blunden

Well-Known Member
Nov 29, 2019
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I ended up picking the fanless Qotom with the C3758 as my 10G router. I went with the C3758 instead of the C3758R because I got it for a good price lightly used from a user on here. Otherwise I would probably have chosen the C3758R, just in case. So far it has been running well with VyOS. :)

I have it connected to my Hasivo S600WP-5GT-2S+_SE switch with a DAC, with the other SFP+ post connected to my main desktop using multi-mode fiber. My WAN is unfortunately CAT6, but it seems to work fine at 10G with my overly expensive FlexOptix transceivers (there are ones in the $50 range now). I would really have preferred fiber, but that would've meant quite a bit of extra work.

The one change I would make to your plan is to replace that CAT6a uplink with fiber, especially if you don't already have an existing cable run. :) 10GBASE-T transceivers are much more expensive, draw quite a bit more power and can generate quite a bit of heat. Since it sounds like you're in the US, I've seen someone else say that these dirt cheap transceivers have worked well for them. If not, you can find cheap fiber transceivers from 10Gtek, etc. on Amazon. OM3 and OM4 cable for decent prices are also easy to find on Amazon.

For WiFi, I upgraded to the Unifi U7 Pro Max that I power with the Hasivo switch. Just note that it gets quite hot to the touch but it has been working fine for me so far. Some people are having some firmware issues so it might be worth waiting a little bit longer to upgrade your WiFi. :)

EDIT: I forgot to say that the Qotom might not like the older 30 meter rated 10GBASE-T transceivers if you still end up going for the CAT6a uplink. In that case, make sure to get the more power efficient ones rated at 100 or 80 meters instead.
 
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thewatcher

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Dec 11, 2023
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Yes, I'm in the US. Interesting suggestion: I already have a run in place, Cat6a I believe, probably 50ft. I'm not sure how much more that fiber run might cost, but I would be open to that. So you think DAC cables for short runs and fiber for the longer runs (less power/heat). And 10GbE SFPs only where I have to because of cost, heat, and power?
 
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thewatcher

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Dec 11, 2023
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This would be in-wall, and ideally have a wall plate, not sure if the glass will like the bends. So I'd probably have to hire out to have someone do the drop.
 
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blunden

Well-Known Member
Nov 29, 2019
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thewatcher said:
Yes, I'm in the US. Interesting suggestion: I already have a run in place, Cat6a I believe, probably 50ft. I'm not sure how much more that fiber run might cost, but I would be open to that. So you think DAC cables for short runs and fiber for the longer runs (less power/heat). And 10GbE SFPs only where I have to because of cost, heat, and power?
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That's generally the recommendation here, yes. If you already have a Cat6a run in place though, I'm not sure I would bother running fiber as well unless the extra effort is fairly low. We're only talking about a single run so the power savings overall should be fairly limited if you use the more modern 10GBASE-T transceivers that draw less power. Those used to be pretty expensive ($100-200 each) until very recently. Now they can be found for $45-60 each.

This 100 meter one linked below should hopefully work in the Qotom, but I haven't tested it myself on mine. I know that transceivers based on these newer Broadcom chips can work in it though, but it can be a bit picky about the EEPROM data on these type of transceivers from my experience.




Note that the SoC integrated Intel X553 NICs in the Qotom don't officially support 10GBASE-T transceivers if I recall correctly (presumably due to power consumption), so you'll definitely want to get one of the lower power ones.
 
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