I’m looking to better understand what is and isn’t possible and feasible with my current setup and some relatively inexpensive potential upgrades. Also looking for feedback on if what looks like a reasonable upgrade is actually a series of headaches in a trenchcoat.
I read through some articles like this one but not sure my plan makes sense.
Current setup is a consumer grade router with 5 x 1Gb RJ45 ports and a single 2.5Gb port. Modem on one side of it, PCs on the other.
Currently all those PCs, including the TrueNAS Scale Server are on 1Gb RJ45 connections.
Proposed setup is to
Can I throw a 10Gb SFP NIC into the TrueNAS box and run that SFP port to the corresponding one on an unmanaged switch like this one from Amazon?
I already have a 2.5 Gb NIC I can throw onto the main desktop PC.
Plan is to connect the router’s 2.5Gb port, as well the Desktops, to that switch via RJ45, and then connect NAS PC to that switch via SFP port. So rather than modem->router->desktops, I end up with modem->switch->router + desktops. Is this a mistake? I haven’t bought anything yet.
If this all checks out, where can I get some info/warnings/recommendations on which SFP NIC or module to buy or avoid?
It’s totally possible I’ve missed something minor or major, or that none of this will accomplish what I think it does, or that the switch I linked is poor quality.
Use fibre modules, not copper modules. Copper modules run hot and are more expensive and slower (albeit largely meaningless) and use more power. The only reason to use copper is if you already have suitable copper in place (structured cabling) or already have 10Gb ports on the PC/NAS that are copper.
10Gb over copper is limited in distance depending on the quality of the copper cabling
10Gb over fibre with SR modules is limited to 300m. Never heard of SL before butthat seems like a lower powered SR module only capable of 100m - must be new since I retired.
I would only recommend putting the SFP on the public side of the router if you have remote clients. A better solution in my opinion is having the SFP capable switch on the inside of your firewall, use port forwarding if needed for WAN access or remote clients.
ISP - ROUTER - UNMANAGED SWITCH WITH SFP - LAN COMPUTERS / SERVERS.
This type of arrangement can give you the best security for your computers, allow for SFP connection to NAS / SERVER, and still provide connections to other computing devices on your network without exposure to the WAN side of the router.
Other than that, I would agree that putting the NAS on the SFP would be a good use of that port. I prefer using managed switches for that purpose, but I have a decent amount of time to devote to that task than what might be available on your end.
I figured to leave them on the router vs the switch because they only support 1Gb connections, but it’s not like i have anything faster to plug into that switch either.
Ok, with the general layout confirmed, now i have to start sourcing parts.
2 optical SFP+ modules/transceivers
30 ft optical cable
1 SFP+ NIC
1 new 2.5Gb RJ45 + 10Gb SFP+ switch.
Intel, Chelsio, Some Mellanox - others may have different stories of what works and what doesn’t. When you find one - post a link to it here and we may so go ahead or not. It can matter although the situation is better with Scale than Core
I’m loathe to purchase from Amazon, but i’ve read good things about 10GTek. When i get a little more time I’ll try to replace those with Newegg links to the same products.
Reminder that i’m in the US and i also have had enough bad experiences with eBay that i avoid it now
Honestly I wouldn’t - but thats NOT because I have had a bad experience with GTEK. I just don’t use them. For storage we (old farts) tend to be a bit conservative about NICs. Its a decent Intel chipset so it ought to be OK
Thats a 50 foot cable BTW - not that it matters. fibre is forgiving, just don’t strain / bend / compress it too much.
I use ebay a lot and have had two mildly bad experience - but they cost me nothing, just a bit of hassle. I have however saved a fair amount of money buying off ebay
The switch should just work. As long as it recognises the SFP+ module - and it should
As for the NIC - for a NAS I would buy a genuine Intel, Mellanox, Chelsio - preferably (for me) off ebay, off a dismantler. But as I said the GTek should work as it uses an Intel chipset and google has conversations that indicate it should work.
Why? Because I tend to do complex things like bridges, LAGG etc with my NAS NIC and the cheaper cards don’t always do such things well. Call it paranoia on my part
I dunno what your current Internet speed is, but the reason your router has 1x2.5GbE and 4x1GbE is to allow a (potentially up to) 2.5Gb/s Internet connection to be shared by multiple wired clients on the 4x1GbE NICs and whatever wireless clients you have. Using the 2.5GbE NIC in the router as your switch uplink doesn’t gain you much, and limits your future Internet upgrade options
As you’ve got a dedicated switch, try to avoid having wired clients connected to the router. The switch has dedicated ASICs for forwarding ethernet traffic at high speed. Your router is effectively a computer that has to look at each packet/frame and decide where to send it. Let the router concentrate on Internet routing, firewall and wireless (if it’s also your AP), and the switch can handle all your local network traffic. You’ll also maintain local network connectivity if your router fails or reboots for whatever reason
Don’t get hung up on the speed of the LAN (10GbE/2.5GbE/1GbE, etc.); unless your TrueNAS box has some serious grunt and you’re really hammering it from multiple clients, you’re going to struggle to saturate a 10GbE link due to storage and PCIe bus speed
