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10Gb on the cheap?

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Mpegger

Mpegger

Member
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Joined
Nov 28, 2001
So I'm considering trying my hand at a 10Gb point-to-point (server to PC) setup for my home, but am clueless as to what to get. I'd like to keep it as low cost as possible, so Fiber is not an option (for the distance, I can use my current Cat5E run just fine). So basically I would need 2 NICs and should be set. Looking on eBay though and browsing some forum postings has me somewhat confused in what I should be looking for. Any help on this?
 
Mpegger said:
So I'm considering trying my hand at a 10Gb point-to-point (server to PC) setup for my home, but am clueless as to what to get. I'd like to keep it as low cost as possible, so Fiber is not an option (for the distance, I can use my current Cat5E run just fine). So basically I would need 2 NICs and should be set. Looking on eBay though and browsing some forum postings has me somewhat confused in what I should be looking for. Any help on this?
Click to expand...

Good luck and I will be watching this thread. I wired everything up with Cat6/6a but have added no multi Gb devices as I really do not need them yet. Still, this should be interesting.
 
I'm already running 4x1Gb in a iSCSI/MPIO setup and can get over 300MBps reads. With the built in drives test on my NAS, it should be capable of more, though probably still limited to SATA2 speeds. So I probably wont be able to coax more speed from my NAS over wire, but I'd like to reduce the number of wires running to and fro, and also do away with MPIO. It's not 100% bug free, but so far appears to work flawlessly.

I thought getting into 10Gb would be easy, but so far, I see there alot more then just getting a 10Gb nic and dropping it in the computer. HP SFP cards that only work with specific branded adapters, NICs that cost well over $200 each, different 10Gb standard (this one has me really confused as I dunno if the posters are talking about different types of transport methods/connection, or entirely different 10Gb protocals that manufacturers use on their devices).

I just want to try something new. I always get the tech itch every couple of months, and need to dive into something new on my system/network. :beer:
 
Mpegger said:
I'm already running 4x1Gb in a iSCSI/MPIO setup and can get over 300MBps reads. With the built in drives test on my NAS, it should be capable of more, though probably still limited to SATA2 speeds. So I probably wont be able to coax more speed from my NAS over wire, but I'd like to reduce the number of wires running to and fro, and also do away with MPIO. It's not 100% bug free, but so far appears to work flawlessly.

I thought getting into 10Gb would be easy, but so far, I see there alot more then just getting a 10Gb nic and dropping it in the computer. HP SFP cards that only work with specific branded adapters, NICs that cost well over $200 each, different 10Gb standard (this one has me really confused as I dunno if the posters are talking about different types of transport methods/connection, or entirely different 10Gb protocals that manufacturers use on their devices).

I just want to try something new. I always get the tech itch every couple of months, and need to dive into something new on my system/network. :beer:
Click to expand...

Yup, I know the feeling.
 
With 10gbe being still relatively new and not standard across the board, you probably won't come out much cheaper going that route than if you went with some used 4gb fiber hardware.. 8gb fiber is still probably too expensive.

The cheapest overall solution is probably several additional gb MPIO paths, but that's probably not what you're after given you've already got 4. :)
 
Last edited:
You can probably do that for about $200, if you are only needing two devices.

If you are fine with switching, grab a Quanta LB4M. This includes 2 SPFs for the the 10 Gb fiber. You can then do 1 Gb for the rest of your devices.

You will need two cards, these Fiber Cards will work, but they are older and tend to cap out around 4-5 Gbps. But for 50$ for a pair, they work pretty well. I was able to get a pair of cards to cap at 10 Gbps, but I don't recall the model off the top of my head. Then grab a 50M Fiber Cable and you are good to go.

As far as 10 Gbps over Cat 5e/6, I'm not sure what to get. I have only used fiber for those speeds.
 
Looks like a great setup for PC to PC, but I can't find much info on those cards. Do they work in Windows 7 and more importantly, ESXi or OpenIndiana (via passthrough)? Do they work in a direct PC to PC connection, without the need for a switch in between?

The 50m fiber is way more then I would need, but I see the same seller also has other lengths available. If these cards fit the bill, I could probably get this setup for around $75. :thup:
 
this seems an interesting idea,
i too have the desire to speed up my in home network, (for no good reason)
the good ole because i can.

what would the easiest way to link 4 high power gaming rigs with 10gig networking ?
(with out breaking my balls with $500 network cards)
 
I could not find any info on the cards mentioned, and couldn't find anything else even remotely priced around the same, so this little project has been put on hold. Even though the total price is very resonable, I'm not about to just buy hardware without knowing if there are drivers available that work in standard Windows 7 without having to hack the installs or anything.
 
When used for 10GBASE-T, Cat 6 cable's maximum length is 55 meters
Cat5e cannot do 10gb
best to get cat6a for full 100 meters
 
Cat5E is capable of 10Gb speed, at roughly 2/3 the distance of Cat6, which itself gets only 1/2 the distance of Cat6a.

If I was running cable near the full 100 meter distance that Cat6a supports, then yes, Cat5E would be the first thing I would replace. However, seeing as how I'm just running roughly a 12' cable from one room to the next, it falls well below the 30'ish meters that Cat5E is capable of supporting for 10Gb.

But that information doesn't help without the needed hardware at both ends, of which I still have no clue what to get, though now I know that going to Fiber isn't anywhere near as expensive as I thought it would be.
 
Last edited:
Mpegger said:
Cat5E is capable of 10Gb speed, at roughly 2/3 the distance of Cat6, which itself gets only 1/2 the distance of Cat6a.

If I was running cable near the full 100 meter distance that Cat6a supports, then yes, Cat5E would be the first thing I would replace. However, seeing as how I'm just running roughly a 12' cable from one room to the next, it falls well below the 30'ish meters that Cat5E is capable of supporting for 10Gb.

But that information doesn't help without the needed hardware at both ends, of which I still have no clue what to get, though now I know that going to Fiber isn't anywhere near as expensive as I thought it would be.
Click to expand...

not to contradict you, but we have a bunch of machines at work that are running 10gig network connections over short distances, roughly 3m, and if we use cat5e the links often don't negotiate properly, not saying it's impossible, just reporting what I have experienced.
 
Mpegger said:
Cat5E is capable of 10Gb speed, at roughly 2/3 the distance of Cat6, which itself gets only 1/2 the distance of Cat6a.
Click to expand...
Actually, it's Cat6 that supports 10GB at shorter distances, not Cat5e.

Cat5 runs at 100Mhz, supporting 10/100 at 100m
Cat5e runs at 100Mhz, supporting 10/100/1000 at 100m
Cat6 runs at 250Mhz, supporting 10/100/1000 at 100m, 10000 at 55m
Cat6a runs at 500Mhz, supporting 10/100/1000/10000 at 100m

For the $5 it costs, just grab a Cat6a cable.
 
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