FINALLY! CHEAP 10GbE and 2.5GbE Switches for the Homelab or Office

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

Sorry about the transition at 8:37 guys. I edited it. This is why I am usually not allowed to edit our videos.

[@TheDillio187]

back to the dungeon you go!

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

@@TheDillio187 reporting there soon.

[@therealb888]

​@@ServeTheHomeVideo That was a jump scare man

[@JuriusDoctor]

Have you had these inspected by an IT sec professional or a hardware engineer?

[@therealb888]

@@JuriusDoctor That's what I wanted to ask as well. LTT may be able to do with all the new hiring they've been doing.

[@allhandsonberk]

Can you *please* start testing how the unmanaged switches handle VLAN-tagged frames? It's undefined for unmanaged switches in general, but some will e.g. strip VLAN tags out, others will pass them on, some could drop them, etc. Knowing how these unmanaged switchs react to being placed in a VLAN-aware environment may enable someone to mix them in even if they're unmanaged.

[@asghan]

Very good point. I also would love to see this being tested.

[@keyboard_g]

2.5 and 10Gbps passively cooled for around $100 is a big deal even if you don’t want these. It’ll start to drive down the cost of other vendors.

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

That is the hope.

[@ruconscious]

Yeah, I wouldn’t buy these. But when prices start to come down I’ll pick up one from a reputable brand. You just never know with these lesser Chinese brands.

[@luciochen3090]

Just ordered one on Taobao for 399 RMB which is about 57 USD. Hope it could be even cheaper down the road.

[@br0k3nilluzion]

@@ruconscious what brands are you buying from now? what're you working with on the regular? Have a house Im getting ready to wire up.

[@racerex340]

Those "other vendors" are a little slower than these Chinese brands, but I'm betting we'll see companies like TP-Link give us 4-port (5-port) and 8-port (9-port) versions as soon as they start incorporating these seemingly super affordable Realtek RTL8373+RTL8224 solutions. I'm hoping that Realtek follows up with some slightly higher-end versions of the RTL8373+RTL8224 solution with some management, ability to do some VLAN tagging, frame size modification, etc, nothing crazy, add some simple management to give us something that many of us would feel more comfortable using in an office or prosumer scenario. As of right now, I would never connect any of these four brands to any device with any sort of sensitive data until I saw an in-depth security audit ensuring that there aren't backdoors or other hidden gems baked into these switches.

[@reidprichard]

Man enunciated "nicgiga" REAL carefully 💀

[@iamthearmul]

Maybe Realtek has made a new switch chip seeing the low power figures. Good to finally see some progress on 2.5G.

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

We show the diagram of the two Realtek chips used here. They were announced in 2022 so pretty new.

[@YouTubeGlobalAdminstrator]

Absolutely, FINALLY!

[@jonathanbuzzard1376]

It should be noted that the maximum power you can pull out of an SFP+ cage is only 3W, and typically a DAC cable pulls under 1W. It's why 10GBaseT in the data centre is bonkers crazy.

[@wayland7150]

@@jonathanbuzzard1376 Yeah, compared to 10GB CAT5 cards which really need a fan to keep them cool. The other thing about SFP+ DAC is super low latency compared to CAT5 for some reason.

[@jonathanbuzzard1376]

@@wayland7150 That's a really good point, the encoding for twisted pair is going to increase latency over a DAC cable. If our latest proposals are approved I will be getting my first servers with 10GBaseT later this year 😞 Plus point is that they will be plugged into a 1Gbps switch, used only for provisioning and will thereafter be using ConnectX-6 cards at 100Gbps with a mix of SR4 and DAC. Can't avoid the 10GBaseT unfortunately.

[@qazwsx000xswzaq]

Realtek announced a bunch of networking ICs last year at CES 2022. I think we are going to see more products using these solutions.

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

Yes. The chips in this are from that batch.

[@dmynerd78]

This is exactly what I've been looking for! So many other switches you guys have been covering have only been 4 or 5 ports. With this you get 8 ports plus the SFP port (which I've also been looking for). Thanks Patrick and the rest of the team for working on this! :D

[@maxbls16]

I appreciate not having the rewind intro on this video

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

The intro is still a WIP.

[@christopherjackson2157]

I didn't wanna say anything but yea kinda agree.

[@BoraHorzaGobuchul]

Better not do any intros, it's refreshing to have the content right away. For other videos, there's stuff like r evanced where you can setup it to skip intros among other things

[@Murderhoboh]

Personally I like a short intro

[@KiraSlith]

@@ServeTheHomeVideo You don't need cringe zoomer gimmicks. You're an enthusiast/semi-professional hardware review channel, not a gatcha reaction channel selling gambling games and overpriced plastic to children. You already create evergreen content with an easy stream of new content to cover, there's no reason to make your content embarrasing or actively annoying to watch in a professional setting.

[@lorddemancio]

I just had a conversation yesterday with my rep from Juniper Networks about their lack of 2.5 options on their SOHO and SMB devices. Its really time for vendors to make the transition. Especially when dealing with non - modular units

[@GooseVan]

Yes I would love to get my SRX 300 upgraded to be more than 1Gb uplink as ISPs are offering more options now.

[@vamwolf]

@@GooseVan sadly most isp in USA are not doing that. Well document about bad isp data on speeds

[@wayland7150]

Good on companies like Sodola for bringing these to market. It's about time. Mikrotik have had suitable products for a while but too few ports.

[@mamborambo]

Glad to see 2.5gbe and 10gbe finally reach consumer prices! This will be the year for major upgrades

[@HapPawhere]

it need to be more cheaper

[@redeyedninja7414]

I cannot afford it

[@popejohnny5]

Switching still seems to be the biggest hurdle in multi gig networking. Especially with cable and fiber deployments doing 2.5 to 5Gb on modem/router ports. These with the 10Gb uplink seem to be the best options. Allowing the 2.5Gb WAN connection as well as a few 2.5Gb clients direct on the switch with 10Gb back to your rack machines. Since a lot of Prosumer/older enterprise gear still doesn't behave well with 2.5Gb links. Usually requiring trial and error or finding somebody that has already done with work finding SFP+ to RJ45 transceivers that behave with your gear at 2.5/5Gb.

[@chess598]

I don't wanna be "that person" but also I'm hesitant with these switches because of their origin. Was recently having a conversation with a friend who has worked in defense and semiconductor industry and the backdoors built into chinese network boards seems so sketch

[@johndododoe1411]

​@@chess598That's just the current anti-china campaign, don't trust the rumor these guys are under orders to spread. You'd be amazed at the backdoors in US products made in the past 7 years .

[@thirdenvoqation7735]

@@chess598 Pretty much this, and the fact they've had no market certification is another reason they're cheap as dirt. Without those safety standard checks they can get away with this, and depending on country invalidate your premises insurance!

[@popejohnny5]

@@chess598 Oh, I completely get that part. I really just meant this type of device as a simple managed or unmanaged switch from a traditionally in market vendor with proper certifications. There is money to be made if somebody like a Ubiquiti, TP-Link, MikroTek etc would make something like this. Even if around 200-$220. I am already out a SFP+ and about $30-35 a transceiver to properly support a 2.5Gb port in my setup. So a proper non POE just client switch at even $250 I'm saving per port.

[@andrewharwood7843]

I have been using a Horaco version for about a month. I was genuinely surprised when the blurb about power usage was proven to be true. I use the unit fully populated 6x 2.5, 2x 1gbit and the 10G SFP+ to my workstation. No issues at all so far. The only difference in my implementation is that I do not use the included power brick as this was supplied as US with a UK adapter. I just wish there was a larger version as the TP-Link TL-SH1832 is a massive pain to import.

[@chadramey1140]

Make sure to put a load on the switch while checking power consumption

[@BrianThomas]

Got to be careful saying that NICGIGA switch or you'll offend someone unintentionally. Ha ha. Patrick talks wicked fast so that makes it even harder. Great video Patrick I'm certainly going to be picked up one of these for my lab. I've been waiting for something like this for a while.

[@jort93z]

Chinese naming is wild. I have KZ earphones with SS sized eartips.

[@bobbuilder3748]

Luckily, I don't care if I offend people. I'd buy that brand mainly for the name.

[@bigjohn2811]

My NICGIGA

I see something like this can be a goal for TP-Link and Unify as they would get users into their Eco-system that then also would make them push those into their enterprise business use.

[@scabbynack]

I just got a couple of the Sodala ones so I could utilize the 2.5G ethernet on my new systems in my office and have a fiber uplink to my rack. Pretty much perfect for what I needed.

[@a6am3mn0n]

I totally misread NICGIGA at first glance.

[@marcogenovesi8570]

HA! My immature self laughed at the "hard R"-like sound

[@joeyyung911]

No one should name a company that starts with Ni and ends with Ga with only one syllable in-between.

[@therealb888]

But Patrick from STH nailed it like it's any other day 😂

[@redmatrix]

Nicgiga, not Nicgiger! haha

[@edfx]

This brand will get many tech youtubers cancelled at some point

[@danman32]

I'd definitely be interested in managed versions of these. That and PoE versions.

[@MyersJ2Original]

Me too. I need SMB multichannel for an outdated NAS that has only 2x1GbE on board.

[@bhcompy188]

Thanks for making 2.5g vids. There's no way I can rewire my house from Cat5e to Cat6, so I appreciate the in depth reviews of something I can actually use

[@MelroyvandenBerg]

Luckily I wirted my house directly with cat6a :D

[@Murderhoboh]

Nice, love a host with energy and passion, makes the media more interesting! And nicgiga is a bit hard to say lol. I have one of their 2.5gbe cards in my nas.

[@vidge1111]

So you have a nicgiga in your nas.. cool

[@Murderhoboh]

Its the only bling in the nas

[@I4getTings]

Hi Patrick! This is so tempting. I really, really want Asus, or whoever to make a home router with all 2.5gig switched LAN ports, and a routed WAN port at least as fast.

[@zoopercoolguy]

TP-Link's Wifi7 routers have 2.5 and 10 gig ports.

[@estusflask982]

@@zoopercoolguy 10gig WAN?

[@zoopercoolguy]

@@estusflask982 two of them.

[@SoranPryde]

The heat that will be generated by a Wifi router with multiple 2.5Gbps RJ45 LAN is going to be pretty ridiculous That is likely the reason the TPLINK BE900 with 4x 2.5Gbps LAN and 2x 10Gbps RJ45 WAN/LAN is 26cm tall by 30cm deep, most of that mass is likely heat-sinks

[@bmbiz]

I have no idea but I'd guess Horaco is pronounced just like it's spelled, i.e. with a hard _C_ like the second syllable of Cisco or Sysco. Probably short for _corp_ or _company._ Regardless, it's a Hora-ble name.

[@seouljah760]

The NICGIGA and SODOLA are like 70$ now 5 months later. Good Deal!

[@jonathanbuzzard1376]

That is not a CE marking as you think, it is just "China Export" and is *VERY* similar marking to the EU CE marking. Frankly, the EU should have thrown a massive temper tantrum about this and demanded that China change their marking immediately or face massive sanctions. You could of course just throw the supplied PSU in the WEEE recycling and buy a properly approved PSU and one that is probably much less likely to burn your house down too.

[@bobbuilder3748]

Frankly, the EU should butt out of peoples' lives. Most Chinese power supplies are perfectly fine. In fact, the only power supply I've ever have run hot and cause any concern, was a locally purchased one, that was required to have been certified in order to be sold here.

[@mmetzger123456]

add poe+ they be perfect for new 2.5g access points.

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

We covered a few of those in our 2.5GbE Mega-round-up kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKO0hqqrmK9_qsk

[@s.i.m.c.a]

they aren't - it's a dumm uncontrollable switch, while in your network - you wanna route all traffic through vlan to secure your network from wireless hackers, right?

[@realms4219]

@@s.i.m.c.a You really shouldn't rely on VLANs for security.

[@gjkrisa]

I enjoy fanless for less maintenance. And less noise is kind of a bonus. For me

[@yngndrw.]

I wish the Ubiquiti USW-Enterprise-8-PoE was in this sort of price. The pricing on these four switches is fantastic.

[@thacommentator]

Yeah, even if it was in the $200-$250 range it'd be an easy buy for me, seems like a great thing for Mikrotik to come out with

[@themadtechie]

on the power supplies - that CE marking spacing is wrong... that's not the European safety mark its often referred to as the Chinese Export mark. its often used to try and trick the inspectors and consumers it seems...

[@LippoM]

I bought the Horaco one for 58€ based on the review. I bought it because of the very low energy consumption and the values from this test matches my own measurements. Thank you !

[@DasReap]

I'm currently looking at that exact same switch. How did it work out for you? Everything fine?

[@RetroBerner]

Kudos on not botching that Nicgiga name, that could be problematic LOL

[@marcogenovesi8570]

*concern*

[@olliemaster2442]

Glad I'm not the only one who was thinking the same thing

[@piotrprs572]

With cables 5e you can easly do 10Gbit connection for few meters.

[@estusflask982]

I'm doing 10Gb on a Cat5e cable right now. The cable is 50ft+. Works great. The cable was installed 20 years ago.

[@ToddSchuldt-ng6xd]

No cable retention? No problem. Go to your local hardware store, buy a small pack of R-Type Cable Clamps in 1/8" and double duty the ground screw as the mount point for the clamp.

[@SirCrest]

I'm going to say that switch name wrong at some point.

[@MelroyvandenBerg]

These are indeed awesome..! Assuming they are indeed stable.. I mean network stability is key! A switch should just work 24/7.

[@MelroyvandenBerg]

Personally I would like to have 2x(or more) 5 gb/s, 1x atleast 10gb/s and the remaining 2.5gb/s.

[@jensschroder8214]

Horacio has similar switches as managed. But buyer reviews weren't convincing because of the interface. Please test one of these.

[@nirsommer]

I went with an unmanaged 2.5 tplink and a cheap tplink 1gb "smart" poe for now Tplink has a cool 10/5/2.5/1/... Switch but it's non poe and maybe even unmanaged. The switches that are also managed and poe from reputable brands are ridiculously expensive. Will upgrade in a few years when it makes sense.

[@pkt1213]

I am waiting for TP-Link to have something like this in their Omada line. I have a managed 1-gig poe switch. I just want to add a couple of 2.5 or 10-gig from my server and one to my workstation.

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

We have something like what you mention coming. The team has been working on the review

[@pkt1213]

@@ServeTheHomeVideo GREAT!

[@MelroyvandenBerg]

@@ServeTheHomeVideo I can't sleep now...!

[@BoraHorzaGobuchul]

And... where is it?

[@chumbawumba1959]

These reviews on 2.5/10 switches are so valuable. Can you offer a companion vid series on USB4/TB 2.5/10 adapters/dongles. Many of us have recently purchased laptops and desktops that only have 1gb nics, but have USB4/TB high speed ports. As example, I have a Mac Studio which has 10gb nic on-board, but everything else I own (including 14in M1 MBPro) only has 1gb nic. I would love to upgrade my core switch to 2.5/10, but need strategy for other devices to take advantage of. THANK YOU!

[@kat75ro]

I think the best way to say Horaco is to say co as in company, something like horako. Great video!

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

Probably - the first take had like 4 different pronunciations so I tried to cut this down to one. It may have been the wrong one.

[@brodriguez11000]

Sounds like a Fallout 4 company.

[@beauregardslim1914]

That one brand name might get you some very pointed questions from HR.

[@wcg66]

I have a couple of Nicgiga PCIe NICs. Certainly a brand name that causes a double take.

[@kennethlai5186]

It sells for ¥399 in China, about $54.

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

That is part of my point on why these are so expensive elsewhere

[@plonk420]

regarding the brand names, i'm guessing it's along the lines of LTT's video on why Amazon has such weird brand names (i should know; i work there 😩... soooo many of those weird freakin' brand names. i feel they name by wheel of fortune spins but for letters)

[@woodmanvictory]

Great video, I would love to change to 2.5GbE in my network but imo it is still to expesnive. Only complaint about he video is the transition music was obnoxiously loud imo.

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

My fault on that. I did some editing... and that is why they do not let me do editing.

[@RobertoCarlos-tn1iq]

guy, they're less than $150 dollars. you're not buying a $1000 cisco switch.

[@MelroyvandenBerg]

What I only hear Tinnitus now.. (I'm not joking)

[@d3nso_]

@@RobertoCarlos-tn1iq Yes tey do not cost thousands of dollars but are still expensive. Compared to a gigabit switch they cost 5-6x more.

[@curtisbme]

@13:32 - Another reason you would pay more to buy it from a US distributor is that there is also the fact that if you have an issue, trying to get a replacement/doing a return with Aliexpress is going to be a pain in the ass vs Amazon.

[@CareyHolzman]

Enjoying your content Patrick!

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

Thank you Carey

[@JustAGuy85]

You're the first person I've seen put a load on the switches and show the throughput they can do. That's what I want to see.

[@jannikmeissner]

I would guess it is HoraCo as in Hora, latin: hour and Co (Company) so with a hard c… BUT I could also be totally wrong. Anyways, I hope there will soon be some cool 10Gbit Base-T switches that are equally as cheap

[@robprentiss420]

I just want a compact 16 port 2.5G switch. And yes! Why almost nothing from Netgear?

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

No idea

[@ghostofdre]

You could chuck the power brick in the bin and buy a certified off the shelf one.

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

That is wise. You can also power over PoE

[@nickbissel62]

Ok you convinced me to go buy this immediately after watching this video...Now I just have to buy some machines that actually have 2.5gb NIC's, and a new core switch that has SPF+ for the uplink...My credit card company would like to thank you for your contribution to my escalating debt. lol

[@DementiaAcerbus]

I’ve got a little 8 port unmanaged Mokerlink PoE switch that has been fantastic for what it is. Think it was $35-$45 a couple years ago when I grabbed it.

[@cldpt]

wow you really blew my speakers there at 8:36! Gotta watch those levels on post

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

That was my fault. :0(

[@Zarathustra-H-]

As long as you don't mind SFP+ (which you shouldn't) cheap 10GBe switches have been around for years. Just look at MikroTik's lineup

[@wayland7150]

SFP+ is good for everything under your desk but CAT6 cable is easier to wire through your building.

[@reasonsreasonably]

Except you need to have something that will interface with the SFP+ which will add quite a bit to the pricing. If you already have the right connectors, you are correct, but if you don't, then your connectors could be more expensive than your actual switch once you add up the costs. Right?

[@wayland7150]

@@reasonsreasonably just stick with SFP+ throughout. If you only have a simple network you can use two port cards in bridge mode and no switch. The copper wires can be a few metres long and only £15. The main reason I use SFP+ is to have a separate PC and server, which are on the same desk, actually two servers and one PC daisy chained together. It works fine and dirt cheap. They also have 1GBe for longer runs, WiFi and Internet access.

[@mattburke5695]

I need a basic managed switch with a few mgig ports and some gig ports with a 10g uplink. First vendor to make that gets my money lol

[@verglor]

What about ZYXEL XGS1210-12 or XGS1250-12 ?

[@jensschroder8214]

I have two Horaco 5-port switches in use and I am satisfied. One is downstairs and one is upstairs. The 5 port switches have 4 ports on an IC under the heat sink, the 5th port has its own IC and there is also the SFP+ port. I also tried two fiber SFPs to connect both switches. This works perfectly with 10GBit. For testing, I also got an SFP to 2.5GBit LAN module that works perfectly. The only downside was that the power adapters do not come with European plugs but with US plugs. An adapter is required. The power adapters also work with 240 Volts 50 Hz. With the small price difference, the 8 port only costs 10 to 20 $€£ more than the 5 port. Both also have the SFP+ port.

[@cliffmathew]

I am not buying any sketchy brands. Thank you very much.

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

That is exactly the point being made in the ask at the end.

[@cliffmathew]

@@ServeTheHomeVideo I enjoy your videos. Thank you.

[@bobbuilder3748]

I've purchased a few sketchy brand switches and have never had an issue with them.

[@Wythaneye]

Cheap Chinese made switches may be shipping with malicious firmware. Buyer beware.

[@alextanchez6705]

Thanks for the review Patrick! I agree, I am waiting for the major switch vendors like Netgear, Qnap, etc to make something like this. I run a Netgear GS series 16 port gigabit and would upgrade immediately if they released 2.5Gbe gear tech..

[@ion337]

It's great that this category of switches is getting popular, though nothing perfectly meets my needs cheaply. Fanless metal 6-8 port 2.5G and 2 port 10G with both baseT and SFP+ would be perfect. Netgear GS110MX looks decent for 2x10G, but only 1G on other ports.

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

Fanless with a lot of 10Gbase-T is hard due to the PHYs. We are finishing recording a video this weekend on the $245 8x 10Gbase-T Hasivo managed switch shown in the latest Perfect 1L homelab video. Expact that one soon.

[@metamud8686]

4:14 wardrobe continuity error

[@rockking1379]

I would be happy to see a port config like this from mikrotik. Basically just an update to the CSS610 to use 2.5G instead of 1G.

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

Yes

[@wayland7150]

Yes with all that Mikrotik switching and routing smartness.

[@WillOnSomething]

Patrick's career was flashing before his eyes as he said "Nicgiga"

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

Confused. I think it is a NIC (network interface card) with GIGA (gigabyte/ gigabit) or something like that

[@ischmidt]

@@ServeTheHomeVideo That’s likely the intent of whoever named it in Shenzhen. You’d think if they were ponying up the extra cash for a 4 color box that they’d check if the brand name was a little borderline.

[@PeterPavlik72]

Would like to see some 5-ports version with the same power efficiency of the new Realtek chips.

[@johndododoe1411]

I'm guessing that Realtek chip is mostly for use in home routers that traditionally contain a similar 1Gbps or 100Mbps chip connected to the embedded CPU. If so, I suspect a small CPU could turn it into a managed switch configured entirely over standard SNMP with IPv6 automatic addressing.

[@DmitriWeissman]

I recently discovered this channel and fell in love with it due to the products reviewed on it. And then it started to feel incomplete. Mostly due to the comprehensiveness of testing. For example in this review, it feel that different routing scenarios would be helpful to understand the capabilities of those units. For example ports 1+2+5+6 communicating with the 10Gig and the rest between them. In videos about mini PCs with multiple ports, I'd love to see more detailed BIOS overview, VFIO configuration, GPU capabilities (can it handle 4K HDR for example). Those little boxes can be used for many purposes. Including combination of few. For example, I'd love to have one that have 3-4 2.5Gig ports, 1-2 10Gig ports, Wi-Fi card with antennas option and at least 2 storage slots (1 can be SATA). And with all that HW, i'd want it to run a host like proxmox with following VMs: general purpose OS for KODI + virtualized router + virtualized NAS. Maybe the first VM will be the host if I can't figure out how to share the iGPU with host. So I'd love to see more in depth reviews of those units.

[@gerryrozema8338]

I have a 5 port trendnet sitting on my desk, it's useless as it strips the vlan tags on the way thru. It was a cheap 5 port 2.5gbit 'dumb switch', which is what I needed, but, I need it to pass vlan tags too.

[@michaelmerrell8540]

I've been looking for a small managed switch in this category. The only inexpensive thing I've seen is the Trendnet TEG-3102WS. QNAP has some that are half-rack width, but they start at $450 for 8 ports. All I want is a reasonably managed 16 port 2.5, 2 x SFP+ switch in that

[@BoraHorzaGobuchul]

And preferably fanless )

[@michaelmerrell8540]

@@BoraHorzaGobuchul I can hear the fans on the switch for my house network from here. Fanless would indeed be nice.

[@lavipilled]

for something like that fanless is great, i might actually buy one

[@pauliusruginis5264]

As a guy who works for a router/switch manufacturer in Europe, all I can say about why the known brands don't have the cheapo switches is: A: Certifications are a bitch and expensive B: Any quality control, where you test more then, hey, the power LED turn on, makes it more expensive by a lot C: Things are built from more quality PCB components so the things last D: Support does not come for free and man do enterprise and big wig companies love that

[@erickong9]

Got mine ~$60 directly from china a week ago

[@MichaelZimmermann]

that's pretty cool. Are there any low-power managed 2.5G switches? I'm currently using mikrotik RB260GSP and I love them for having a powerful management interface and passive POE(because it can be passed through). Even ignoring price I can't find anything that fits those requirements right now.

[@PsychoStreak]

This is getting there. The price is about right, honestly a max of $100 US would make these sell. But yeah, we need bigger names with (at least on paper) warranty & technical support behind them to sell something like this. I'd drop an extra $20 for a 2nd 10g port. Really though I'd love one with a 10Gb RJ-45 port instead of an SFP port. That media change is a barrier a lot of casual users will balk at. So many videos talk about 2.5Gb as being commonplace on devices, but with switches that require new cabling, it's still a hard sell. If all you have to do is make sure the cable I plug into the 10Gb port is good enough to handle 10Gb, and not deal with SFP ports or optical at all, *then* it's a drop in replacement. That is a *HUGE* factor for a home user or even an enthusiast on a budget. It's something I think a lot of folks that pretty much went to stuff with SFP ports just gave up on and accepted as the price for more speed. It changes what you consider 'affordable' and moves it squarely into "it's a little expensive" given you have to buy more stuff to get the most out of it. All RJ-45 gets them in the game immediately and then if they catch that speed itch, 10Gb costs and SFP seem less pricey.

[@MadLadsAnonymous]

Ok, rookie question: Do you foresee a switch with 10Gb RJ-45 and PoE for a reasonable price?

[@PsychoStreak]

@@MadLadsAnonymous Not anytime soon. Wireless access points will drive that, and I don't think 10Gb links to WAP's is that common. As faster WiFi actually propagates to mass adoption (a/b/g/n still far outnumbers everything else out there) then it'll become necessary, but right now. 2.5Gb on WAPs seems like where things have settled.

[@tutacat]

You can probably use a more efficient GaN PSU as well.

[@MrAphexcloud]

this guy rocking a blue top LTT screwdriver... i want!

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

Thanks to Jake and Linus for that :-)

[@chriscox2045]

If it had 2 sfp+ ports it might have more uses.

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

We covered a few other options in our Ultimate 2.5GbE switch guide in March

[@returnedinformation1040]

I wouldn't use switches like this for pass-through, they seem great as endpoint switches.

[@estusflask982]

@@returnedinformation1040 What if your endpoint has a 10G device? 10G uplink, then no 10G for the 10G device.

[@marcogenovesi8570]

@@estusflask982 if your endpoint has 10G you don't use a 10G switch, the point is to make sure the uplink has enough bandwith to carry all ports without throttling

[@estusflask982]

@@marcogenovesi8570 I'm talking about an endpoint with only one cable.

[@_droid]

Pretty good. I couldn't find anything like this when I was looking before. I like HP networking gear but I don't know if they even make "prosumer" stuff any more. Right now I'm using a bunch of cheap RTL 4-port 2.5Gb PCIe cards. It requires a beefy server class machine so although the cards are cheap, the server is not.

[@darrenreagan1135]

have to ask, do these auto negotiate backwards. I've ran across a few that couldn't/wouldn't?

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

We try all of these linking at 1G as well, but the standard we are using is 2.5GbE since that is the speed we are focused on.

[@alexfischer9493]

Picked two of the mokerlink units for 75 dollars each! I’m excited to use the SFP+ port for the link between the two as well

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

Sweet!

[@computersales]

I'd just be nervous about wondering if a lesser known vendor is doing something malicious in their switch.

[@wayland7150]

It's usually the bigger manufacturers who try to screw you with licencing and updates which lock you out/in and brick your purchase. The lesser known ones try to keep everything as simple and straightforward as possible.

[@cr-pol]

I went to buy the Sodola from the previous video. While shopping I saw the 8+1SFp version and figured since the Sodola 6 got such raves from ServTheHome I would risk it and go with the 8+1SFp. Thus far (3 days) I have been quite happy with it. Having the SFp to talk at 10GB with our MikroTik and open up a regular port has been a real benefit.

[@dismuter_yt]

We don't have the same definition of "crazy super cheap". For me that would be gigabit ethernet prices, i.e. less than $20 for 8 ports on Amazon. At $95 it's still 5 times the price of some gigabit switches. I'm not saying that it's not cheap and not worth the money, but I wouldn't go overboard with the superlatives. I would just call them affordable.

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

So $20/8Gbps = $2.5/1Gbps. These are at $3.1/Gbps and are lower power per Gbps so over a year or two they are now rivaling those $20 switches on a $/Gbps basis.

[@dismuter_yt]

@@ServeTheHomeVideo Sure, but by that logic we could call even the most expensive CPUs and GPUs today crazy super cheap, compared to their ancestors from 20 years ago, which is about how old gigabit Ethernet is. Realistically, who do you see being the target market for those all-but-no-name switches? Do you see them taking advantage of the full potential of $/Gbps and Wh/Gb benefits? Because otherwise, they're not going to be considering this as anything close to "crazy super cheap".

[@dismuter_yt]

@@ServeTheHomeVideo Also, I didn't want to come off too negative, I do appreciate your work and wouldn't want to discourage you.

[@StephenHoldaway]

There's also a 5x 2.5gbe 1x SFP+ version that's a little cheaper

[@chublez]

​@@dismuter_yt I Regularly saturate my gigabit moving files to and from my nas. I don't want to spend a ton replacing my 2 deployed switches to get the speeds up. This is reasonable to see a 2.5x increase. Keeping in ming some systems will need a nic to take advantage also the costs really start to add up so decent prices on good 2.5gig gear is a good thing. By your logic why waste money on gigabit. Older and slower is even cheaper yet.

[@demonmaestro]

I wish Ubiquiti would create a switch like this. Even if not managed.

[@Andrew_M_Ward]

They'd have to add their packet-sniffing chips which slow down the overall performance... But I'm sure they will soon enough BTW: You should never install Ubiquiti in somebody else's home... unless you convince them to sign the ULA - the Ubiquiti LAN side snooping is not what hi-value clients want in their home networks

[@SuperSpecies]

@@Andrew_M_Ward what does it sniff for?

[@Andrew_M_Ward]

@@SuperSpecies / Information Collected By Us. In general, we collect certain information by which someone could personally identify you or individuals that you allow to use or access the Services (" Personally Identifiable Information"), as well as information that someone could not personally identify you or another individual (“Non-Personally Identifiable Information”). If you provide us with a third party’s Personally Identifiable Information, you represent that you have the third party's permission to do so. The information collected by us include: User Provided Information. When using our Services, you may provide certain Personally Identifiable Information, such as names, email addresses, mailing addresses or other contact information or your feedback on the Services, as well as Non-Personally Identifiable Information, such as information relating to your system, network, devices or devices of third parties on your system or network. Usage Data. We may collect certain information about your devices, your network, your system and third party devices connected to your network or system when you use the Services ("Usage Data"), including but not limited to device data, performance data, sensor data, motion data, temperature data, power usage data, device signals, device parameters, device identifiers that may uniquely identify the devices, including mobile devices, web request, Internet Protocol address, location information (including latitude and longitude), browser type, browser language, referring/exit pages and URLs, platform type, the date and time of your request, and one or more cookies, web beacons and JavaScript that may uniquely identify your devices or browser. Support Data. We may collect certain support data when you submit a support request, including information about you, your devices, system, network or third party devices connected to your system or network, your software and other information related to your support requirements. We will use this support data to resolve your support incident and for training and product development purposes. Payment Data. We may collect certain payment data you provide when you make a purchase through our Services. This may include your name, billing address, shipping address, other location information, payment instrument number (e.g., credit card), and the security code associated with such instrument. We will only use your payment data to complete your transaction and send you notices about your transactions. Where necessary, we will share your payment data with banks and other third party financial institutions to process your payment transactions, or for fraud prevention.

[@Andrew_M_Ward]

@@SuperSpecies / Information Collected By Us. In general, we collect certain information by which someone could personally identify you or individuals that you allow to use or access the Services (" Personally Identifiable Information"), as well as information that someone could not personally identify you or another individual (“Non-Personally Identifiable Information”). If you provide us with a third party’s Personally Identifiable Information, you represent that you have the third party's permission to do so. The information collected by us include: User Provided Information. When using our Services, you may provide certain Personally Identifiable Information, such as names, email addresses, mailing addresses or other contact information or your feedback on the Services, as well as Non-Personally Identifiable Information, such as information relating to your system, network, devices or devices of third parties on your system or network. Usage Data. We may collect certain information about your devices, your network, your system and third party devices connected to your network or system when you use the Services ("Usage Data"), including but not limited to device data, performance data, sensor data, motion data, temperature data, power usage data, device signals, device parameters, device identifiers that may uniquely identify the devices, including mobile devices, web request, Internet Protocol address, location information (including latitude and longitude), browser type, browser language, referring/exit pages and URLs, platform type, the date and time of your request, and one or more cookies, web beacons and JavaScript that may uniquely identify your devices or browser. Support Data. We may collect certain support data when you submit a support request, including information about you, your devices, system, network or third party devices connected to your system or network, your software and other information related to your support requirements. We will use this support data to resolve your support incident and for training and product development purposes. Payment Data. We may collect certain payment data you provide when you make a purchase through our Services. This may include your name, billing address, shipping address, other location information, payment instrument number (e.g., credit card), and the security code associated with such instrument. We will only use your payment data to complete your transaction and send you notices about your transactions. Where necessary, we will share your payment data with banks and other third party financial institutions to process your payment transactions, or for fraud prevention.

[@Andrew_M_Ward]

@@SuperSpecies / Here it is in plain English Information Collected By Us. In general, we collect certain information by which someone could personally identify you or individuals that you allow to use or access the Services (" Personally Identifiable Information"), as well as information that someone could not personally identify you or another individual (“Non-Personally Identifiable Information”). If you provide us with a third party’s Personally Identifiable Information, you represent that you have the third party's permission to do so. The information collected by us include: User Provided Information. When using our Services, you may provide certain Personally Identifiable Information, such as names, email addresses, mailing addresses or other contact information or your feedback on the Services, as well as Non-Personally Identifiable Information, such as information relating to your system, network, devices or devices of third parties on your system or network. Usage Data. We may collect certain information about your devices, your network, your system and third party devices connected to your network or system when you use the Services ("Usage Data"), including but not limited to device data, performance data, sensor data, motion data, temperature data, power usage data, device signals, device parameters, device identifiers that may uniquely identify the devices, including mobile devices, web request, Internet Protocol address, location information (including latitude and longitude), browser type, browser language, referring/exit pages and URLs, platform type, the date and time of your request, and one or more cookies, web beacons and JavaScript that may uniquely identify your devices or browser. Support Data. We may collect certain support data when you submit a support request, including information about you, your devices, system, network or third party devices connected to your system or network, your software and other information related to your support requirements. We will use this support data to resolve your support incident and for training and product development purposes. Payment Data. We may collect certain payment data you provide when you make a purchase through our Services. This may include your name, billing address, shipping address, other location information, payment instrument number (e.g., credit card), and the security code associated with such instrument. We will only use your payment data to complete your transaction and send you notices about your transactions. Where necessary, we will share your payment data with banks and other third party financial institutions to process your payment transactions, or for fraud prevention.

[@airborneinferno]

If you can do without the SFP+ 10Gb port, it seems Zyxel are doing 2.5G 8-port unmanaged switches for £110!

[@wayland7150]

Yeah I keep looking at that. Currently my 10gbps network is a daisychain of my desktop and two servers linked card to card. Each card with two ports set to bridge mode.

[@mAcHiNeHeli]

That‘s Great, 8 Port for 2.5 GBit, 1 SFP Port - and for 24/7 -> low power consumption 👍🏻 when you need no managed things (e.g. vlans), just Plug in and Start - thanks for the Test/Video! And they are fanless, no noise!

[@CoMmAnDrX]

Nicgiga, Please! Sorry after hearing that name I couldn't get that out of my head so I had to post it. No racism implied!

[@nukedathlonman]

A few very minor firmware bugs aside (pertaining to using STMP at the same time as using LACP lags), these are very solid value and excellent performers for the money.

[@AI-xi4jk]

Looks very good in terms of price/performance. I just need to be sure of stability, you got me worried mentioning that the unit powered down. Would be great to put these through some stress tests.

[@kraleemil]

Whats the best 2.5GbE manged switch? Maybe even with SFP

[@jabezhane]

Could you do a video on linking together two 8 port switches to act as one? As it seems cheap home 16 port 2.5GbE switches are just the realm of fantasy in most cases.

[@mikeymasi]

Nicgiga treading a fine line with that naming

[@ab7646]

I have used the HORACO for one mount and it is a complete waste of time. It messed up my network, and I was walking in circles for days before I realized that the HORACO was to blame. After I removed it, everything returned to normal

[@exodus3155]

Great video Patrick, Thank you and my mokerlink and Mikrotik switches work great for my labs.

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

Super!!

[@KentBunn]

What I want is a switch with 4x 2.5, and 1x 10gSFP+ uplink that runs UI. That would be the perfect desktop switch for my home/office desk.

[@john_in_phoenix]

FYI, thanks for the content. I just purchased two of the Nicgiga switches using your links (just upgraded some Moca 2.5 links and my NAS). Very much appreciated and useful content. Still looking for a good wifi 6e router that supports at least 2.5 on both uplink and LAN.

[@IsoMacintosh]

About to buy a nicgiga switch, hopefully it works well. (not the one in this video but one with four 2.5 gig POE ports and two 10 gig SFP+ ports, that one is small enough to fit a 10 inch rack i'm planning on)

[@jensschroder8214]

if you need a media converter that can convert 2.5GB to SFP+ these switches will do it. Most cheap media converters can only do 1GB. This switch is 2.5x faster and understands 10GB SFP+ modules. And they're cheap

[@afterthesmash]

1 W continuous is just under 9 kW⋅h per year. Residential electrical power is 5.5× more expensive in SF than in Montreal. In Vancouver-still cheap but not like Montreal-1 W is about CDN $1/year. A consumption margin between two prospective devices of 5 W continuous for 5 years is CDN $25. Not nothing, but barely material in your price formula as a NPV. Edit: I should mention that anyone using electrical heat can discount marginal consumption by 50% during the frigid season, as it displaces other heat sources you would have powered by electricity anyway. Obviously, baseboard heating is more common where electricity remains relatively inexpensive to begin with. The Vancouver-Victoria-Seattle corridor has cheap electricity without the downside of a real winter-or the expense of air conditioning in the summer.

[@marcogenovesi8570]

Oh yeah the NicGiga, that's as close to the "hard R" word sound as it can be lol

[@microcolonel]

SFP upstream is a huge plus for running fiber to an outbuilding next to your direct-bury feeder or in conduit with THHN.

[@FeckOffTeaCup]

These are cool for speed, but at $100+ I'm looking for a managed switch.

[@tinmanDMC]

I would assume that "Horaco" is pronounced with a soft "H" and would be said "Aura Co"

[@ServeTheHomeVideo]

Good idea.