What is Best USB NIC 10Gbps that is supported by Pfsense?

Barry007 · Dec 28, 2020, 9:36 PM

@barry007 - i didnt know that with the change of technology even cabling has to change, ethernet cat 5 cannot deliver good performance anymore - has to be cat 6e and above, currently am using cat8 between ont and my intelligent box then from ibox to my lan same kind of cable, speedtest shows a drastic improvement.

Paint · Dec 28, 2020, 10:02 PM

@johnpoz 10gbe is great. dont tell the wife :)

johnpoz · Dec 29, 2020, 1:14 AM

@paint said in What is Best USB NIC 10Gbps that is supported by Pfsense?:

You can get brocade switches pretty cheap

And what do they draw for power? While that is great if a lab and only on X hours a week.. But old enterprise gear is not power friendly ;) Just what I don't want is some switch drawing 150W ;)

ethernet cat 5 cannot deliver good performance anymore

5e can do 5gbps.. And reported even 10ge for short distances.. But when I do go 10g, it will most likely be fiber.. I just want the copper support for 2.5 and 5gig..

At some point would like to see atleast 2.5 on my APs - and sure don't want to have to rerun cable in the attic - which is 5e..

Paint · Dec 29, 2020, 5:24 AM

@johnpoz said in What is Best USB NIC 10Gbps that is supported by Pfsense?:

@paint said in What is Best USB NIC 10Gbps that is supported by Pfsense?:

You can get brocade switches pretty cheap

And what do they draw for power? While that is great if a lab and only on X hours a week.. But old enterprise gear is not power friendly ;) Just what I don't want is some switch drawing 150W ;)

ethernet cat 5 cannot deliver good performance anymore

5e can do 5gbps.. And reported even 10ge for short distances.. But when I do go 10g, it will most likely be fiber.. I just want the copper support for 2.5 and 5gig..

At some point would like to see atleast 2.5 on my APs - and sure don't want to have to rerun cable in the attic - which is 5e..

These pull much less than 150w.....

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/brocade-icx-series-cheap-powerful-10gbe-40gbe-switching.21107/

stephenw10 · Dec 29, 2020, 11:16 AM

Yeah, I run an ICX-6450-24P and it draws ~25W as stated there. I did swap out the fans too.

Dec 29, 2020, 12:51 PM

@stephenw10 Does that switch have the silent mode, runs half the PoE power budget with the fans off?

I've been looking at this for an upcoming move/network rebuild:

https://www.commscope.com/product-type/enterprise-networking/ethernet-switches/itemicx7150-24p/

Fanless has become a big thing for me.

Others that are interesting for me are the Cisco CBS350-24p-4x or the C1000-24p-4x.

stephenw10 · Dec 29, 2020, 1:04 PM

It's pretty close to silent with the fans I put in it, which were nothing special, just what I had to hand. I don't really use the PoE much though, I have one access point running from it right now.

That switch is in my bedroom so...

Never seems to get hot:

SSH@ICX6450-24P Switch>show chassis 
The stack unit 1 chassis info: 

Power supply 1 (NA - AC - PoE) present, status ok
Power supply 2 not present

Fan 1 ok, speed (auto): [[1]]<->2
Fan 2 ok, speed (auto): [[1]]<->2

Fan controlled temperature: 40.5 deg-C

Fan speed switching temperature thresholds:
		Speed 1: NM<----->64       deg-C
		Speed 2:       59<-----> 88 deg-C (shutdown)

Sensor B Temperature Readings:
	Current temperature : 40.5 deg-C
Sensor A Temperature Readings:
	Current temperature : 35.0 deg-C
	Warning level.......: 78.0 deg-C
	Shutdown level......: 88.0 deg-C
Boot Prom MAC : 609c.9f54.14f2
Management MAC: 609c.9f54.14f2

Steve

Dec 29, 2020, 1:04 PM

@stephenw10 Thanks.

bingo600 · Dec 30, 2020, 6:27 AM

@stephenw10 @jwj
Nice price on that switch w. 10G uplinks.

For a cheap fanless PoE+ switch , i have been very satisfied with the D-Link dgs-1100-08p. It has 64w total to share , and does PoE+ - Needed by my AP.
It has basic management (.1Q Vlans , SNMP Read etc.) , but no .1X , LLDP etc.

For the "full" featureset get the dgs-1210-10p.
Get the new model w. external PSU , as the one w. built in PSU gets rather hot (has to cost on power usage).

I primarily use the dgs-1100-08 or 08p as "my goto sattelite switch", in EU you can get the non PoE for $42.

I would select a 1210-24 or 28 series for the "core" , non PoE.
As SNMP RW , MAC Filtering , LLDP and .1X could be usable.

In US the Cisco "2xx & 3xx" have attractive pricing and functionality for the "Core", but for PoE i still think the dgs-1100-08p is hard to beat.

/Bingo

Dec 30, 2020, 2:53 PM

There are a lot of moving parts to this. I can only speak to my situation. Everyone has different drivers for what is best.

What do I want vs what do I need. With the 'want' stuff would I actually take advantage of any of that beyond some nice benchmarks.

I could fill my NAS full of SSD's and put a 10G nic in there. Get a 10G switch and put a 10G nic in a PC (one that I don't have, all apple laptops) and do some nice benchmarks. Thing is, day in and day out it doesn't matter to me. Time Machine backups backup fine now. Movies stream to the TV's without issue.

TV's, speakers and printers aren't going to be able to use more than 1G connections. Now or anytime in the future that matters.

Could I see a multi-gig uplink for AP's? Maybe. Thing is, now is a terrible time to upgrade. WiFi 6 is, already, yesterdays news. 6E is the thing that will make a real improvement. All that new spectrum fix's a lot of problems that can be frustrating. That is particularly true for my situation. Moving from an old house with big thick plaster on lath walls to a big open space (used to be a garment factory). It's going to a while before all the pieces fall into place. iPhones, iPads and laptops all available with new radios and how that line up with our upgrade cycle. It's going to be a few years.

So, I'll get some better (better in this case means not Unifi) AP's to cover the space. I have already bought one, used Ruckus r710 off ebay for a good price. I'm on the lookout for another. It's a 802.11ac wave 2 and that's fine for now. That AP can use a LAGG for the uplink and since no one client is going to saturate a 1G link that will work fine. Not convinced I would be able to take advantage of anything more than that even with 6E AP's. Solutions to problems I don't have is just wasted money.

So at the end of this long winded post, I'll look for and get a switch when I can find one for a good price. Probably going to a newish Ruckus/Brocade. The 24 or 48 port PoE with the silent mode. Truthfully a DLink would be fine. I can't justify the Ruckus with a bunch of talk, I just want it.

If new 6E AP's need more power than PoE+ I guess I'm out of luck and will just get injectors.

I'll also grab a SG-5100 when they come back in stock.

johnpoz · Dec 30, 2020, 3:05 PM

@jwj said in What is Best USB NIC 10Gbps that is supported by Pfsense?:

Thing is, now is a terrible time to upgrade

Agree ;)

I could fill my NAS full of SSD's and put a 10G nic in there.

Yeah that is for sure in the "want" category... hehehe Fill it with some 30TB SSDs - they are only about 4k each ;)

BTW - unifi has a 48 port all 2.5gig poe switch with 10ge uplinks..coming out soon.. So multigig switches are coming, and hope price will drop quickly on them..

(48) 2.5GbE 802.3af/at PoE+ RJ45 Ports 
(4) 10GbE SFP+ Ports

listed as $1600 ;) but one maker means other makers.. Something like that but really only want need 24 ports with say 4 or 8 poe ports, etc.. All in the "want" category for sure ;)

bingo600 · Dec 30, 2020, 3:22 PM

@jwj

What are you going to use 6E for ?
I mean even if i got a 6E AP , my lappy doesn't even have an AC adapter. My new Ipad might have AC (spring 2020) , but i think that's prob the only client device i have that can do AC.
Well maybe my ATV-4K can too.

What i'm trying to say is that if you change , you should be future proof , but ... As you mention i'm not in a hurry...

Dec 30, 2020, 3:32 PM

@bingo600 Exactly. That's why I bought one and will get another wave 2 AP. Looking forward to 6E when all the parts catch up. Late 2021 maybe. 2022 more likely.

Dealing with Apple doesn't make this any easier. New Macbook's with their new chips. First WiFi 6 laptops from them. They put in a 2x2 radio... <face palm>

Eventually 6E will be good for me. Urban location (new place), all the new spectrum means, at least for a while, your not dealing with all the neighbors networks.

johnpoz · Dec 30, 2020, 3:57 PM

@bingo600 said in What is Best USB NIC 10Gbps that is supported by Pfsense?:

My new Ipad might have AC (spring 2020

That is a given... Ipads have had AC since back like 2014 with the ipad air 2 I believe..

I know they can do AC, since I have one of them ;)

login-to-view

bingo600 · Dec 30, 2020, 4:08 PM

@johnpoz said in What is Best USB NIC 10Gbps that is supported by Pfsense?:

@bingo600 said in What is Best USB NIC 10Gbps that is supported by Pfsense?:

My new Ipad might have AC (spring 2020

That is a given... Ipads have had AC since back like 2014 with the ipad air 2 I believe..

I know they can do AC, since I have one of them ;)

login-to-view

Haven't even bothered to check ...
I have a C2702 as livingroom AP, ought to do AC - Yupp 802.11ac Wave 1

I see around 20+ 2.4GHz SSID's at home (packed) , i usually make specific 5GHz SSID's to connect to. Not nearly as crowded. Like 4 SSID's below 80dB.

johnpoz · Dec 30, 2020, 4:01 PM

@jwj said in What is Best USB NIC 10Gbps that is supported by Pfsense?:

your not dealing with all the neighbors networks

Yeah that is one advantage of using latest tech - your neighbors prob not keeping up ;)

If you can leverage DFS channels - highly unlikely many of your neighbors are for example..

Dec 30, 2020, 4:31 PM

@johnpoz said in What is Best USB NIC 10Gbps that is supported by Pfsense?:

leverage DFS channels

Right now I have one neighbor with brand new service from Spectrum. Using the supplied cable modem/router/AP garbage. It is WiFi 6. They turned it on and it configured 2 80MHz channels, one channel 52 (DFS) and one channel 132 (DFS) that it bonds together for a 160MHz connection. It's BS. No one is going to be able to use that bonded channel unless they really know what they are doing and have the gear to support that. Now they are squatting on two channels for no value to them. I will be watching to see what happens when we get a storm and the radar from the airport sweeps the neighborhood. So, they're far enough away that I don't really care but still... In an apartment or Co-Op building that is really going to suck.

This is out of the box. They pick this crap up at the Spectrum office go home, turn it on, put in a network name and password (wanna bet the password is trivially brute forcible?) on the activation website and go on their way. I don't blame the non technical customer but Spectrum should be drawn and quartered.

johnpoz · Dec 30, 2020, 4:58 PM

@jwj said in What is Best USB NIC 10Gbps that is supported by Pfsense?:

and have the gear to support that.

A 160mhz channel? What device is going to support that??

Shoot many devices have issues with DFS for sure.. Let alone a 160mhz setup..

You sure that is how they come out of the box... I would think ISP would want the most compatible setup.. Prob auto channel for both 2.4 and 5.. While 40 might default for 5 I would think they would do 20 for sure on 2.4 if not even on the 5 channels.. This provides for the most likely setup for connections.

I would think such a setup more the user dicking with it..

edit: BTW those channel numbers are ODD if they are trying to do 160.. 50 and 114 are 160 channels are they not?

Dec 30, 2020, 5:10 PM

@johnpoz said in What is Best USB NIC 10Gbps that is supported by Pfsense?:

I would think such a setup more the user dicking with it..

We were over there chatting Yesterday afternoon. She couldn't change anything even if she wanted to. Totally non technical.

It is all backward compatible. Her stuff works fine. She'll let me look at it sometime today or tomorrow so I'll see what this Arris POS is all about then.

Reality is, Spectrum really does suck that badly. They just don't give a flying F about anything. They freaking scheduled a 6 hour outage in the middle of the day a few weeks ago for "maintenance". Not like anyone is working from home or doing remote learning...

I looked at the WiFi 6 specs, one of the things is the ability to bond non adjacent channels. I guess that is useful...

Paint · Dec 31, 2020, 8:08 PM

If you read this review, it talks about how these adapters have driver issues and dont actually perform much better than 3gbps. When I played around with the 5gbps usb-c adapter from QNAP with my 10gbe network, I had similar driver issues. The adapter would drop if I transferred large files for 15 minutes or more - the only way to get the adapter to reconnect would be to reboot the machine.

https://www.servethehome.com/trendnet-tuc-et5g-usb-type-c-to-5gbe-nic-review/