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    Just bought Netgate XG-7100-1U, hardware question

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Official Netgate® Hardware
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    • M
      murk00
      last edited by

      I just bought the Netgate XG-7100-1U.
      I also bought the MikroTik 12-Port 10G Switch with Dual Power Supply (CRS312-4C+8XG-RM)

      So both of these have SFP+ports, but I didnt know it had to be fiber SFP+ not copper.

      1.Do you guys have any good recommendations for a SFP+ network card because my card now is just SFP

      ALso I just want to make sure I am thinking about this corrently, I buy a SFP+ network card that plugs into the Netgate device via the SFP+ fiber port. Then I use the other SFP+ port out to run into the MikroTik SFP+ port and were all happy and running smooth.

      As you can tell I am learning as I go, never dealt with SFP before so any help is much appreicated. At this time I think I need a SFP+ version network card, and mutiple SFP+ fiber cables.

      NogBadTheBadN dotdashD 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • NogBadTheBadN
        NogBadTheBad @murk00
        last edited by NogBadTheBad

        @murk00 What make you think you can’t use copper in a SFP+ port ?

        Loads of different options:-

        https://store.netgate.com/pfSense/accessories.aspx

        https://www.fs.com/uk/products/66612.html

        https://www.fs.com/uk/products/30856.html

        Andy

        1 x Netgate SG-4860 - 3 x Linksys LGS308P - 1 x Aruba InstantOn AP22

        M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • M
          murk00 @NogBadTheBad
          last edited by

          @nogbadthebad So I have to buy a network addon card?

          becuase this is listed on the product page:

          Networking 2x 10GbE Intel x553 SFP+ Ports
          8-port 1Gbps Marvell 88E6190 switch, uplinked at 5 Gbps (2x 2.5 Gbps) to Intel SoC for LAN
          Virtual Machine Device Queues reduce I/O overhead
          Note: Copper SFP/SFP+ not supported.

          NogBadTheBadN 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • dotdashD
            dotdash @murk00
            last edited by

            Don't those come standard with an Intel two port SFP+ card? You should just need to get an Intel compatible 10GB SR transceiver, a transceiver for the switch and a fiber patch. You could also use a direct attach cable, which would probably be cheaper. There are some guidelines on compatible modules in the manual.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • NogBadTheBadN
              NogBadTheBad @murk00
              last edited by NogBadTheBad

              @murk00 Not sure why it says that, I’ve never used a 7100, but all the network equipment I’ve ever used you can use any type media in a SFP+ port.

              Maybe someone from Netgate can comment.

              Andy

              1 x Netgate SG-4860 - 3 x Linksys LGS308P - 1 x Aruba InstantOn AP22

              M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • M
                murk00 @NogBadTheBad
                last edited by

                @nogbadthebad I was watching lawrence systems and he mentioned it in his video, and he thought maybe it was a driver related issue.

                dotdashD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • dotdashD
                  dotdash @murk00
                  last edited by

                  It's a thing with the chipset or the driver. Those cards are finicky about modules , but you should just be able to use a direct attach from the card an SFP+ on the switch.

                  M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • M
                    murk00 @dotdash
                    last edited by

                    @dotdash Any recommendations for a netword card?

                    NogBadTheBadN 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • NogBadTheBadN
                      NogBadTheBad @murk00
                      last edited by

                      @murk00 Would it not be cheaper to buy a couple of fiber SFP+ modules and a fiber cable rather than buy an extra card.

                      Andy

                      1 x Netgate SG-4860 - 3 x Linksys LGS308P - 1 x Aruba InstantOn AP22

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • stephenw10S
                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                        last edited by

                        I can confirm, unfortunately, that you cannot use an SFP/RJ-45 module in the on-board ports on the XG-7100. It's because the NIC cannot communicate with the module to determine the link speed etc due to missing lines on the C3558 SoC.
                        See: https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/solutions/xg-7100-1u/io-ports.html#sfp-ethernet-ports

                        I believe we have seen one module that did work, presumably because it's default values allowed it to link, but you should not expect that to work there. Use an expansion card if you need it.

                        Steve

                        NogBadTheBadN 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                        • NogBadTheBadN
                          NogBadTheBad @stephenw10
                          last edited by NogBadTheBad

                          I'd be using a twin-ax then.

                          BTW https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/solutions/xg-7100-1u/io-ports.html#sfp-ethernet-ports leads to a 404 with the warning.

                          There is an Intel-supplied driver issue for the C3000, preventing 1Gbps and 10Gbps copper modules from being recognized on the SFP+ ports. Copper modules are not supported.

                          Andy

                          1 x Netgate SG-4860 - 3 x Linksys LGS308P - 1 x Aruba InstantOn AP22

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • stephenw10S
                            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                            last edited by

                            Yeah, I was just trying to track down the linked readme... and failing.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • stephenw10S
                              stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                              last edited by

                              Still in the Google cache. I that doc it says:

                              In addition, SFP+ devices based on the Intel(R) Ethernet Connection X552 and
                              Intel(R) Ethernet Connection X553 do not support the following features:
                              * Speed and duplex auto-negotiation.
                              * Wake on LAN
                              * 1000BASE-T SFP Modules
                              

                              The NICs in the C3558 are X553.

                              Steve

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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