I’m looking for a little advice in upgrading my local wired network to 10ge because I have a few devices here that can handle it and think maybe the prices have come down enough to justify the upgrade here. The last time I looked into one for the office was 2016 and it was about $16k. I got on Amazon this eve and I saw some for as low as $200 that had two 10ge ports. Maybe someone has an opinion to share on this?
Thanks!
Josh
I use this at home:
Pretty happy with it.
That pretty ideal - small and just a few ports! Looks like I’ll need SFPs…
Thanks!
Yes you will… they run pretty hot… make sure you have ventilation.
Noted. Thank you!
A lot of people like those MikroTiks. Factor in $50-$60 ish for SFP modules. And yes, Abel is right. Those things are hot AF!
If you are a tinkerer, and I suspect you aren’t, I’d recommend the Unifi world.
This one is small, is RJ-45, but is pricier.
Or you could go with this one…
I have a few more devices than most small switches support so I rock this one…
For a kinda prosumer level, Unifi is pretty great.
That little Mikrotik is also PoE. The SFP cables are not to expensive, but cost can jump if you need RJ45 adapters.
Also, ask one of our buddies if he has an extra one. Since he went freelance and bought his own gear he may have upgraded 10Gb switches.
Josh, I just have a netgear one I picked up from B&H. Super simple, but the fan’s a little loud. $399
I have this and works great
I have two of these Qnap 10g switches that have 4 ports. Quiet and reliable. Love them!
Main question is whether all your 10G capable devices are 10GBase-T (RJ-45), in which case you probably want to go with a 10GBase-T switch, or if you are going to have a mix of SFP+ and 10GBase-T.
I’ve used the 4 port Mikrotik, not only does it run very hot, but if you load it up with 4 x SFP+ to 10GBase-T modules (at the time was the cheapest option), it can actually fry itself (that happened to me). I wouldn’t deploy that switch with more than one of those modules.
I replaced it with the 8 port Netgear XS508M and that worked fine, and one of the ports is dual 10GBase-T / SFP+ in case you need that:
There’s also a cheaper 5 port model, the XS505M.
All my devices are in fact RJ-45. I have a MacStudio, Synology, a MacMini and a MacBookPro (2.5Ge Dongle) and I think I’m probably going to go with the Unifi because it’s got some managed features and I can limit the traffic for the home office stuff within that device. I’m not sure yet if it can make VLANs to really wall off that traffic, but I have had one of their Wifi repeaters for many years and it’s excellent.
I really appreciate everyone’s comments on the SFPs running hot, and I did confirm with several sysadmin friends that’s the case. I can only imagine your Mikro melting…yikes! Its good to see you recommended the Netgear - it was also an option as were a few others including the QNAP, TP-Link and TRENDNet, but for nearly the same price having a few extra management features seemed like a good bet.
Thanks!
Yeah the Netgear is a dumb switch, so if you need VLANs, that’s not the one for you. And if everything is 10GBase-T, I’d definitely go for a 10GBase-T switch. Something to keep in mind is that since 2.5G/5G is a newer standard, you’ll want to make sure the switch you pick can negotiate those slower speeds, or you could get a 10GBaseT adapter for your MBP.
And for the ultimate home Flame (Linux) setup: Mikrotik just released a $699 4 x 100GbE switch
Interesting!
For small office 10GbE setups in 2025, you’re looking at vastly better prices than 2016. The $200 dual-port switches exist but skip them - they’re often unreliable and lack basic features like decent heat management and VLAN support. Instead, check out mid-range switches from QNAP, Mikrotik, or Ubiquiti’s managed switches, typically $400-800 for 4-8 10GbE ports.
Factor in your cabling costs too. For short runs up to 5 meters, DAC cables work great and are cheap. Longer distances need Cat6a/Cat7 (up to 100m) or fiber optic cables. The cabling can end up costing more than your switch, so plan accordingly.