Affordable 4 or 5-port 2.5 gbe switches?

[coxhaus]

I want 2.5 gig POE ports with POE for my wireless Cisco WAP581 APs. Cisco has them out be they are still pricey. I bought a Cisco SG-350X-24 switch thinking it would work but only some of the SG350x switches have the 2.5 gig POE ports. I ended up with 10 gig ports.

 

[Trip]

@coxhaus - Here's the list of all non-enterprise, managed 2.5Gb PoE access switches that are somewhat quiet. None are full layer 3, nor are they Cisco, so that probably strikes them from consideration in your eyes, but here they are nonetheless, in order of price:

• Netgear MX510TPP | $350 | L2+ | Access: (4) 1GbE, (2) 2.5GbE, (2) 5GbE | Uplink: (1) 10GbE, (1) SFP+ | 180W PoE+ 802.3at on all A ports
• TrendNet TPE30102WS | $540 | L2 | A: (8) 2.5 GbE | U: (2) SFP+ | 240W PoE+ on all A ports
• Ubiquiti UniFi US-XG-6POE | $599 | L2 (L3 soon) | A: (4) 10GbE | U: (2) SFP+ | 240W PoE++ 802.3bt on all A ports
• EnGenius ECS2512FP | $750 | L2+ | A: (8) 2.5GbE | U: (4) SFP+ | 240W PoE++ 802.3bt on all A ports

Cisco SG350X series has the -8PMD, -12PMV, -24PD, -24PV and -48PV, but all are $1100+ and 40-50dB fans (datacenter-level loud).

There are some compact fanless L3 enterprise boxes like the Ruckus ICX7150-C12ZP, but cost-prohibitive at a mere $3,000+ each (!!).

Tough times right now in this segment...

 

[lRTKlHerzog]

QSW-1105-5T | Instantly upgrade your network to 2.5GbE connectivity

With five 2.5GbE ports, the QNAP QSW-1105-5T switch instantly upgrades your network to take advantage of 2.5GbE-enabled devices and NAS without requiring any new network cables. Featuring a near-silent fanless design and plug-and-play set up, the QSW-1105-5T provides network loop detection and...

www.qnap.com

 

[maxbraketorque]

QSW-1105-5T | Instantly upgrade your network to 2.5GbE connectivity

With five 2.5GbE ports, the QNAP QSW-1105-5T switch instantly upgrades your network to take advantage of 2.5GbE-enabled devices and NAS without requiring any new network cables. Featuring a near-silent fanless design and plug-and-play set up, the QSW-1105-5T provides network loop detection and...

www.qnap.com

Finally a truly affordable 2.5 gbe switch. If I didn't already have my Netgear MS510TX, I'd buy the QNAP.

 

[Trip]

Finally a truly affordable 2.5 gbe switch. If I didn't already have my Netgear MS510TX, I'd buy the QNAP.

Do understand, though, that QNAP is an unmanaged switch -- no VLANs, no QoS, no management at all. That, and 2.5Gb-only are the main reasons why it's so cheap. The MX510 has two 5Gb and two 10Gb interfaces; presuming one can take advantage of the extra speed plus management, its place in the market still remains (for now).

 

[coxhaus]

What ever 2.5 Gb switch you buy make sure you have enough switch backplane to run all the ports at full speed.

 

[Fraoch]

There's also the Zyxel XGS1210-12:

- 8 X GbE ports
- 2 X 2.5 GbE ports
- 2 X 10 GbE SFP+ ports
- fanless
- unmanaged

$179.90 at Amazon.

 

[HellDiver]

MS510TX from Netgear is a great switch, and really quite quiet. It does have a fan, but it runs as a barely audible hiss.

 

[dufreyne]

Thanks for more options (Zuxel & QNAP). Netgear is still the winner in this price category (if you ask me): more ports, 5Gbe support.
Its fan is not perfectly silent though when it's near you. Goods news that I made the switch dead silent and ice cold (IC Temp 36C at most) with a Noctua fan and some metal sheet skills

 

[L&LD]

@dufreyne I would have picked a slimmer Noctua and placed it inside the case (and to the left) instead. Should have the same cooling effect, but stackable and certainly more finger-friendly.

 

[dufreyne]

There's zero space inside above those heat sinks (those get extremely hot) and you can't cool them effectively from the left... Anyway, it works and I love the silence

 

[jsmiddleton4]

I'm looking at link aggregation and using a 2.5gbe switch. I have an Asus AX86U with one 2.5gbe port. My internet is faster than 1gb and I want to use the 2.5gbe port for my WAN. But then I have no 2.5gbe port so my wired network can take advantage of the faster internet speed. AX wireless clients can, wired can't. I have no 2.5gbe port for the wired side of things.

I can do link aggregation off the Asus AX86U. 2gbs is more than enough. BUT I need to come to a 2.5gbe switch that will allow the linked connection and have 2.5gbe ports for the wired clients.

I am looking at a managed 2.5gbe switch yes? Only way to link the ports in the switch right?

From the Asus AX86U using ports 1 and 2 linked, to two ports on the 2.5gbe switch linked ports, then the other ports will at least have the 2gbs via the linked ports?

Doesn't accomplish the increased speed to link a switch with only 1gb ports.

My opinion is of course these routers with a 2.5gbe port should have at a minimum 2. One for WAN, one for LAN.

 

[jsmiddleton4]

"the 10G ports are connected to the 1G port via 1G. Meaning: LACP between them is pointless. LACP in general is pretty pointless here, since you lose nearly half the ports."

Well that shoots the Netgear's option out of the water. That'd be pointless.........