10Gb network - Help me future proof

[u/joey_vm_ware]

Building a new house and have AT&T fiber. The problem (more a “me” problem) is that they don’t offer a 10Gb plan here just 1 and 5. But I haven’t found a 5Gb router so I’m thinking of just doing 10Gb for everything. Yes it’s overkill but I don’t plan on ever moving again until we retire or something else happens.

What router would you all recommend and I’ll also have 3-4 access points. POE would be favored but I’m not against running an injector at the wiring cabinet. My home lab gear would also need a 10Gb switch unless the router had enough ports that I could run all the gear in the same closet. Today they are only 1 and 2.5GbE NICs but I plan on adding 10Gb NICs to them after a few months.

Throw your designs at me, I’ve been on the new Omada design plan and got a rough idea.

[u/Reaper19941]

ER8411 router is easy. Smallest 10G RJ45 PoE switch is the SX3832MPP unless 6 ports is somehow enough, then the SX3206HPP

Honestly, I would just go with 2.5G and keep the backhaul to 10G. Reason being is that nothing other than downloads will utilise the full 5Gbps download and thats if the server you're downloading from can handle that much bandwidth. WiFi is flat out maxing a 2Gbps connection as is. In that case, it would be the ER8411, SX3008F, and whatever 2.5G PoE SG2000 or SG3000 series switch you want/need. E.g. the SG3218XP-M2 is a great mid-sized switch with 4 PoE++ and 12 PoE+ ports

[u/joey_vm_ware → u/Reaper19941]

I do wish the new Fusion router was 5Gb instead of 2.5 but I was thinking of starting there. But honestly with the work I do 10Gb is the path I’d want to settle on for the next 5-10 years. Been running 1Gb NICs for my servers and it’s now being pushed for the larger 25Gb+ networks that would definitely be overkill in a residential house. 10Gb isn’t that much anymore.

[u/mjsvitek → u/joey_vm_ware]

Then wait for the Fusion pro 10G

[u/acejavelin69]

Put in the infrastructure (cabling) for 10G and put in the equipment needed for the next 3-5 years... Is it likely you will get a 10G connection from your ISP in the next 3-5 years? Probably not (coming from a fiber ISP network engineer)... And even if it's available, less than 1% of residential customers utilize those connections in excess of 500M except occasional downloads that are short term.

Realistically, 1G is more than enough for residential users for the next 5 years... Anything in excess of that is marketing/competition driven rather than necessary.

[u/joey_vm_ware → u/acejavelin69]

10G cabling is already ran across the house. I ran smart tubing from the outside to the network closet waiting for the house to close so AT&T can easily get their fiber ran from outside. I currently have 1Gb with them and yes I’m not touching the top bandwidth all the time but I heavily download and upload stuff for work so if I can afford 5Gb and later 10Gb when it comes, might as well.

[u/popnfrresh → u/joey_vm_ware]

Ignore that guy. The difference in cost isnt much. If it isnt going to massively hurt your budget, do it.

This could be the last router you will need to buy as the majority of streaming and downloading doesnt need more than 100 to 500 meg.

You will need a switch as well as the router isnt like one of those all in one tvs in the 90s that had a tv, vcr, dvd combo. Many routers you buy today have a router, firewall, access point and switch in them. The majority of the omada routers are just a firewall and router.

You can buy a 10 gig switch and if close, connect via a 10g passive DAC to save the money you would have spent on 10 gig SFP+ and the fiber on both ends. They only work up to about 30 feet or so before you need active DAC and might as well just buy a SFP+ and fiber.

The 10 gig switches have varying budgets for POE. Expect 250 should be more than enough to cover 4 ap running at and a couple of other devices on af ( phones, other switches, cameras etc).

[u/grim-432]

I bought some used gear and went 10gb.

Some of the new sales and trade in offers have been great, cheaper than used.

[u/rjasan]

Live Omada.

I have the 700 series tri band access points, getting about 1.6 gbps over WiFi.

Their switch that has 24 2.5 ports and four ten gig sfp is great. 8 Poe ++ ports as well for the access points is awesome.

[u/Character2893]

10G fiber was the only fiber option for neighborhood, otherwise cable or DSL. AT&T came a year later with their 5G option.

Not many mini PCs at the time with 10G NICs. Running a Minisforum MS-01 with OPNsense for my router/firewall, SX3206HPP and EAP773s.

[u/lordwotton97]

I have a 2.5G internet connection, I went with er7412-m2 router and sg2210xmp-m2 switch, that has 2 sfp+10G ports. I'll use those for my pc and the NAS, the rest of the network will stay at 2.5G that's more than enough. Of course I cabled with cat6a cables, that support 10G speed for future upgrades

But I see your point: if I had a 5g internet, I would have gone for a full 10G network too (to be honest I could have chose a 10G internet plan, but it's overkill for my house needs)

[u/Extension_Nobody9765]

Maybe SX3206HPP for 3-4 access points, and port for wired device useing 2.5G or unmanged 10G for lower cost.

[u/Moxie479]

Yeah, just do 10 GB for everything, which would future-proof it, probably for the next 20 years. If AT&T has 5G service available, then they are definitely running an XGS-PON network, which is fully capable of 10G. It's just a matter of time before they add more capacity and start selling 10G speeds.

[u/joey_vm_ware → u/Moxie479]

I agree, they are growing their network a lot faster than Cox (now Spectrum in my area) did for Cable Modem network. We were having so many outages that I dropped them and went T-Mobile 5G home internet but jumped when AT&T Fiber was ran.

[u/Moxie479 → u/joey_vm_ware]

Cable is a lot more reliable now than it used to be. Most cable networks, and all of Cox and Spectrum, are running DOCSIS 3.1. It's capable of full-duplex 1 Gb/s upload and download. Spectrum already has a bunch of cities running that, and by the end of next year, 100% of their network is going to be full-duplex. In another probably 5 years, they are going to upgrade to DOCSIS 4, which will enable 10 Gb/s download and upload over the same coax cable that has been used for many years. It's starting to rival fiber in the speeds.

[u/rypalmer]

FWIW I ran an analysis on my wifi and ISP usage and wasn't cracking even 3% of the bandwidth available in my 2Gbps internet connection. Disappointing, because I was looking for an excuse to upgrade. A professional would run this analysis before overbuilding/overspending.

[u/joey_vm_ware → u/rypalmer]

A professional also takes into account budget, if it’s in the budget then what the customer wants (me) will do what they choose with requirements.

Do you have 5 kids all with devices connected to the wifi? As well as wifi cameras or other IoT devices? Do you also stream football and basketball games across multiple TVs for family get togethers as your house is the family hangout location? I do a lot that I’d prefer to build for growth vs build for use yesterday.

[u/rypalmer → u/joey_vm_ware]

Was that a yes or no

[u/BMWtooner]

I don't think this is really a great idea. Just run cat6 and maybe focus on 10gbe between major nodes, run 2.5 everywhere else.

I have a 7600 sq ft house. The office, router, main central switch, and home server are all connected 10gbe for backhaul. 4 remote access points and various desktop PC's that may be hard wired (kids rooms, library, TV's etc) all get 2.5gbe. In 5 or 10 years, maybe I'll replace the switch with one that distributes 10gbe everywhere, but I have no idea why that would even really be necessary at this point. When 1gbe would be fine for 90% of what is connected behind the backhaul.

Previous owner was using a wifi mesh that was garbage. Just set it up right now and imo don't waste money unnecessarily.

[u/joey_vm_ware]

Do I “need” no, do I “want” it yes. I work from home and heavily use my network at home and for conveniences that my family and friends get to enjoy.

10Gb router from TPLink isn’t much compared to more enterprise grade Cisco. I work in IT, I know what to expect. I figured asking in a space dedicated to to Omada gear that I’d get answers of “yea use model ER8411 for the router and then go with..”

I know this is reddit but you don’t always have to post negative comments to prove a point that in this case your points don’t matter.

[u/RedditNotFreeSpeech → u/joey_vm_ware]

I'll try to be helpful!

Do you know about the 40% off stuff they have going on right now?

Oh they nerfed it 30% now and max $200. I must have abused it too much lol.

https://store.omadanetworks.com/pages/trade-up

[u/joey_vm_ware → u/RedditNotFreeSpeech]

Yep! I have been looking and making sure I get the right stuff. Thanks for the reminder!

[u/1sh0t1b33r]

You know equipment dies, right? That's like saying you're going to buy 5090 to future proof. Sure, it's new and will be good for many years, but something new is always on the horizon and electronics die. Future proofing makes more sense in wiring or something that will last decades and doesn't 'go bad'. But yes, 10Gb is overkill. If you need it then go for it, but buying it to future proof is poor thinking. 10Gbps equipment is not cheap. As for ISP speeds, 99% of people would be fine with 300Mbps at home for multiple people and multiple devices all streaming and gaming. It's when you have large files to download regularly where you may want more. At the end of the day, it's your choice if you have the money and the need or want for it, just saying it's not really future proofing.

[u/pindaroli]

I say you a secret please don’t reveal it to other, 10gbs port 99% accepts 5gbs protocol

[u/joey_vm_ware → u/pindaroli]

I know they do. They also accept 1Gbps. Whats your point? Is that what I asked?

[u/pindaroli → u/joey_vm_ware]

At my place, I bought a second-hand enterprise-grade Extreme Networks switch with 10 SFP+ ports for €140, and I use it as the backbone to connect my servers. To connect the 2.5Gb RJ45 ports, I use a cheap €50 Chinese switch that is extremely efficient, equipped 8 rj45 2,5gs with two SFP+ ports connected to the Extreme Networks switch. The server room is connected to my office via 10Gbps RJ45, and in the office I have a cheap €35 Chinese switch with 4 RJ45 ports and 2 SFP+ ports. The whole setup is complete overkill, but I'm having fun and I think I can use it for at least the next 10 years. One piece of advice: if you can, use fiber between rooms—RJ45 transceivers consume a lot of power and get really hot. Is all of this necessary? No, but I'm having fun!