Don't forget the optics. Depending on the vendor, they may be a very significant cost.
It's a good idea to stick to OM3 and OM4 fiber. The transceivers should be ok, but research is definitely in order.@Ericloewe Fibre cables and optics aren't something I personally have much experience with yet, so it's hard to advise correctly.
For a 10GbE SFP+ connection, do these seem like the correct bits?
Hmmm, this 30m cable might be a better bet? http://www.ebay.com/itm/252720988213
- http://www.ebay.com/itm/152361680500 ← Seems to be Finistar clone of the Mellanox MFM1T02A-SR transceivers
- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331643153000 ← 25 metre cable. OM2 (seems to mean 850nm), and using LC-LC connectors
Heh Heh Heh, not exactly. ;)Thats amazing! 40 gigabit connection! Thats crazy cheap. I will definitly look into this
There are some alternatives. One easy target is if gigabit is acceptable for your endpoints (PC's and other clients), it is not that hard to find a gigabit switch with several 10G uplinks. The cheapest decent one I've seen in (2014) times is probably the Dell Networking 5500 series, such as the 5524, often available for around $400 on eBay. That model comes with two 10G SFP+ slots, which could be used for a FreeNAS box and a workstation at 10G, while also allowing all remaining stations to share in the 10G goodness. Now that it's 2016 we're also seeing the Dell Networking N2024, which is an entry-level Force10 based switch. If you don't mind eBay for all purchases, you can get a basic 10G setup for your NAS and one workstation for less than $1000.
Really fascinating. Something I might have to look into.
What kind of power draw to they pull?
No. Stay away from all the -X crap. It's all legacy crap. CX4 is basically four Infiniband channels at 3Gbps or something like that. LX4 is basically four wavelengths over fiber. LX4 is absolutely not compatible with SR, LR, or anything else for that matter. This is not the stuff you want to be using.
Use SFP+ with 10GBase-SR/LR or 10Gbase-T unless you like delving into hardware compatibility issues and then like to be disappointed by how your first generation 10G hardware burns watts like a flamethrower while simultaneously is incapable of actually maxxing out 10G.
The reason you may see deals on this gear on eBay is that no one wants it, and they're hoping some sucker (you) who doesn't know any better picks it up and gives them beer money.
Going to ask here too, anyone else has problems with the Intel 520 (rebranded from Dell) and FreeNAS 10. In short, when I enable the interface it crashes the system. I do no have DHCP setup on that vlan cause it is all static based. They worked great in 9.10 but not with 10. I ordered spare card that I am going to test out when it comes in.
Am going to conform that the Dell 0CYK8V is the same as the Intel 520, was told it was, and it shows to be but making sure.
I didn't notice any issues with FreeNAS Corral when I was testing it on ESXi with my Intel x520 (non-Dell rebrand) nic. Ifconfig was using vmx0 instead of the ix0 though.
On another topic, the Ubiquiti ES-16-XG switch I bought worked out fine. It has an overwhelming amount of customization options and had no issues with Unix and Intel short range transceivers.
This include like the Cisco Onex 10g (CVR-X2-SFP10G)? I know it use's the spf+ Sr's but could never find any answers on this.
As a module for your switch? Yeah, it'll probably *work*, but a switch old enough to need it is going to be a space heater. If you're going to go that route, you might just get yourself a X2-10GB-SR module and an appropriate SC-to-LC cable.
I didn't notice any issues with FreeNAS Corral when I was testing it on ESXi with my Intel x520 (non-Dell rebrand) nic. Ifconfig was using vmx0 instead of the ix0 though.
On another topic, the Ubiquiti ES-16-XG switch I bought worked out fine. It has an overwhelming amount of customization options and had no issues with Unix and Intel short range transceivers.
Maybe when I get time, I will have a chance to set down and find out why the 10g intel crashes my box and see if the new Chelsio card I got does or does not do the same. If it crash too, i will test the LC to LC and see...yeah lots of fun.
For what it's worth, you may want to see about whether your X520 might need a firmware update. Dell tends to distributepointlessly customized"certified" drivers for their expansion cards. It may be you're hitting a bug that's been fixed in newer firmware.