Alternatives to 10gbe?

[John Richardson]

Hey all,

I have a question (obviously)... so I have my server on the other side of the room, so I could connect it to my computer directly with a cable. I'm going to install a ssd raid pool and use it to store steam games. I wanted to upgrade to a 10gbe network to benefit from the speed, but the cost is a little intense.

Is there another interface / pcie card that I can add to both the freenas and my computer and run a link directly to access the pool, getting 1500-2000mb/sec reads?

Thanks!

John

 

[depasseg]

Not really. You can get a couple of cheap chelsio 10G cards and connect the 2 machines directly (no need for a switch).

 

[John Richardson]

Not really. You can get a couple of cheap chelsio 10G cards and connect the 2 machines directly (no need for a switch).

Crossover cables right? I've read about that... will it be pretty simple to setup?

 

[depasseg]

Probably not but it's not needed. Most all stuff has auto switching. But besides, you've got 3 options for 10G

1. High quality Cat 6 twisted pair cable
2. sfp+ (optics) and a pair of fiber cables
3. Twin-ax cable

There are 2 types of cards: one that is compatible with option 1 and one that is compatible with both option 2&3. I'd suggest reading the 10G primer sticky in the networking section for more info.

Yep pretty simple. Just assign static IP's on either end.

 

[John Richardson]

Probably not but it's not needed. Most all stuff has auto switching. But besides, you've got 3 options for 10G

1. High quality Cat 6 twisted pair cable
2. sfp+ (optics) and a pair of fiber cables
3. Twin-ax cable

There are 2 types of cards: one that is compatible with option 1 and one that is compatible with both option 2&3. I'd suggest reading the 10G primer sticky in the networking section for more info.

Yep pretty simple. Just assign static IP's on either end.

Thanks hombre

 

[jgreco]

Crossover cables right? I've read about that... will it be pretty simple to setup?

No need for crossover cables. Gigabit ethernet and beyond include auto-MDI/MDIX as part of the standard.

The cheap solution is probably the SFP+ route. See the 10G Primer for some guidance to get up to speed on the technology. You need network cards, SFP+ optics, and some fiber, all of which can be acquired on eBay for maybe $200-$300.

Two of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-X520-...Transceiver-X520-SR1-E10G41BFSR-/221922050587 which include the needed optics, and then a fiber cable, http://www.ebay.com/itm/10M-LC-LC-D...FIBER-OPTIC-CABLE-OM3-AQUA-10GB-/251824123605

That's a $255 solution right there and you can get it cheaper if you work harder at it.

 

[John Richardson]

No need for crossover cables. Gigabit ethernet and beyond include auto-MDI/MDIX as part of the standard.

The cheap solution is probably the SFP+ route. See the 10G Primer for some guidance to get up to speed on the technology. You need network cards, SFP+ optics, and some fiber, all of which can be acquired on eBay for maybe $200-$300.

Two of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-X520-...Transceiver-X520-SR1-E10G41BFSR-/221922050587 which include the needed optics, and then a fiber cable, http://www.ebay.com/itm/10M-LC-LC-D...FIBER-OPTIC-CABLE-OM3-AQUA-10GB-/251824123605

That's a $255 solution right there and you can get it cheaper if you work harder at it.

Wow man, thanks so much for the advice / links... just one more piece... so, could I keep my gigabit network setup the same way i have it now (everything going to a switch) and just add the 10gbe on top of it or would I need to choose one or the other?

 

[tvsjr]

Silly question... are you storing these Steam games for multiple systems? Since you'll only have one box connected via 10GbE - wouldn't it make better sense to simply install a big SSD into the workstation/gaming rig?

 

[9C1 Newbee]

Silly question... are you storing these Steam games for multiple systems? Since you'll only have one box connected via 10GbE - wouldn't it make better sense to simply install a big SSD into the workstation/gaming rig?

This^^^

$250 goes pretty far in the SSD world these days. Not to mention, you still have to buy the SSD anyway. Steam is working at some really cool things these days. Maybe I/we are missing something here.

 

[jgreco]

Wow man, thanks so much for the advice / links... just one more piece... so, could I keep my gigabit network setup the same way i have it now (everything going to a switch) and just add the 10gbe on top of it or would I need to choose one or the other?

You can add a dedicated link between a workstation and your filer. If both your workstation and your filer require access to the Internet in addition, you may:

1) Keep existing 1Gbps connections to the workstation and filer, and configure a private network for the 10Gbps so fileserver traffic between the workstation and fileserver flows over 10G.

2) Keep existing 1Gbps to the filer, drop the 1Gbps connection to the workstation. Set up a network bridge on the filer (not standard FreeNAS but not horribly hard to do) and then the filer will be doing the job of an ethernet switch. If you take down the filer, your workstation loses connectivity.

3) Go get a conventional switch solution that supports 10G, like the Dell 5524, at significant additional cost, and do the networking the "right way".

Each solution has a cost. The first is more complex to set up. The second makes it so you can't take down the NAS. The third costs more money.

 

[John Richardson]

This^^^

$250 goes pretty far in the SSD world these days. Not to mention, you still have to buy the SSD anyway. Steam is working at some really cool things these days. Maybe I/we are missing something here.

Yeah great question.... So, I have a few SSD's just kinda laying around, so I thought I'd pop them in the freenas as an array (so that content would be accessible by any connected device, though I do 99.9% of my gaming on my laptop.... who knows what I'll do with the rest of the space?) Any suggestions on applications for a 4/5 SSD pool?

Anyways, so yeah, I already have the disks, and I could just take that cash and but the new samsung nvme ssd and drop it in on my mobo via a pcie card (I'm z87, so no m.2 for me) and it would be faster.... I don't know... I don't know what I'm doing with my life!?!? ;)

John

 

[John Richardson]

You can add a dedicated link between a workstation and your filer. If both your workstation and your filer require access to the Internet in addition, you may:

1) Keep existing 1Gbps connections to the workstation and filer, and configure a private network for the 10Gbps so fileserver traffic between the workstation and fileserver flows over 10G.

2) Keep existing 1Gbps to the filer, drop the 1Gbps connection to the workstation. Set up a network bridge on the filer (not standard FreeNAS but not horribly hard to do) and then the filer will be doing the job of an ethernet switch. If you take down the filer, your workstation loses connectivity.

3) Go get a conventional switch solution that supports 10G, like the Dell 5524, at significant additional cost, and do the networking the "right way".

Each solution has a cost. The first is more complex to set up. The second makes it so you can't take down the NAS. The third costs more money.

Yeah I guess I like the idea of #1 the best. Hopefully the config wont be too ridiculous - but this forum is fantastic so I'm sure if I stumble I'll be ok! Feels like not all that long ago I was just setting up my first Freenas setup and not knowing a damn thing haha!

John

 

[tvsjr]

Yeah great question.... So, I have a few SSD's just kinda laying around, so I thought I'd pop them in the freenas as an array (so that content would be accessible by any connected device, though I do 99.9% of my gaming on my laptop.... who knows what I'll do with the rest of the space?)

Ok - just because I can is an acceptable reason :)

 

[joeschmuck]

Hum... Now I'm Day Dreaming of using my Sophos box to do this job. If I purchase three 10G cards, Dual port for Sophos, One for FreeNAS, and One for Main Computer, well that would cover it. I'd still want to use copper but it's only a Day Dream, I can't afford that hardware just to make a backup system work a little faster when I don't need it. I'd rather purchase my next set of hard drives (ouch, that hurts too)

 

[jgreco]

You're just not that likely to find cheap copper 10G cards. SFP+ is readily available because it is several generations old, and people are recycling the older stuff.

 

[joeschmuck]

I can lay my hands on lots of fiber for free and even make my own cables if I need to but I'd like to retain copper if possible. But still this is not something in my near future.

 

[jgreco]

Ok - just because I can is an acceptable reason :)

Isn't it usually the *best* reason?

 

[tvsjr]

Isn't it usually the *best* reason?

Absolutely!

 

[anodos]

Isn't it usually the *best* reason?

In a group of men it's certainly the most common reason. And it generally works out fine as long as it's not preceeded by 'hey, hold my beer".

 

[tvsjr]

In a group of men it's certainly the most common reason. And it generally works out fine as long as it's noy proceeded by 'hey, hold my beer".

Lol... outside of the IT space, I'm also a firefighter in my town. You'd be pretty amazed how many calls for service get started by someone uttering the phrase "hold my beer and watch this s***" or some derivative thereof...