How to Choose the Best 10 Gigabit Switch for Home?
With the popularity of 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and the price of 10 Gigabit devices is dropping over the years, the individual demand for high speed grows accordingly. Therefore, for those home individual users such as technology enthusiasts, gamers, professional video editors who enjoy more broadband speeds, the 10GbE switch will be a good helper for them to build the 10G network. Then, how to choose the best 10 Gigabit switch for home, let's find out.
Overview of 10 Gigabit Switch for Home
In general, the home-use 10 Gigabit switches come with two choices. One is a 10GBASE-T switch, which can be connected over copper cables, and the other is a 10GbE SFP+ switch that functions well through 10G SFP+ fiber transceivers and fiber optic cables.
Figure1: 32-Port 10GbE Switch
Note: some Gigabit switches are also equipped with a few 10Gb SFP+ uplinks. Users can upgrade their 1 Gigabit networks to 10G through the 10G SFP+ uplink ports.
Why 10 Gigabit Switch is Needed for Home?
A 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch is necessary for home users to meet a specific network requirement. For example, a 10G Ethernet switch can meet video editors' greater demand for transmission speed and LAN storage. They can use a 10 Gigabit switch to connect the main PC and NAS (Network Attached Storage), then the video storage space is converted from PC storage to NAS storage. In addition, the security of data and the convenience of external network access is also improved.
Six Considerations When Selecting 10 Gigabit Switch for Home
To make sure the 10G Ethernet switch that you choose is suitable for your home network, you need to consider the following several aspects of 10 Gigabit switches.
10G Switches' Ports——Closed Related with Your Home Devices
There are two main port types of 10G network switches, copper ports and optical ports. The copper ports on a 10 Gigabit switch support Ethernet cables like Cat6 for data transmission, but the distance is limited to 100m (330ft). If your legacy network uses Cat5e or Cat6 Ethernet cables to transmit data, it's a good choice to buy a 10GBase-T network switch. You can continue to use the existing cables to achieve a 10G transmission.
But if you decide to upgrade to 10G fiber networks, buying a 10G SFP+ network switch is better. The optical ports on the 10 Gigabit switch can be inserted with SFP+ transceivers and fiber optic cables, which bring benefits in lowering latency and lowering power consumption.
One more important thing is that you should figure out how many of your home devices need to be connected to the 10 Gigabit switch, so as to select a 10 Gigabit switch with enough ports of number. Usually, a 12-port 10GbE switch can satisfy most home users.
Network Deployment Cost——To Find the Cost-Effective Solution for Home
The 10G switch's network deployment cost mainly depends on the 10GBASE-T switch or 10GbE SFP+ switch. For the home network, if you choose a 10GBASE-T switch, the conventional Cat6 Ethernet cable will make it with ease. If you choose a 10GbE SFP+ switch, you need to prepare the dedicated SFP+ modules and optical fibers. Note that, one optical fiber requires two SFP+ modules. So, buying a home-use 10GbE SFP+ switch, you also need to pay for the SFP+ transceivers. And this will further increase the cost of 10G network installation.
Home Use——Choose a Managed or Unmanaged 10G Switch
An unmanaged 10G switch is a plug-and-play device that comes with a fixed configuration that cannot be changed, it is easy to use and suitable for home users who just want to set up a 10G network and don’t want to interfere in its management.
In contrast, a managed 10G switch is more complex, it also requires some skill to set up and maintain. It allows users to change settings. Users can disable unused ports, limit access to your network, limit speed, prioritize traffic, adjust parameters, and more. Even if all your home devices are active simultaneously, clogged traffic will not be a problem. And the 10G switches with features such as IPv6 ACL(Access Control List) can help increase your home network security, making it possible for controlling switch port access for each network user individually. In this way, the technology enthusiasts will find this managed 10G switch better.
Backward Compatibility——Want to Connect the Legacy Device or Cabling?
The 10G Ethernet switch's backward compatibility is also an important point to consider. 10GbE SFP+ switch vs 10GBASE-T switch, if you used copper cables for network deployment at an earlier time, we recommend a 10GBASE-T switch which can be backward compatible with 10Mbps, 100Mbps, and 1Gbps. And a 1GBASE-T switch with a few SFP+ uplink ports is also a choice to upgrade to 10G networks while connecting legacy devices. If optic fibers were adopted for network deployment earlier, we recommend a 10GbE SFP+ switch.
Home Network——Use a PoE or Non-PoE 10G Switch
If you're planning to install IP Phone, security camera, and more in your home, then the 10G PoE switch will be a great option, because the PoE technology can support power and data transmission over the same network cables, while a Non-PoE 10GbE switch can not make it. Besides, the 10G PoE switch with great flexibility allows you to easily place endpoints anywhere in your home, no need to consider the power outlet. For more information about the PoE switches, please click: All You Need to Know About PoE Switches.
Figure2: 10G PoE Switch for Home Network
10G Switch with Smart Fans——Creat a Quiet Environment for Your Family
To select a 10 Gigabit switch for home use, you need to consider the smart fans design of a 10G switch, because this functional design not only guarantees superior cooling performance, power reduction, but also for creating a quiet environment for you and your family, no need to worry that this 10 Gigabit switch with smart fans will make noises to disrupt your home environment.
Conclusion
Using a 10 Gigabit switch to build a 10G home network is becoming more and more popular, you need to consider your real need and the above-mentioned points when planning to select the best 10G switch for the home network. And you can also consult FS for more information about the 10 Gigabit switches.