Brocade ICX Series (cheap and powerful 10gbE/40gbE switching)
forums.servethehome.comI’ve been using one of these for a few years. Prices have gone up drastically, but they are still just about the cheapest solid infra you can get at home and fully license (they use the honor system for licensing).
The ICX7150-C12P is nice, but it needs some airflow as they are known to die if they run hot. It’s an issue with the power supply and repairable, but easier to just make sure they are cooled a little.
Seems to be a fair amount of recent interest in 10gbE home networking. I bought a Brocade ICX6450 based on this thread with 24 Poe+ ports and 4 SFP+ ports for about $100 on eBay with free shipping - it works amazingly well and powers my entire home network.
Bit of a learning curve, but I found the CLI interface to be similar enough to Junos, which I learned while managing EX switches.
I bought an ICX6450 too; the learning curve is indeed pretty steep and getting the 10Gb ports enabled.. well I got the licenses sorted but the ports still don't work and remain dark no matter what I try.
I'm thinking of switching to something less advanced, there just isn't a ton of great information I could find to get things sorted with the ICX.
I'm competent enough to setup pfSense, but this Brocade switch has become a pain in the neck! Recently after a power outage, the switch doesn't even work right anymore and I'm not sure where to begin troubleshooting it.
Curious what others are using for 10Gb at home? I'm all ears and will be grateful if you have recommendations.
One thing that has caught me out with the 10Gb ports that need licensed:
If you enable them with license and don’t provision them, they won’t run at 10Gb. Further, you have to commit the changes or else they won’t stick on power cycle.
Sounds stupid but this had me going in circles for a while: apply license, provision the ports, commit the changes, check connection, cycle power and check again.
> Curious what others are using for 10Gb at home? I'm all ears and will be grateful if you have recommendations.
Lots of options. What’s your budget, both for purchase and power draw? How many ports do you need? 10GBASE-T or is SFP+ okay? How much noise can you tolerate (i.e. is this in a basement closet or right next to your desk)?
Priorities: 24 port RJ-45, PoE, SFP+, low power draw.