alt Hacker NewsGigabit seems undersized for a home LAN these days. 2.5Gb equipment isn't significantly more expensive and any Cat6 should handle it. Fiber is cheap enough too if you want some 10Gb devices. Only expensive thing is SFP ethernet adapters but you can put an SFP NIC in your PC and bypass the problem.
I've been using this equipment in my home LAN for a mix of 10Gb fiber, 2.5Gb ethernet, and a small number of devices that came with 10Gb ethernet ports (Tyan motherboards) get SFP ethernet adapters.
Unmanaged 4x2.5Gb ethernet 2x10Gb fiber - https://a.co/d/08J99UjH - I daisy chain these with fiber connections to have a kind of 10Gb backbone that terminates at my main PC with the fiber NIC.
Managed 10x fiber - https://a.co/d/06927QeJ - This is the most economical 10Gb fiber switch I could find at the time and it's had no problems for the low price. Has a serial management interface in addition to web. Extensive management capabilities. I've used its link aggregation successfully.
Managed 4x2.5Gb ethernet 2x10Gb fiber - https://a.co/d/0fud7jzF - First hope off my modem before the fiber switch, good management capabilities.
It's kind of funny, my LAN is all random Amazon brands people would warm against relying on, but I picked out ones that have been solid and reliable for years of use. No need to break the bank if you find the right stuff.
Replies
> Fiber is cheap enough too if you want some 10Gb devices.
The problem with Fiber for now will remain that so few consumer devices can actually connect to it without first converting to RJ45. You are p much limited to some enthusiast networking gear and server gear and everything else needs you to convert.
I recently had my families home ethernet situation upgraded and we went with Cat8 for now (it wasn't meaningfully more expensive to doing any other Cat cable all things considered). It is compatibile with networking stuff that is commonly available today and hopefully in the future some switch will appear to make full use of it (I am slightly sceptical, but I assume 10G will at least still be seen over Cat for consumers).
> 2.5Gb equipment isn't significantly more expensive and any Cat6 should handle it. Fiber is cheap enough too if you want some 10Gb devices
You don't need Cat6 for 2.5G. Regular Cat5e that has been installed everywhere for years is fine for 2.5G.
Cat6 is enough for 10G ethernet within the lengths you find in a typical residential house. You don't need fiber.
For short runs even 10G works on quality Cat5e.
I think some home lab fans overestimate network cabling requirements. With Cat6 I could string a cable from one end of my house and back and not even be close to breaking the spec for 10G. For 2.5G ethernet cheap Cat5e will get you anywhere you need to reach in a residential home.