2.5 Gbps home network: wired and wireless router, NAS, switch and adapter

[xiaofan]

This is only for those who are adventurous. RT-AX88U does not have the 2.5G port so here is the method to add one. RT-AX86U has already got one 2.5G port, but 2.5G switch is a bit expensive as of now. So some people may want to add another 2.5G port as well.

Ref: the following post mentioned RT-AX88U but the method should also work with RT-AX86U.
https://wu.renjie.im/blog/network/ax88u-nbase-t/
Please refer to the following discussion as well for both RT-AX86U and RT-AX88U.
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/usb-to-2-5gbe-adapter-on-ax88u.67402/page-2

 

[royfrosty]

Hi all. I am getting my new house soon and i am excited to embark on a new connection in my new house.

I am currently on an old legendary m1 2Gbps plan. Which is kinda sad that m1 is not gonna support it soon if i change my address.

Now just assuming that i am gonna downgrade back to 1Gbps plan and i have plan to use the Asustor AS5202T that i just bought (i know its old af, but all i do is just backup high res photos and intending to make use of the 2.5GbE network interface).

Do i still get a solid 2.5GbE speed by attaching a 2.5GbE switch to my standard router which is only 1GbE.

Example....

Router 1GbE > 2.5GbE switch > PC and NAS.

I understand that by doing do i still have internet access for my pc and nas and yet achieving 2.5GbE throughput from my desktop to the nas?

My desktop has a 2.5GbE nic.

Another thing i wanna ask, i am moving on to something a little more adventurous onto Ubiquiti routers & PoE switches with PoE to my rooms and add their unifi AP.

Are there any (recommended yet not break the bank) ubiquiti routers and PoE switches that supports my needs for a faster 2.5GbE speed from ubiquiti switches to my NAS and Desktop?

I have a budget of up to $1k for my networking products.

 

[xiaofan]

1. Yes. Your PC and NAS can still communicate at the speed of 2.5Gbps, as that is within the home network and has nothing to do with your Fibre Internet plan.

Router 1GbE > 2.5GbE switch > PC and NAS.

2. I think you need 10G network gear from Ubiquiti. A quick glance show that you can use the UDM Pro (US$379, or S$589) from SG store) plus the Unifi Flex XG should do the job (US$299, not in SG store). Then you can add their Unifi APs as well. I think your total budget will exceed S$1000 if including Unifi AP.

But I am not an expert for Unifi stuff so please ask in the Ubiquiti thread. Thanks.
https://store.ui.com/collections/unifi-network-unifi-os-consoles/products/udm-prohttps://store.ui.com/collections/unifi-network-switching/products/unifi-flex-xg

 

[moron+genius]

Qnap & tp-link have reasonably priced 2.5gbe unmanaged switches too

 

[TanKianW]

Hi all. I am getting my new house soon and i am excited to embark on a new connection in my new house.

I am currently on an old legendary m1 2Gbps plan. Which is kinda sad that m1 is not gonna support it soon if i change my address.

Now just assuming that i am gonna downgrade back to 1Gbps plan and i have plan to use the Asustor AS5202T that i just bought (i know its old af, but all i do is just backup high res photos and intending to make use of the 2.5GbE network interface).

Do i still get a solid 2.5GbE speed by attaching a 2.5GbE switch to my standard router which is only 1GbE.

Example....

Router 1GbE > 2.5GbE switch > PC and NAS.

I understand that by doing do i still have internet access for my pc and nas and yet achieving 2.5GbE throughput from my desktop to the nas?

My desktop has a 2.5GbE nic.

Another thing i wanna ask, i am moving on to something a little more adventurous onto Ubiquiti routers & PoE switches with PoE to my rooms and add their unifi AP.

Are there any (recommended yet not break the bank) ubiquiti routers and PoE switches that supports my needs for a faster 2.5GbE speed from ubiquiti switches to my NAS and Desktop?

I have a budget of up to $1k for my networking products.

Just a heads-up. If you have not been a network person, you will need to spend sometime reading/checking out the network tutorials online or on the forum.

There is a few alternatives which you can look at, if you are really feeling adventurous. I will recommend:​

• Go all the way to 10G, instead of 2.5G.​
• Go for a "not full" Unifi set up.​

For routers/firewall: You can consider a software firewall like pfsense. Which is more powerful and customizable than Unifi's UDM/Pro offerings. Can take a look here:
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/starting-pfsense-for-new-users.6390714/

For switches: Unifi switches and POE are fine. Just take note that you will need a cloud key (or UDM) or host a Unifi controller locally if you want to invest into Unifi's ecosystem.

I recommend to read online reviews/forums on the pros/cons of Unifi's ecosystem before you commit. After committing, there will (most likely) be no turning back.​

 

[xiaofan]

Yes I agree. If you are doing renovation for the new house, for sure you want to consider 10G home network. You probably do not need the

As for more advanced home network, pfSense + Ubiquiti Unifi PoE Switch and APs combinations seem to be pretty good. The following video will give you some idea (not for 10G).

 

[hairymonster]

Hi all. I am getting my new house soon and i am excited to embark on a new connection in my new house.

I am currently on an old legendary m1 2Gbps plan. Which is kinda sad that m1 is not gonna support it soon if i change my address.

Now just assuming that i am gonna downgrade back to 1Gbps plan and i have plan to use the Asustor AS5202T that i just bought (i know its old af, but all i do is just backup high res photos and intending to make use of the 2.5GbE network interface).

Do i still get a solid 2.5GbE speed by attaching a 2.5GbE switch to my standard router which is only 1GbE.

Example....

Router 1GbE > 2.5GbE switch > PC and NAS.

I understand that by doing do i still have internet access for my pc and nas and yet achieving 2.5GbE throughput from my desktop to the nas?

My desktop has a 2.5GbE nic.

Another thing i wanna ask, i am moving on to something a little more adventurous onto Ubiquiti routers & PoE switches with PoE to my rooms and add their unifi AP.

Are there any (recommended yet not break the bank) ubiquiti routers and PoE switches that supports my needs for a faster 2.5GbE speed from ubiquiti switches to my NAS and Desktop?

I have a budget of up to $1k for my networking products.

Your NAS model has 2x 2.5Gbe ports.

If you could create a virtual switch in asustor to link the 2x 2.5Gbe ports, I would propose the following configuration.

Router -> NAS -> PC

In this configuration you can read and write @ 2.5Gbps to the NAS, and still have internet connection on your PC.

So while deciding which equipment you want to go for, try the above recommendation.

 

[xiaofan]

Your NAS model has 2x 2.5Gbe ports.

If you could create a virtual switch in asustor to link the 2x 2.5Gbe ports, I would propose the following configuration.

Router -> NAS -> PC

In this configuration you can read and write @ 2.5Gbps to the NAS, and still have internet connection on your PC.

So while deciding which equipment you want to go for, try the above recommendation.

So you are trying to say that 2.5G (or 10G) switch is not necessay in this case, and you can use normal 1Gbps Router and PoE switch which is much cheaper.

Unifi UDM (S$469) + Switch 8 Lite PoE (S$169) + U6 LR (S$279) plus some accessories will indeed be less than S$1000.
https://sg.store.ui.com/collections/unifi-network-switching
1) Router (1G) -- 1Gbps PoE switch -- NAS 2.5 G port 1
2) NAS 2.5G Port 2 -- PC with 2.5Gbe adapter
3) 1Gbps PoE switch -- Unfi APs

However, I do not know whether the Asustor AS5202T has the "virtual switch" function or not. They only mention Link Aggregation only in the website.
https://www.asustor.com/en/product?p_id=61
Anyway if that feature is not available, there seems to be solutions as well to place the NAS between Switch and PC.
https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/how-to-place-my-asustor-nas-between-pc-and-switch.2577702/
Worst case, just need to add another gigabit adapter on the PC to connect to the 1G switch to have access to the internet.

 

[hairymonster]

So you are trying to say that 2.5G (or 10G) switch is not necessay in this case, and you can use normal 1Gbps Router and PoE switch which is much cheaper.

Unifi UDM (S$469) + Switch 8 Lite PoE (S$169) + U6 LR (S$279) plus some accessories will indeed be less than S$100.
https://sg.store.ui.com/collections/unifi-network-switching
1) Router (1G) -- 1Gbps PoE switch -- NAS 2.5 G port 1
2) NAS 2.5G Port 2 -- PC with 2.5Gbe adapter
3) 1Gbps PoE switch -- Unfi APs

However, I do not know whether the Asustor AS5202T has the "virtual switch" function or not. They mention Link Aggregation only in the website.
https://www.asustor.com/en/product?p_id=61
Anyway if that feature is not available, there seems to be solutions as well to place the NAS between Switch and PC.
https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/how-to-place-my-asustor-nas-between-pc-and-switch.2577702/
Worst case, just need to add another gigabit adapter on the PC to connect to the 1G switch to have access to the internet.

I'm not saying is not necessary. It depends on the use case.

For future proofing, get the 2.5/10gbps switch. Depending on your physical network topology, you may need 2x switches. Cost will be a consideration.

But if you only want to utilise the 2.5gbps port to the asustor, trunk the two ports. I'm not sure whether asustor allows you to define a virtual switch, you need to check out in the OS.

 

[hairymonster]

I'm not saying is not necessary. It depends on the use case.

For future proofing, get the 2.5/10gbps switch. Depending on your physical network topology, you may need 2x switches. Cost will be a consideration.

But if you only want to utilise the 2.5gbps port to the asustor, trunk the two ports. I'm not sure whether asustor allows you to define a virtual switch, you need to check out in the OS.

I just checked out the demo UI. Seem you can't define a virtual switch.

 

[xiaofan]

I just checked out the demo UI. Seem you can't define a virtual switch.

Thanks for the confirmation. That is what I thought as well. It is probably possible to leverage Virtualbox for something similar but I believe the performance will not be so good.
https://www.asustor.com/admv2?type=3&subject=17&sub=63

 

[royfrosty]

Waaaah. I didnt expect quite a number of replies. First and foremost, thank you all for your time to reply/feedback. And i guess there were some heated arguements (appologies for opening the can of worms)

I will take some consideration for the pfsense and probably with a switch that is capable of 10GbE instead for internal LAN usage.

Another question i wanna ask, sorry if it sound naive, i understand the ISP provided modem is just another "Media Converter". Will those routers with SFP modules accept the WAN connection? If thats the case am i able to do without the need of the ISP provided modem?

 

[xiaofan]

Another question i wanna ask, sorry if it sound naive, i understand the ISP provided modem is just another "Media Converter". Will those routers with SFP modules accept the WAN connection? If thats the case am i able to do without the need of the ISP provided modem?

No issues with technical discussions. It is good to have different opinions.

As for the ONT/ONR, unfortunately not for most of the ISPs. You have to use their ONT/ONR.

The only exception may be the expensive SuperInternet 10Gbps plan which they do not even advertise on their website.
Ref: https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...ps-access-residential-service.5296094/page-11

 

[xiaofan]

In the earlier posts, I mentioned about using Ugreen USB 3 (Type A or Type C) 2.5G adapters. They seem to work fine under Windows. However, you may want to avoid them if you are going to use Linux, at least for now. It seems to work under my Mac Mini M1 as well but I have not done much test. So it is probably better to avoid it as well if you use macOS.

You can refer to my struggle here with regard to slow Rx speed (TX speed is okay near 2.5Gbps). Interestingly I have three Linux installations, one mini PC is okay with near 2.4Gbps Rx speed, my laptop running Linux only got 1.2Gbps Rx speed, worst is another mini PC which only got 400Mbps.
Ref: https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...ters-for-type-1-hypervisor-platforms.6661019/

 

[xiaofan]

There are USB 3 to 5Gbe adapters as well. They probably can not achieve 5Gbps though.

 

[xiaofan]

One more good route option from MikroTik. S$371 from Lazada MikroTik (seems to be an authorized resale of MikroTik). 2.5G capable and 10G ready.

265 Views | MIKROTIK Router 2+IN | 7x Gigabit RB5009UG+ Ethernet 1x 2.5G Ethernet 1x 10G SFP+ | RouterOS L5Marvell Armada Quad-core ARMv8 1.4 GHz CPU | | https://s.lazada.sg/s.ZBM0t

 

[TanKianW]

One more good route option from MikroTik. S$371 from Lazada MikroTik (seems to be an authorized resale of MikroTik). 2.5G capable and 10G ready.

265 Views | MIKROTIK Router 2+IN | 7x Gigabit RB5009UG+ Ethernet 1x 2.5G Ethernet 1x 10G SFP+ | RouterOS L5Marvell Armada Quad-core ARMv8 1.4 GHz CPU | | https://s.lazada.sg/s.ZBM0t

Do take note that the newer MikroTik CCR/RB series can only use RouterOS v7. The latest v7.1, though it is an official stable release, in my opinion is still not ready (Eg. Wireguard).

You can read quite a few bug report on the forum/online. Good to wait a while or look at other alternatives.

 

[xiaofan]

I have received a newly purchased Chuwi Herobox Mini from their official Shopee Store -- Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core CPU, 8GB/256GB with Windows 10. The first thing I do is to remove Windows and install Linux (Ubuntu 20.04 desktop). Supprisingly it comes with Intel I225 2.5G Ethernet adapter and not the lousy RealTek RTL8168 on the Herobox Pro (which I bought earlier and that one is actually slightly more expensive with Intel N4500 dual-core CPU).

 

[DarthGW]

i am also looking at 2.5Gbe unmanaged switch (5-ports). so am i right to say there is only the TL-SH1005 and ASW205T models availalbe? I am looking preferably for those using UK plug instead of resorting to adapter.

 

[loganrunning]

i am also looking at 2.5Gbe unmanaged switch (5-ports). so am i right to say there is only the TL-SH1005 and ASW205T models availalbe? I am looking preferably for those using UK plug instead of resorting to adapter.

i see this mentioned: https://www.qnap.com/solution/2.5g/en/