Buffalo Releases LXW-10G2/2G4 Switch: Two 10 GbE + Four 2.5 GbE Ports
by Anton Shilov on November 13, 2019 5:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Networking
- 10G Ethernet
- Buffalo
- Switch
- Ethernet
- 2.5 GbE
One of the big reasons for why faster-than-GbE networks have not gained traction in the consumer space is due to a lack of appropriate network switches. 10 GbE switches are generally aimed at businesses, and they are priced accordingly. Fortunately, the situation is beginning to change. Buffalo Japan has introduced its new six-port switch featuring two 10 GbE ports and four 2.5 GbE ports that is designed for home use.
Buffalo’s LXW-10G2/2G4 Giga Switch is aimed at homes with a high-speed optical Internet connectivity as well as multiple computers or NAS with 2.5 GbE or 10 GbE network adapters and/or Gigabit-class Wi-Fi. The switch can automatically prioritize 10 GbE connectivity and also supports loop detection to optimize a network’s configuration and performance. Besides the switch, Buffalo also offers its WXR-5950AX12 10G Wi-Fi router as well as LUA-U3-A2G 2.5 GbE USB adapter for PCs.
Buffalo’s LXW-10G2/2G4 switch will be available starting from mid-December exclusively in Japan, but nothing stops the company to start sales of the product elsewhere. The price of the switch will be approximately ¥34,000 including taxes ($312 with VAT, $283 w/o VAT), which is quite expensive even by Japanese standards. Though at least for the time being, it's a rather unique offering in the consumer switch space; similar switches with a mix of ports have generally combined 10 GbE with pure GbE, so the use of 2.5 GbE ports makes for an interesting development.
Related Reading:
- Realtek 2.5 GbE PCIe Cards Now For Sale
- Intel Quietly Mentions 2.5 GbE Ethernet Controllers
- Netgear Expands Insight-Supported Network Switch Lineup
- GIGABYTE’s GC-AQC107 10G Ethernet PCIe Card Launched and Listed
- Aquantia Multi-Gig: Single Chip USB 3.0 to 5G/2.5G Dongles Coming Soon
- ASUS Launches XG-C100C 10 GBase-T Adapter: Aquantia AQC107, $99
Source: Buffalo Japan (via PC Watch, Hermitage Akihabara)
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name99 - Thursday, November 14, 2019 - link
That's an office setup. Most home setups are a lot more fragmented than that.Sure, some people have central servers, but other houses are just a collection of random machines of varying ages and performing varying tasks.
I see the 10G/2.5G split as relevant to that market not because of optimized connectivity to a single resource, but because of heterogenous ethernet adaptors -- the new machine(s) might be on 10G, the older ones are on 1G and could be upgraded to 2.5G.
A device like this gets you doubling your speed (1 to 2.5G) for most connections, and gets you 10G for connecting the two new fast machines together. That's good enough for a lot of houses today, and then in four or five years you can upgrade to whatever (cheaper, smaller) all-10G solution has become available.
(And if you're asking dumb questions like "how do I get a 10G internet connection?" or "why do I need 10G to connect to my WiFi?", then YOU ARE NOT IN THE MARKET FOR THIS.
Not everything is about you!
Those of us who DO want connectivity like this are people who are in the business of occasionally moving large files around our homes from one machine to another, for whatever reason. If you don't do that, lucky you. You don't need to spend $350.)
deil - Thursday, November 14, 2019 - link
I agree :) still. even a single 10GB and others 2.5G allows me to set home media server at full 1GB speed for everyone not affecting one another. I still dig on that.I hope we will see something with limited but more affordable stuff, like 5G to 8x1GB switch ....
second thing is cooling, as I tried one, and it overheated.
Samus - Friday, November 15, 2019 - link
This is awesome for a small network running a file server with an SQL database or quickbooks, where each node would have a FULL 2.5Gbps uplink to the server via a 10Gbps link.But it's a hard sell for $200-$300 unless someone actually fits that niche.
sor - Wednesday, November 13, 2019 - link
I might be willing to buy something like this for $99.saratoga4 - Wednesday, November 13, 2019 - link
You can get a 4 port, 10Gbit SFP+ switch for $130 right now on Amazon. 2.5G stuff needs to get cheaper before it really makes sense (and of course it will eventually).sor - Thursday, November 14, 2019 - link
But you have to buy optics and still have fewer ports. I think 10Gbit simple switches need to get to $25/port and 5/2.5Gbit below ~$10 to hit “expensive but do-able” for hobbyists.name99 - Thursday, November 14, 2019 - link
For home use, stop claiming that cost is the issue.Cost is the issue for SOME home setups. But the real issue is that people have different demands for home equipment. It needs to be small. It needs to be quiet. It needs to get out the way and not make itself noticed.
THOSE requirements are what has been missing so far in this market; cost is a secondary issue.
sor - Thursday, November 14, 2019 - link
If you say so.I think cost is the primary issue. I’m not looking for 2.5g or 10g to replace every single desktop switch use case, I just want it to be feasible for anyone with a wired home to have a central switch, 2.5g WiFi APs, 10g through the walls to a few key points. I think there’s a decent market for these kinds of setups.
This buffalo switch is a desktop switch, designed to uplink you a 10g central switch. Like I said, if it were $99 I’d drop one on my desktop, but I’d still need a reasonably priced central home switch to uplink.
edzieba - Thursday, November 14, 2019 - link
"SFP+"Well, there's your problem. That means either you have to buy a transceiver for both ends of every single link (and potentially need to run fibre if you want to go more than a couple of metres and your existing cabling is 'only' Cat 5e), or run expensive Direct Attached cables.
Jorgp2 - Thursday, November 14, 2019 - link
Lol.Copper 10G is expensive.
Your solution to avoiding expensive copper SFP modules is to buy a switch with the additional price built in.