Realtek Previews Platform for Sub-$100 5GbE Network Switches
by Anton Shilov on June 17, 2024 4:30 PM EST- Posted in
- Networking
- Trade Shows
- Realtek
- 5GbE
- Computex 2024
One of the more subtle trends at this year's Computex was that the majority of high-end motherboards now come equipped with a 5GbE network controller. At present, this might be considered a limited benefit as 5GbE and 10GbE switches and routers are still pretty expensive. But Realtek is planning on tackling the issue from both ends, as the company is preparing a hardware platform for sub-$100 5GbE switches.
Realtek’s quad-port 5GbE switch platform consists of five key chips: one RTL9303 switch system-on-chip, and four RTL8251B 5GbE physical interfaces (PHYs). The chips are accompanied by various other components, such as power management ICs, but in general it relies solely on in-house developed components, which is why it can be made so cheap.
RealTek's platform is meant for home and small offices, which is reflected in the switch's feature set. This is a simple, unmanaged switch with a handful of ports, making it ideal for linking up a few systems, while enterprise users will likely find it a bit too basic.
Segmenting the market like this is ultimately critical for bringing down the price of hardware. The bulk of 5GbE/10GbE switches on the market today are more enterprise-focused managed switches, which carry more features and a price premium to match. So developing a stripped-down platform for cheaper consumer switches is a huge development that should finally make it economical for consumers to adopt faster networking hardware, similar to 2.5GbE a few years ago.
At present, 2.5GbE switches are running at around $20/port, so RealTek's sub-$100 target for a 4-port switch aims to bring 5GbE in at just a slightly higher price tag of $25/port. Or, compared to the handful of unmanaged 10GbE switches on the market, which average $60/port, this will be less than half the price (though at half the bandwidth).
The proliferation of cheap 5GbE network switches will also mark a notable inflection point in Ethernet hardware design, as it's the fastest standard that is rated to work the ubiquitous Cat 5e cable. The NBASE-T standard was penned almost a decade ago in order to cover the missing-middle between 1GbE and 10GbE, while getting more bandwidth out of existing, widely-deployed Cat 5e cabling. So with the release of consumer 5GbE gear, the standard's goals are finally coming to fruition – though it does mean we're finally reaching the end of the road for the oldest network cabling still widely in use.
For now, Realtek is only talking about one customer offering a sub-$100 5GbE switch this September, but something tells me that other partners of the company will come up with similar devices soon enough. As a result of the competition, prices could get even lower, which is always good for buyers.
These benefits should also funnel into Wi-Fi 7 routers, to a limited extent. Wired backhaul speeds need to keep pace with ever-faster Wi-Fi standards in order to keep those newer radios fed, so it's not a coincidence that cheaper 5GbE is finally coming right as Wi-Fi 7 is taking off.
Overall, the company's 5GbE switch platform is part of a larger ecosystem of 5GbE hardware that Realtek was showing off at Computex. In addition to RTL8251B 5GbE PHYs and RTL9303 switch SoC, the company is also preparing their RTL8126 PCIe 3.1 network controller, and RTL8157 NIC for USB dongles.
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nfriedly - Wednesday, June 26, 2024 - link
"tenner" means $10, not a website.I just upgraded my home network to 2.5GbE with ali express parts and I'm very happy. 8-port 2.4GbE switches can be had for ~$65, 4-port switches can be had for under $30 (each with 1-2 SFP+ slots that allow you to add a 10G port down the road), and the adapters go for under $10, both PCIe and USB.
"$20 per port" is wildly overpriced for 2.5GbE switches. Even on Amazon you can find options for <$10 per port. There are plenty of more expensive options, but you're mostly paying for branding in that case. Reply
ambhaiji - Thursday, June 27, 2024 - link
tenner is slang for 10 whole units of currency ReplyBrane2 - Tuesday, June 18, 2024 - link
Anything below 10GbE is simply not worth the effort. If one is to upgrade on copper, there is not much logic in making less than highest option - 10GbE. And it's not just about the raw speed. 10GbE NICs are smarter and can do more of the work by themselves, thus lessening the CPU load.There are 8x10GbE/SFP+ + 1x 1G RJ45 for $240ish, which is not that much more per port.
Some have SFP+ cages, which offer options of DAC cable ( cheap, low power) or SFP+ optics or SFP+->RJ45 adapter.
This one is IIRC $300-ish:
https://mikrotik.com/product/crs309_1g_8s_in#fndtn...
And this one is insane: 24 x 10G SFP+ + 2x 40G QSP for $50ish!
That's cheaper per port than those new 5G barebone switches that are yet to come!
https://www.servethehome.com/mikrotik-crs326-24s2q... Reply
lmcd - Tuesday, June 18, 2024 - link
2.5 GbE NICs can be integrated on a motherboard with far fewer issues. My understanding is with 10GbE you basically are choosing between integrated audio and 10GbE on a typical motherboard. I don't mind the idea of making that tradeoff sometimes, but that choice is not an option at all on a laptop, for example.What I would like to see (personally) to advance networking is 10Gb to USB4 adapters for $100 or less. Current going rate on TB3 looks to be $200. Reply
spaceship9876 - Tuesday, June 18, 2024 - link
I hope they make a 2.5gbps 4/5 port switch chip. Few people need 5gbps, a 2.5gbps chip would be cheaper and use less power. Replymczak - Tuesday, June 18, 2024 - link
Realtek already makes a couple cheap 2.5gbps switch chips - RTL8371, RTL8372, RTL8373.I believe the RTL8371 is an older design than the other 2 - no frills 8 port 2.5GbE switch chip. Downside is it requires external PHYs (usually RTL8221B chips) and power consumption is a bit higher than with the other two, and the products using it not really cheaper these days.
RTL8372 and RTL8373 seem very similar. Both have PHYs integrated for 4 2.5GbE ports, plus two 10gb/s serial links. But the 8373 actually muxes 4 2.5GbE connections over one of the 10gb/s links, hence using an additional quad-port PHY (RTL8224) products using this chip usually have 8 2.5GbE ports plus 1 10GbE SFP+ port. If you're willing to go with no-name chinese brand, you can get such switches (for instance like this one, https://www.servethehome.com/real-hd-8-port-2-5gbe... for below 80 USD.
Products using the RTL8372 usually have 4 2.5GbE ports and 1 10GbE SFP+ port, plus either another 10GbE SFP+ port or another 2.5GbE port (this port requires an external RTL8221B PHY). No-name brands sell these for around 50 USD or so (https://www.servethehome.com/ienron-hg0402xg-switc... https://www.servethehome.com/yulinca-2g06110gs-5-p...
Unfortunately it seems more reputable brands aren't selling switches with these yet, or do so at very i inflated prices (it's difficult to figure out what chips they are actually using). Reply
Shmee - Tuesday, June 18, 2024 - link
This is good news, potentially. I hope to see more development and competition for multi-gigabit network gear, and hopefully at lower prices. ReplyJames5mith - Tuesday, June 18, 2024 - link
I know I'm shouting into the void.... But this is not the answer.Standardizing full 802.3bz Multi-Gig switches (100Mb/1/2.5/5/10) is the answer. Mass-producing those chips to bring the price down to $20-$30 is the right answer.
Single speed switches are not the answer. And this comes after I recently migrated my home network from 1GbE to 2.5GbE.
Really, what I want is a 16-port Multi-gig switch as my primary network switch, 4-5 ports for breakout in dense locations, and a smaller 5-8 port PoE++ multi-gig for my APs. Reply
Xajel - Tuesday, June 18, 2024 - link
True, Most high-end WiFi 7 Access Points now uses 10GbE with PoE++, now just take a look at how much any compatible switch with PoE++ powered 10GbE ports cost. Yes I know most of these APs will come with their own injectors, but that's not the point.When I planned to upgrade my network to 2.5GbE, I took my time as switches were expensive, especially as I was looking for PoE switch as well, prices were high to the point I would consider 10GbE instead.. so I found 2x SFP+ & 5x2.5GbE (4 of them are PoE+) and pulled the plug, the SFP+ modules I used were 10GbE but supported 2.5GbE speeds as well as I connected them to my PC and Server, later I bought an M.2 to 10GbE adapter and it worked flawlessly. Reply
lightningz71 - Tuesday, June 18, 2024 - link
So very close. I'm looking for something in the 8 port range that supports Etherchannel/port bonding with a pair of 5Gbps ports. It would be great to be able to use regular Cat6e cable to push multiple 10Gbps connections around the lab and across the house. I know that there's some higher end gear out there that will do that, but, the cost is still a bit steep. Reply