I’m planning on upgrading an old home security camera system I’ve had running in one form or another since the 90’s. Replacing all the existing coax analog cameras with network IP cameras. My plan is to build a separate subnet for the cameras, so their traffic doesn’t impact the main lan. The cameras will connect to an 8-port (each port being 1gb) POE+ switch, that has a 10gb SPF+ uplink. The uplink will go to the camera server I’ll build. I’m unsure at that point what 10gb ethernet card I should get for the camera server. I know I’d need the 10gb SPF+ module (or whatever the technical term is for the dongle that would go into the SPF+ connector on the switch), but would I need a matching SPF+ network card in the camera server PC, or could I go with a RJ45-port 10gb network adapter like the Asus XG-C100C? Then, just run a CAT6a cable between the POE switch and the card in the PC? Whatever I do, Linux compatibility is a must, as that’s all I run at home.
Have you checked any math to see whether that is even necessary?
Even if those cameras were top of the line, like some 30MP ones, they aren’t going to use more than 100Mb/s each. You would be fine with a 1Gb connection to the server.
Well, I have been known to over-engineer things…
To be honest, when I realized the existing system was in dire need of replacement, I “pie-in-the-sky”-ed things and said “well, if I run gigabit lan to every camera, and 10gb to the server, I’ll be able to run all the cameras I want in the foreseeable future”.
You have a good point. I just ran some numbers through a bandwidth calculator, and for eight full-HD cameras running high quality H264 and 30 fps, that’s a total of 64 mbits/sec. So, if I dropped back to 1gb lan, I’d still be able to run 16 cameras “full-tilt” without saturating their network. And it would be cheaper, and I have network and PC hardware on-hand for that.
So, having pulled me back from a “Tim the Toolman Taylor” moment, how about the original question for future reference: would a 10gb RJ45 port network adapter like I mentioned work? I can also see me upgrading the home network backbone from 1gb to 10gb someday. Especially if I start trying to process all my astrophotography data directly from the NAS instead of my PC.
You have two options:
Switch (SFP+) → DAC → SFP+ on server
Switch (SFP+) → RJ45 10Gb SFP+ module → RJ45 Cat 6/6A cable → RJ45 on server
The DAC and SFP+ PCIe card option is cheaper in most cases (assuming you’re buying the card used). It is also going to either work at 10Gb or not. The RJ45 option might fall back to a copper link speed of 1Gb if the cable is insufficient.
Edit: DAC means “direct attach cable”. It is a cable with SFP+ at both ends. A passive DAC can go up to 3 meters, and DACs are the lowest latency option between two SFP+ devices (lower conversion latency than fiber or RJ45, because it keeps the signals in the same format).
Got it. I’d not seen the non-SPF option and wasn’t sure it was viable. This is good information, thanks! Will file this away for when the urge hits to speed up the backbone of the home lan.
One consideration not included in your plan is the distance involved. DAC’s are relatively short (up to 10m), so they’re best if the hardware is in the same room. sfp±rj45 modules are limited on range (less than the 100m of native 10gbe) - many top out at 30m on cat6a.
If you need more range, you can graduate to fiber cabling, which is capable of longer runs if you’re willing to fish it through the walls.
Good point. In this case, the camera/POE switch would be sitting well within 10m of the camera server, so DAC would work, as would the SPF-to-RJ45. Thanks!