Need a 12 port 2,5Gbit Switch WITHOUT FANS !

Louis2 · March 8, 2024, 2:12pm

I need a combined 2.5Gbit + 10Gbit switch like the ^CRS310-8G+2S+IN^ but significant better.

same size
NO FANS (actual device with fans is an absolute NO GO!)
proper cooling with COOL-elements on tot of the 10G cases !! (very strange that that cooling is missing!)
at least 12 2.5Gbit ports (better 16)
at leased two 10G SFP+ ports (to use it as an 2,5G only switch, next to a 10G switch)
or better with eight 10G SFP+ ports to use it as a switch capable of managing both my 10G and my 2.5 G-network
at least usable as powerful managed switch.
reasonable price which will of course be a bit above the actual CRS310

I really really would like such a switch

Louis2 · March 8, 2024, 2:13pm

PS four POE ports would be a welcome bonus

mbovenka · March 8, 2024, 3:03pm

I think squeezing all that in and have it passively cooled to boot is going to be a tall order. Especially if you want PoE to boot. I wouldn’t count on something like that appearing any time soon.

Louis2 · March 8, 2024, 3:21pm

Fanless cooling with decent cool block on the switch chip and on the SFP+ cases, would just be proper thermal design. The sfp+ modules need at least as much cooling as the switch chip! Nothing more than that!
Twelve in state eight 2.5 ports seems possible to me as well. Also at this moment in time.

Note that I used to have a CRS317 with the same bad thermal design. Noisy fans cooling ^nothing^. The cpu cool block, was not cooled by the fans, and the SPF+ modules also not. So also not. So lots of improvement options in regard to thermal designs

anav · April 6, 2025, 5:26pm

https://www.zyxel.com/us/en-us/products/switch/8-16-port-2-5gbe-smart-managed-switch-with-2-sfp-uplink-xmg1915-series

Louis2 · April 12, 2025, 4:48pm

Guess what … I did buy it the Zyxel XMG1915-10E !

I love Mikrotik however this switch has so much advantages:

all ports are in one line, not two rows high which makes in much more accessible
it has no fans
it is not as high or deep as the Mikrotik models
I do not really like the termal design of some Mikrotik models
the fans are making noise and the earflow is not cooling e.g. the SFP+ modules etc

If fact IMHO Mikrotik is very late with updating the successful models from a couple of years ago.

I am quite happy with the Zyxel switch! Not saying that I do not like Mikrotik !

sirbryan · April 12, 2025, 8:34pm

I’m posting this here because, while the Zyxel looks nice, I don’t know that it will fit well into an ISP’s network, and I know a lot of ISP’s looking for a switch that meets your topic and OP.

I have a couple of the Hyconext switches. While they have fans, they’re pretty quiet unless you’re putting a 100W or more through them. The fans look like they could be replaced with Noctua fans.

They can handle lots of passive POE (MikroTIk, Ubiquiti, Siklu, Cambium) at both 24 and 48 volts. They have AC and DC/battery models.

8 x 2.5, 2 x SFP+:

https://hyconext.com/l2-managed-poe-switches/18990-15-new-nextwav-lite-25g-poe-series--8-ports-25g--2-sfp-10g-ports--250w-poe-power-hc8mt2xp-up-series.html#/11-choose-ac

16 2.5, 6 x SFP+:

https://hyconext.com/l2-managed-poe-switches/16772-6-nextwav-25g-poe-series---16-ports-25g--6-sfp-10g-ports--500w-poe-power-hc16mt6xp-up-series.html#/11-choose-ac

I would love to see a CRS300 series switch with the same specs as the Hyconext models.