CRS305-1G-4S+IN is a fantastic device at a fantastic price. I would hope to think this has been a very successful product for Mikrotik.
It would be great to eventually see a 25G refresh in the same or similar form factor, while maintaining the same great features of the original: mgmt port/poe, multiple power inputs, passive cooling. Backwards compatible with 10G/1G, of course!
- 25Gb ISPs - There are only a few globally, but those few ISPs are starting to offer 25Gbps, and likely more over the coming years with 25G PON and 50G PON down the road.
- Affordable - 25Gbe PCIe cards from Intel, Mellanox, and Broadcom are now firmly in the $40-200 range on Ebay, and 25GBe SR modules and DACs are about 2.2x the price of 10G.
- All-Flash Storage - The per-TB price of flash storage will continue to decline YoY, making all-flash storage on the network more affordable and common.
100G is the new 10G in the data center. 25G should be the new 10G for the home office, enthusiast, and home lab market, and this type of device would be an ideal entry point into 25G networking as the CRS305-1G-4S+IN has been for 10G networking.