10GbE is a high-speed network technology that every NAS and home server enthusiast dreams of. Although the allure of installing a 10GbE network card for ultra-high bandwidth is strong, it’s not necessary for everyone.
If you’re considering whether your workstation would benefit from upgrading its network interface card (NIC), read on. This article will help you understand when you actually need a 10GbE NIC.
01
When is 10GbE useful?
Firstly, understand a basic concept: in 10GbE, “Gb” stands for gigabits, not gigabytes. So, 10GbE actually means 10 gigabits, not 10 gigabytes. Since 1 byte equals 8 bits, the speed of a 10GbE NIC is 1.2 gigabytes per second, while a standard 1GbE card achieves only one-tenth of this speed.
Clearly, upgrading to 10GbE dramatically increases your bandwidth. When transferring large files on servers using SSDs, you will notice a significant speed difference, especially if you previously used the 1GbE standard. However, for regular NAS users, the performance improvement from upgrading to 10GbE from 5GbE or even 2.5GbE may not be so noticeable, unless you use multiple NVMe SSDs or complex RAID configurations.
Here are some scenarios where you might need 10GbE:
- Powerful home lab servers: If you have a powerful Xeon server running hundreds of containers and virtual machines, and multiple devices connect to this server, a lower bandwidth NIC will quickly become insufficient. Upgrading to 10GbE would be a wise choice.
- High-end NAS: With the rise of all-flash NAS, they saturate bandwidth more easily compared to traditional HDD NAS. Even old NVMe SSD models can saturate the bandwidth of a standard network card. If you plan to use multiple NVMe SSDs in a RAID configuration, you’re likely to hit the 10GbE NIC’s 1.2 gigabytes per second limit.
- Video editing workstations: Transferring large amounts of data via SSD can bottleneck slower network cards. For users storing large amounts of video on dedicated NAS, upgrading to 10GbE can significantly reduce rendering times.
02
Should you upgrade to a 10GbE NIC?
For high-end users with multiple nodes connecting to servers, or for professional video creators, a 10GbE card is a good investment. However, for regular NAS users, 2.5GbE is likely sufficient, as even a 5GbE connection might be overkill for everyday server tasks.
03
Conclusion
When it comes to Ethernet connections, there are many factors to consider, such as the type of switch and cables, which will influence your choice. If your network equipment is outdated, installing a 10GbE NIC might not be necessary. There’s also a significant price difference between 2.5/5GbE components and 10GbE parts; paying extra for higher bandwidth may not be necessary for your work.
In summary, if your devices currently have 1GbE network cards, upgrading to 2.5GbE is a wise choice. For Plex media streaming or lightweight virtualization tasks, 1GbE is sufficient, but file transfers can easily saturate a 1GbE bandwidth. Even with professional-grade hard drives, a single HDD can approach the 120MB/s transfer speed of a 1GbE connection, making 2.5GbE a worthwhile upgrade for home servers.
In short, 10GbE is a great upgrade, but it’s only worth investing in when you truly need it.
Related:
Disclaimer:
- This channel does not make any representations or warranties regarding the availability, accuracy, timeliness, effectiveness, or completeness of any information posted. It hereby disclaims any liability or consequences arising from the use of the information.
- This channel is non-commercial and non-profit. The re-posted content does not signify endorsement of its views or responsibility for its authenticity. It does not intend to constitute any other guidance. This channel is not liable for any inaccuracies or errors in the re-posted or published information, directly or indirectly.
- Some data, materials, text, images, etc., used in this channel are sourced from the internet, and all reposts are duly credited to their sources. If you discover any work that infringes on your intellectual property rights or personal legal interests, please contact us, and we will promptly modify or remove it.
