A few months ago, I upgraded all my network switches. I have a 16-port SFP+ switch and a 1GB switch (LAGG to the SPF+ with two DACs). These work perfectly, and I'm really happy with the setup so far.
My main switch ties into a remote switch in another building over a 10Gb fiber line, and this switch ties into another switch of the same model (on a different floor) over a Cat6e cable. These switches are absolute garbage: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084MH9P8Q
I should have known better than to buy a cheap off-brand switch, but I had hoped that Zyxel was a decent enough brand that I'd be okay. Well, you get what you pay for, and that's $360 down the toilett. I constantly have dropped connections, generally resulting in any attached devices completely losing network connectivity, or if I'm lucky, dropping down to dial-up speeds (I'm not exaggerating). The only way to fix it is to pull the power cable to the switch. Even under virtually no load, the switch gets so hot that it's painful to touch. Judging from the fact that my connection is far more stable when the switch is sitting directly in front of an air conditioner, that tells me just about all I need to know.
I'm trying to find a pair of replacement switches, but I'm really striking out. I have two ancient Dell PowerConnect switches that are rock solid, but they're massive, they sound like jet engines, and they use a huge amount of power. Since these are remote from my homelab and live in occupied areas, they just won't work. All I need is a switch that has:
- At least 2 SFP+ ports (or 1 SFP+ port for fiber and a 10Gb copper port)
- At least 4 1Gb ports (or SFP ports; I have a pile of old 1GB SFP adapters)
- Management/VLAN capability Everything I find online is either Chinese white-label junk or is much larger than what I need. A 16-port SFP+ switch would work, but I'd never use most of the ports, and I'd be wasting a lot of money on overkill hardware. As an example, one of these switches is in my home office; it exists solely so I have a connection between my server rack, two PCs, and a single WAP. I am never going to need another LAN connection in my home office; any hardware is going to go in the server rack, but I do need 10GB connectivity on at least one of those PCs.
Does anyone have a suggestion for a small reliable switch that has a few SFP+ ports, is made by a reputable brand, and isn't a fire hazard?
Have you looked into the TP-Link Omada switches? This 8 port has been working well in a home environment - https://www.tp-link.com/us/business-networking/omada-switch-poe/tl-sg3210xhp-m2/.
Fans are LOUD, but the fans can be swapped out for quieter ones if you don't mind the fan error light. For example, see https://www.rootusers.com/how-to-fix-tp-link-tl-sx1008-switch-fan-noise.
I haven't used the Omada switches, but I've had good luck with TP-Link in the past.
Switch fans are almost always going to have some level of noise. The smaller the fan, the faster it has to spin to match whatever the target airflow is. I did a fan swap on one of my Dell switches a few years ago, and while it did help, it took it from "profoundly annoying from behind a closed door" to "it's not too bad if there's TV or music on." The Omada switches look like they might be a good solution, though.
If it helps any, the fan swap for the TP-Link switch TL-SG3210XHP-M2 was for the same size fan, so airflow and speed should be the same, it's just a much quieter fan. I went with the Noctua NF-A4x20 FLX 40x20mm. I'm in the same room as the switch, about 5 feet away, and the 7200 rpm hard drives in the NAS sound louder than the fans on the switch.