Sonic.net

Due to the cost of 10gb routers and modems it makes the most sense for those with the technical skills to source their own box with pci-e expansion and than add an SFP+ card. Is this something Sonic could support by offering more info on what is needed?

Thin clients with pci-e around $50 - 250.
SFP+ dual 10gb pci-e card around $35 off ebay.
RJ45 10gb pci-e cards also available, but closer to $100+.

OpnSense or PfSense as the operating system. Interested to hear any thoughts or suggestions!

well. I just happened to see your post.
IMHO, it's kind of very broad topic and it really depends on what the user wants + needs + use cases.

I got Sonic 10G last year at home.
It opened up so many interesting questions and researches on equipments I used.
( too much to talk about the details. At least, now I have 42U Rack at home. I used to have a WiFi Router )

I feel that Sonic gives the white paper or the super high bandwidth we can use it.
How you want to use it and How much you want to use it will go to your Homelab requirements.
From there, you want to to research which equipments you'd buy based on your budget.

It's just my comment
Gatsby

dearscott wrote:Due to the cost of 10gb routers and modems it makes the most sense for those with the technical skills to source their own box with pci-e expansion and than add an SFP+ card. Is this something Sonic could support by offering more info on what is needed?

Thin clients with pci-e around $50 - 250.
SFP+ dual 10gb pci-e card around $35 off ebay.
RJ45 10gb pci-e cards also available, but closer to $100+.

OpnSense or PfSense as the operating system. Interested to hear any thoughts or suggestions!

pfSense CE or Plus is a fine choice and very configurable (haven't used opnsense). Its easy to transfer your config to new hardware as well. Lots of posts about 10GB setups on Netgate's forums, reddit, etc. I suggest researching there before making a choice.

That said I prefer Supermicro boards with passive cooling but to answer your question, many have reported success with Dell R210 II's as long as you can put it in a spot (or rack) where noise won't be a factor. Those can be had from eBay for ~$100. Throw in a SFP+ PCI-E card, some transceiver(s) along with pfSense or opnsense and you will have an affordable 10GB box.

Keep in mind though you'll most likely still want to invest in a managed switch, AP, etc. Whatever you do stay away from generic/cheap knockoff equipment or you'll most likely end up disappointed.

dearscott wrote: SFP+ dual 10gb pci-e card around $35 off ebay.
RJ45 10gb pci-e cards also available, but closer to $100+.

Good luck with that. From what I've gather both anecdotally and through personal experience, almost all of the cheap cards are knockoffs. If you're buying a used card, make darn sure it's real. Having a yottamark sticker isn't enough. Be sure you actually verify that the sticker is real by scanning and/or entering the number on the yottamark website.

Here's some more reading on that:
https://www.servethehome.com/identifyin ... -adapters/