If you’re looking to upgrade your home network beyond Gigabit, Zyxel has not one, not two, but three options for you to get the job done. Today, the company launched the new Zyxel XMG1915 series with three new comparatively affordable 2.5Gbps switches, all with dual SFP+ ports as the uplink options.
Zyxel XMG1915 Series: Flexible managed switches
These new switches include:
- Zyxel XMG1915-10E 8-port 2.5GbE Smart Managed Switch with 2 SFP+ Uplink.
- Zyxel XMG1915-10EP 8-port 2.5GbE Smart Managed PoE Switch with 2 SFP+ Uplink.
- Zyxel XMG1915-18EP 16-port 2.5GbE Smart Managed PoE Switch with 2 SFP+ Uplink.
As you might have noted from the names, these all come with 2.5BASE-T Multi-Gig ports to host wired devices and two SFP+ ports. You can use one of the SFP+ ports for the uplink and the other for the downlink in a daisy-chain setup for another 10Gbps device.
Generally, you want to use the fastest port for the uplink since it’s the bandwidth for all other ports. Specifically, a single SFP+ can deliver enough bandwidth for five concurrent 2.5Gbps connections.
BASE-T vs. SFP+
BASE-T (or BaseT) is the standard port type for data communication and refers to the 8-position, 8-contact (8P8C) wiring method used in copper network cables and their connectors at both ends.
This type is known by the misnomer “Registered Jack 45” (RJ45), which is more commonly used. For decades, RJ45 has been the go-to standard for consumer-grade and office network connectivity.
Generally, copper network cables can support up to 10Gbps connection speeds and feature the following speed grades:
- Standard Ethernet: 10Mbps
- Fast Ethernet: 100Mbps
- Gigabit: 1000Mbps
- Multi-Gig Ethernet: 2.5GbE (2.5Gbps) and/or 5GbE (5Gbps)
- 10GbE: 10000Mbps
RJ45 ports and cables are interchangeable and backward-compatible across speed grades.
On the other hand, the SFP, now with its popular SFP+ (plus) variant, is used for both telecommunications and data communications, primarily in enterprise applications. SFP stands for Small Form Factor Pluggable and is the technical name for what is often referred to as fiber.
The SFP port standard and wiring are strict in configuration and physical attachment, offering better reliability and performance. For data communication, it supports the following speed grades:
- SFP: Gigabit (1000Mbps)
- SFP+: 10GbE (10Gbps), backward compatible with SFP
- SFP28: 25GbE, backward-compatible with SFP+ and SFP
- QSFP+: 40GbE (40Gbps)
- QSF28: 100GbE (100Gbps), backword compatible with QSFP+
BASE-T vs. SFP (a.k.a copper vs. fiber): While physically different, both are part of the Ethernet family, sharing the same networking principles and Ethernet naming convention as shown above. However, the two only share Gigabit and 10GbE. SFP is the only standard that can go beyond 10GbE.
Generally, you can get an adapter, called a “transceiver”, to connect a BASE-T device to an SFP or SFP+ port. In this case, keep in mind that a particular adapter might only work (well) with the SFP/+ port of certain hardware vendors.
The BASE-T wiring is more popular thanks to its simple design and support for speed, flexibility, and low costs. In recent years, more and more networking hardware (routers and switches) has featured both of these port types.
PoE++ and fanless options
The main differences between them are the number of ports (8 vs. 16) and the fact that the XMG1915-10EP 8-port (#2) features all eight PoE ports while the XMG1915-10E (#1) includes all non-PoE ports. The XMG1915-18EP is basically the combo of the other two.
Zyxel says the XMG1915-10EP and XMG1915-18EP switches can each provide eight uninterrupted PoE++ (802.3bt) (60W) ports and a flexible PoE budget of 130W and 150W, respectively. As a result, you can use each of these two up to eight PoE devices, including the most demanding, such as the Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 Wi-Fi access point, such as Zyxel’s own WBE660S.
According to Zyxel, the XMG1915-10E 8-port and XMG1915-10EP 8-port have no internal fan and are silent. The XMG1915-18EP 16-port has a “smart fan design” slated to deliver silent performance.
Part of Nebula Ecosystem
Like the case of Zyxel’s previous switches, such as the XS1930-12HP, the new XMG1915 switches are all managed switches that are part of its Nebula Cloud Management. Nebula has a Base Pack license that is free of charge, though you can upgrade to the Pro tier with more features.
However, all these can be used individually via local web user interface. They all also work as unmanaged switches by default.
Availability
Zyxel says the new non-PoE XMG1915-10E will be available next month, and the other two PoE switches are slated to ship in Q2 2024. They carry the following suggested retail costs:
- 8-port XMG1915-10E: $249.99
- 8-port PoE++ XMG1915-10EP: $299.99.
- 16-ort PoE++ XMG1915-18EP: $399.99.
While not cheap, they are among the more affordable options. If they pan out, the support for PoE++ and near-silent performance will never hurt.
Got the “P” model which is available in EU. Zyxel has a very nice offer of various switches, they way people want it – with 2.5Gbit. I look at the led lights, and heck, I have just 1 remaining 1gbit device. But 2.5gbit is harder to accommodate. I’ve researched the competition (Zyxel XMG1915-10E(P), XGS1210-12, Tplink TL-SG3210XHP-M2, Ubiqiti USW-Enterprise-8-PoE, MikroTik CRS310-8G+2S+IN, Qnap QSW-M2108-2C) and this model actually is one of the most power saving ones. But be prepared to burn 15Wh all day with most slots allocated. If you want a serious reduction, go for a non-PoE model. Another saving comes from 1gbit or unmanaged one. That’s how it works. Simple switches can drop to 1W idle. Things are worse with Ubiquiti, Mikrotek. One of them burns 21W when not connected! Turn on auto power off, that will help. So despite great numbers matching spec (idle 8W), i’m not excited about the power consumption, because it’s at Mini server level. And I took PoE just because “what if”. The device is not only one of the cheapiest, but also smallest. It’s very tiny. I like clear marketing, clear PoE markings, design and the performance is great. SFP connected to SFP28 delivers beautiful 9.7Gbit. There’s zero noise, and temperature isn’t bad. First I turned off Nebula nonsense, i can’t even fantasize about losing privacy in a big way — all info is extracted. Plus, you lose 1/2 features with the cloud. Complete nonsense. The software looks quite nice, but I feel like there was a simple DLink UI underlying. Data isn’t refreshed, the port names are not displayed everywhere. It’s just page after page, without an effort to glue it together. Luckily calling home is minimal. I was often locked out of access and it was difficult to get in. So i wish there was a control port. Functionality is strong, stronger than 1930 model without subscription. LED lights are not next to ports, but in one place which is a great idea. For nonmanaged PoE switch i’d consider XMG-105HP @1.62W min.
That’s my first impressions.
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