Entire house connected to a 10Gbps network—just the router and Wi-Fi are out of the picture now.
Entire house connected to a 10Gbps network—just the router and Wi-Fi are out of the picture now.
I've been setting up a home network using 10G Ethernet for personal enjoyment. I purchased two ZyXEL XS1920-12 switches and installed 10G NICs on my PC, server, and media center PC. On the Wi-Fi and router side, I'm still searching for suitable options since consumer 10G internet isn't widely available yet. I found a device that might interest you—the ZyXEL EX7710-B0 AX11000 WiFi 6E Multi-Gigabit Ethernet Gateway—but I'm unsure how to purchase it. There aren't many reviews or guides beyond the manuals, but it looks impressive enough for someone who enjoys building networks. Would you know of any ways to showcase this or where I might find it?
I'm assuming it's still in development. While searching for multi-gig routers, I ended up creating my own setup and using pfSense. I'm working with Ubiquiti Enterprise APs that offer 2.5 GbE ports. These APs typically have 10 GbE ports, though I think that's mostly on the older models now.
Looking beyond ISP options, are there other consumer routers equipped with 10G WAN/LAN ports? I've been considering building my own router, but balancing the costs—most internal components can be sourced from past builds, though a case is missing—and adding more 10G NICs leaves me short on wireless performance. I haven't used PFSense yet, so I'm unsure what I'd be committing to. So far, most 10G APs I've seen are quite expensive—like the Unifi UAP-XG and TP-Link EAP690E, with no other models in mind, though I'll keep researching. The QNAP QHora-301W has two 10G LAN ports but only one WAN, and its Wi-Fi isn't great. I found the TP-Link AXE16000, which offers dual 10G WAN/LAN and a 2.5G WAN/LAN, but it lacks the antenna quality that usually wins approval. At $500, it seems reasonable for both functions. Why do ZyXEL hardware items rarely appear in reviews or forums? I really appreciate the two 10G switches I own; they include a model with 10G PoE++ (XS1930-12HP), but finding a switch under $1000 that meets those specs is tough.
10gig AP’s are not really a thing…. Wifi just can’t go that fast, so all you’d be doing is *at best* allow multiple devices at once to fully saturate whatever their connection allows, which is usually substantially less then gigabit. Even a few devices on 5 GHz hitting the AP trying to move files around internally, unless you have them positioned in a perfect way to maximize speed and have 0 obstructions or interference, you will have issue getting even 2-3 devices to fully saturate a gigabit link. TLDR; I just wouldn’t worry about this at all. If you want to get do something fun and actually more productive, build the sense box, start learning about vlans, and create multiple subnets and SSID’s to give your home network some increased security, especially via walking off all IoT devices. IMO, this is actually useful networking and tinkering
We expect 10Gbit APs within a few years, once WiFi 7 becomes necessary. WiFi 6e supporting many clients across various bands might exceed 2.5Gbit, but it won’t be a priority since 5Gbit is rare and 10Gbit demands significantly more power. The improvement would only matter in very specific scenarios—requiring one device per band to operate at full capacity without interference on the spectrum.
You can isolate your Wi-Fi from the router using a used Sophos SG 310 on eBay; it supports PFSSense or similar and includes 10GbS SPF+ ports by default. On the PFSSense site, you can find ready-made hardware that also works with 10GbS SPF+. I haven’t tested Unifi routers or UTM devices directly, so I can’t give a recommendation, but it might be worth considering. You could also purchase a dedicated access point tailored to your requirements. The U6 Enterprise from Unifi is an option that may meet your needs.
Thanks for the input. It seems you're ready to dive into learning PFSense now. The Zyxel router you mentioned has solid specs—10G LAN/WAN ports plus multiple WiFi bands. You can find distributors offering it with a minimum order quantity of 10 units and a lead time of two weeks. The quote you received is quite competitive at around $240 per unit, which is significantly lower than typical consumer routers. Buying all 10 could be a smart move if you plan to resell the remaining units later, especially since it's a better price point.