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Comment by sschueller | Hacker News Reader

I'll repeat what I said in yesterday's thread.

I want to see SFP ports. Specifically SFP28 so I can stick in my 25gbit fiber modules etc.

There is no way to get SFP28 on a laptop to my knowledge as USB-C (yet, USB 4 could do it) is not fast enough. It has to interface directly with PCIe.

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Thunderbolt 3 to SFP28 adapters exist (though cost a fortune), and TB3 is supported by a lot of existing laptops.

> There is no way to get SFP28 on a laptop to my knowledge as USB-C

So what do you expect to happen? Framework expansion cards are built-in USB-C adapters; if USB-C can't do it, they can't do it.

Looks like it is possible with thunderbolt 4 which framework exposes on the USB-C expansion.

Ok, I'm not familiar, I was just responding to 'USB-C is not fast enough' in your up-thread comment.

the modules are usbc, but the ports themselves are thunderbolt you can plug any thunderbolt adapter into the port directly rahter than use the "usbc" module (if you wish)

the main issue with plugging into the laptop is dimensions, because there is only so much clearence

Yeah, copying large engineering files over gigabit Ethernet is so slow. I’ve been waiting for ages for dock manufacturers to start putting SFP ports on their Thunderbolt docks.

5GbE or 10GbE on standard business equipment would be fine, but SFP equipment is more cost effective per gigabit than 10GbE at the moment.

A 28 port SFP switch is only around $1000 but a switch with 10Gbps on every port will set you back thousands and will only have a few ports. Not enough to do a whole office.

As long as the laptop has Thunderbolt 3 or 4 you can use a thunderbolt to PCIe enclosure with a SFP28 network card in it. It wouldn’t be very portable but neither is a fiber optic tether.

What would you do on one of these laptops that would take advantage of a 25Gb connection?

Connect it to my internet connection [1].

[1] https://www.init7.net/en/internet/fiber7/

Whoa, 25Gb symmetrical for normal consumers? Is this Switzerland only?

I don't think there's anything normal about someone who has 25Gbit at home.

That is what people said when I had a 1.5mbit T1 line at home providing internet to my neighbors via 802.11b bridges back in the late 90'.

Yes Switzerland only but I did just recently see an article on HN of the first US provider that was going to offer it.

EPB offers it https://epb.com/campaigns/25-gig/ though it's a lot more expensive ($1500/month for residential).

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