10 Gbit switches from TP-Link show up at the webshops for 279 euros

I've been evangelizing fast ethernet ports like 5 and 10 Gbps for years now. That momentum has shifted for motherboards, as all high-end ones at least have 2.5 GigE these days. However, to complete that infrastructure, switches need to support it as well.

Now there have been 10 Gbit switches, but often most models only had 2 ports or were very expensive. It seems the tide now is turning as TP-Link is putting out their TP-Link TL-SX105 and TLSX1008 switches at 5- and 8-port 10 GigE for roughly 279 EUR/USD. The two models cost 279 and 383 EUR respectively. The switches also backwards compatible with 100 Mbit/s, 1 Gbit/s, 2.5 Gbit/s or 5 Gbit/s connections, and have a switching capacity of 100Gbit/s and 160Gbit/s respectively. The TL-SX105 is passively cooled, while the variant with eight RJ45 connections does have a fan.

The switches would initially be delivered in the webshop from March 13, but this turned out not to be the case. Akiba PC Hotline mentions the switches are already for sale in Tokyo. The TL-SX105 costs converted in Japan and including tax 232 euros and the TL-SX1008 would cost 307 euros in that country.