Sonnet ships Solo10G SFP+ Thunderbolt 3 10-gigabit Ethernet adapter

Accessory maker Sonnet Technologies on Wednesday launched two 10-gigabit Ethernet adapters, including one that connects to Macs through Thunderbolt 3.

The Solo10G SFP+ Thunderbolt 3 Edition comes in an aluminum enclosure measuring 4.9-by-3.1-by-1.1 inches, claimed to be less than half the size of competing options. The product is fanless, and powered entirely by a host Mac.

A 10GBASE-SR (short-range) SFP+ transceiver helps push signals at distances up to 300 meters, about 984 feet. Sonnet is also promising integrated encryption, and plug-and-play use in macOS.

Also available is a PCIe version of the adapter, which uses PCIe 3.0 but must be installed in a compatible 4x slot, whether internal or external.

One reason to go with PCIe may be price. That adapter costs $149, versus $249 for the Thunderbolt 3 product. Either requires macOS 10.13.6 or later.

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3 Comments

larz2112 16 Years · 291 comments

About 5 years ago

Well, this is one instance, and maybe the only instance, when the Apple upgrade at time of system purchase (+ $100) is actually LESS than the aftermarket options. ;)

The design of the enclosure is pretty uninspired. It looks like a car amplifier or a piece of hardware from 1989. Yes, I get that the fins/ribs in the case help to dissipate heat, but they could have put a little more effort into the aesthetic design.

Pylons 8 Years · 32 comments

About 5 years ago

larz2112 said:

Well, this is one instance, and maybe the only instance, when the Apple upgrade at time of system purchase (+ $100) is actually LESS than the aftermarket options. ;)

Yes, but only because Apple machines can't take PCIe cards directly but has to use Thunderbolt.
The Aquantia chipset used in the iMac Pro and the Mac mini option is used in consumer 10G controllers such as the $99 Gigabyte GC-AQC107 or $89 directly from Aquantia as AQtion 10G gaming NIC.
Considering 10GbE controllers for SFP+ is traditionally cheaper over SFP+ than RJ45, it's not surprising that this new Sonnet SFP+ has a lower price than 10GbaseT options such as the $199 Sonnet Solo10G or the $179 Akitio T3-10G.
For standard PCs and servers there are also many cheap PCIe cards available on eBay, as low as $20 for the older Mellanox ConnectX-2, as highlighted by Servethehome, though this is most likely not compatible with OS X even if you happened to have a Mac with PCIe slots (tower Mac Pro).
I've been looking at options to get 10G for my 2012 retina MBP to speed-up transfers to my FreeNAS server. I have a Thunderbolt enclosure (AKITIO Thunder2) that I was thinking to use to plug in a standard PCIe card.
Does anyone know of cards that are compatible with OS X? Either with built-in drivers or separate ones from the manufacturer?
Preferably SFP+ because such switches are cheaper (e.g. MikroTik CRS226-24G-2S+).

caladanian 10 Years · 380 comments

About 5 years ago

larz2112 said:

Well, this is one instance, and maybe the only instance, when the Apple upgrade at time of system purchase (+ $100) is actually LESS than the aftermarket options. ;)

The design of the enclosure is pretty uninspired. It looks like a car amplifier or a piece of hardware from 1989. Yes, I get that the fins/ribs in the case help to dissipate heat, but they could have put a little more effort into the aesthetic design.

I totally disagree. The design is outstanding. Solid metal an clear lines.

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