Sodola SL-SWTG3C12F 12-Port 10G Managed Switch Review

7
Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Angle
Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Angle

Today, we are going to take a look at the Sodola SL-SWTG3C12F. This is a cheap 12-port SFP+ 10GbE switch. Our feelings on this one are somewhat mixed, and we suspect our readers will either be very excited about it or the exact opposite. One of the big factors is simply the price. With discounts, this usually sells for under $200, yet it has twelve ports. We thought with our The Ultimate Cheap 10GbE Switch Buyers Guide that we needed to review this one.

Note: We purchased this unit on Amazon, where you can check the current price. (Affiliate link.)

Sodola SL-SWTG3C12F Hardware Overview

Looking at the front of the switch, we have a fairly standard 1U chassis.

Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Front
Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Front

On the left side we have the status LEDs for thall fo the ports as well as the console port. The switch comes with a console cable and has a CLI.

Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Front Left
Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Front Left

The rest of the switch’s front panel has twelve SFP+ ports spaced nicely.

Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Front Right
Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Front Right

On the side, we get a vent and a fan.

Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Side 1 Fan
Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Side 1 Fan

On the other side, we just get a vent.

Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Side 2
Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Side 2

On the rear, we get an AC power input.

Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Rear
Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Rear

Inside, the switch board power supply and fan take up a good portion of the chassis, but there is a lot of empty space. We tried getting the heatsink off, and even after unclipping the heatsink it did not want to pry off with any reasonable force. We have had readers tell us this is a Realtek 9313.

Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Top View
Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Top View

The fan is a 12V DC 2-wire fan, and it is loud.

Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Fan Side
Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Fan Side

Its main job is to move air through the chassis but we do not have internal ducting and there are large vents on either side.

Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Heatsink Fan Side
Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Heatsink Fan Side

Here is a quick shot of the power supply.

Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Internal Power Supply
Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Internal Power Supply

Here is the bottom of the switch PCB.

Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Switch PCB Bottom
Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Switch PCB Bottom

One small bit that we noticed when taking the switch PCB out is that there is a small thermal pad between the bottom of the switch PCB and the chassis under the main switch ASIC.

Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Chassis Thermal Pad
Sodola SL SWTG3C12F 12 Port SFP Managed Switch Chassis Thermal Pad

The hardware feels fairly standard, but let us get to the management, since that was a bit of a surprise.

7 COMMENTS

  1. For comparison, Sodola’s fanless 8-port SFP+ switch (SL-SWTGW2C8F) is also web managed, but has fewer options in the UI.

    Specifically: Discovery, DHCP, Routing, ACL are not present in the 8-port switch. Also, the lack of fans could be a problem if you plan on plugging in more than one or two 10GBase-T modules.

  2. So no SNMP support? In my book, “web managed” barely qualifies as “managed”.

    And that pathetically small power supply. GEEZ. One can only imagine how noisy it’s power rails are to that single switching board. Even some of the cheepest Chinese-made PC power supplies have better filtering & even output regulation.

  3. This switch definitely supports SNMP, the overall management is a bit quirky but is low power, supports LLDP MSTP even basic routing and GVRP if you want to use it as your layer 3 router. All at wire speed. The LACP configuration is a bit “odd” but it works. I’ve had one for about a year and so far so good. My only concern is the future of firmware updates and if it’s uploading data to come CCP mothership ;)

  4. That should read some CCP mothership. Also the built in power supply is quite nice. I’ve become very anti-external power supply. They just pile up.

  5. @CTO This switch can do basic layer 3 routing at wire speed?? That’s a heck of a good deal if true, no other device in this price range can even come close to that. Most can’t even manage 1Gbps routing as it’s done in software and the CPU only has a 1Gb link to the switch chip, not that the CPU is even powerful enough to do it anyway.

  6. Sorry for cross-posting here, but I see my comment regularly disappear on the roundup page:
    Would you please, please add a table to the “Ultimate 10gbe switch” article, summarizing the idle, per used port, per sfp adapter etc power usage of these switches? The way this article currently is, it has lots of data but in a really poorly usable way.
    Also, it would be useful to test the 12V switches using a single, high quality power supply, in order to test the switch power draw and not the power supply efficiency. Thanks!

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