UDM SE: Ubiquiti SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver ( UACC-CM-RJ45-MG )

Purchased Ubiquiti SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver to see how much bandwidth it can bring in when the WAN is 10Gbps.

UDM: Ubiquiti SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver ( UACC-CM-RJ45-MG )

Disclaimer

“As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.”

Intro

Luckily, I am able to access 10Gbps Fiber Optic Internet from the local ISP, Sonic Internet. I used to pay around $50 for 10Mbps. Since I was able to access the Sonic 10Gbps Fiber Optic Internet, I‘ve paid $29.99/mo. ( now, it’s $39.99 for me ). If you live around SF Bay area, you might want to check if it is available in your area.

http://sonic.com/referral/782751h1c

[embed]Sonic 10G Fiber Optic - SF Bay Area Edit descriptionmedium.com

I’ve been using 2.5Gbps

Since I got the Sonic 10Gbps Fiber Optic Internet, I’ve been using 2.5Gbps although the incoming bandwidth was 10Gbps

Why??

There were several reasons like below.

1. UDM SE supports 2.5Gbps WAN with RJ45 port. ( This is one of big difference between UDM SE and UDM ). This help me defer to purchase the SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver.
2. UDM SE supports up to 3.5Gbps when IPS/IDP security are enabled. ( Although the incoming WAN is 10Gbps, it can be bottlenecked by the IPS/IDP )
3. I didn’t need the 10Gbps every moment. Most of times, I was ok with 2.5Gbps. I only missed the extra bandwidth when I uploaded or download large volume of data to Cloud ( e.g. uploading Docker Image built locally )
4. The SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver is required to connect RJ45 cable from ONT to the UDM SE SFP+ port. I wanted to defer to purahcen it as much as possible until I really needed or wanted.

Sonic 10Gbps Fiber Optic Internet — UDM SE 2.5Gbps Connection

I decided to buy the SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver

After one year and few months since I got the Sonic 10Gbps Fiber Optic Internet, I finally decided to buy the SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver.

Why?? It’s partially logical and partially emotional. ( Purchasing things are emotional many times although we might deny the fact 😐 ).

BTW, I decided not to use the IPS/IDP security that can limit the bandwidth to 3.5Gbps.

If you’re interested in this equipment, I guess you already know that there are several products you can buy in Amazon ( see SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver in Amazon ).

SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver in Amazon

Bought Ubiquiti SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver ( UACC-CM-RJ45-MG )

In all the available products in SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver, I bought the Ubiquiti SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver ( UACC-CM-RJ45-MG ).

Spec: Ubiquiti SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver ( UACC-CM-RJ45-MG )

It’s little more pricy ( mine is $65 + Tax ) than others because

1. It supports the multi bandwidths — 1GbE, 2.5GbE, 5GbE, 10GbE. ( Others support only 1GbE or 10GbE.
2. It supports the long cable distance — 10Gbps up to 100m with Cat 6A cable. ( Others support around 30m )

If you don’t need the multi bandwidths suport and the long distance support with 10Gbps, then you can buy one that only supports 10GbE and short distance ( e.g. 30m ). With these lower spec, you can find one around $45 range.

Working well with Qnap QNA Series Single Port Thunderbolt 3 to 10GbE SFP+ Adapter

I have a Qnap Thunderbolt 3 to 10GbE SFP+ Adapter. It is mainly used to connect between my MacBook ( Thunderbolt ) and UDM SE ( SFP+ ) by 10Gtek SFP+ DAC Twinax Cable ( 10m ).

10Gtek SFP+ DAC Twinax Cable — 10GBASE-CU Passive Direct Attach Copper SFP Cable

I took Qnap Thunderbolt 3 to 10GbE SFP+ Adapter out from my MacBook and directly connected ONT ( Fiber Optic modem ) and Ubiquiti SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver ( like the photo below ).

I ran the speed test to measure the bandwidth when it’s directly connected to ONT ( Fiber Optic modem ).

It’s little slower than 10GbE, but it was already 3x faster than 2.5Gbps that I used to have. ( Download: 8154Mbps, Upload: 7501Mbps ). I ran the testing several times ( even with different target server location ). The download bandwidth is mostly above 8000Mbps, but the upload bandwidth was little up and down. I don’t think it’s related to the SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver nor the Qnap Thunderbolt 3 to 10GbE SFP+ Adapter.

Qnap Thunderbolt 3 to 10GbE SFP+ Adapter

How to disconnect Transceiver?

After the bandwidth testing, I had a difficult time to disconnect the SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver from the Qnap Thunderbolt 3 to 10GbE SFP+ Adapter. After spending 5–10min, I figured out that the gold color lever had to be lifted down like the photo below. The steps are

1. remove the RJ45 cable first
2. carefully push down the gold color lever
3. and pull out the transceiver

Qnap Thunderbolt 3 to 10GbE SFP+ Adapter | How to disconnect SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver

Connect Ubiquiti SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver ( UACC-CM-RJ45-MG ) to UDM SE

There are two SFP+ ports on UDM SE. I tried both SFP+ ports on UDM SE to see if there were any difference because only of them has the blue color WAN mark on it. ( Initially, I thought I had to use the SFP+ port which has the blue color WAN mark. )

Based on my testing with the two SFP+ ports, I think there is no difference. So, it’s ok to use one of the SFP+ ports.

Once the WAN port is decided, the port has to be checked and configured as WAN port through UniFi UI like below. ( I used to use the port to connect Synology NAS )

After the configuration, I ran the bandwidth testing. It was little lower than expected, but it was already around 3x faster than before.

Connect Ubiquiti SFP+ to RJ45 Transceiver ( UACC-CM-RJ45-MG ) to UDM SE

Extra: Don’t buy cheap Transceiver

I bought several Passive Direct Attach Copper SFP Cables ( aka. DAC ) from Amazon. I bought them to connect Synology NAS, TrueNAS, and MacBooks.

Since the DAC were little pricy, as long as the DAC worked with my Network, I cared the price the most.

But, my experience with the cheap DAC wasn’t really good. One of DAC I bought ( cheaper version ) broke my SFP+ NIC card.

When you buy DAC or Transceiver, at least go with 10Gtek. Their products are pretty solid and have reasonable price.

Extra: Bandwidth Test through Browser didn’t work well

When I tested the 2.5Gbps bandwidth, the speed test website worked well. ( I was able to see what I expected. )

However, when I tested the 10Gbps bandwidth, there were only few websites were able to test it. Although it worked, but it seemed missing something.

Based on the Oookla documentation, I installed their App through Apple AppStore. For the 10Gbps bandwidth testing, I think the App works much better than the browser one.

App: Speedtest by Oookla