Horaco 8-port 2.5GbE and 1-port 10GbE Switch Performance
In terms of the overall 2.5GbE performance, we were able to get fairly normal 2.5GbE speeds from each of the eight ports.
Performance was good, in the range of the other switches we reviewed looking at the average transfer rates when loaded. So far, we have been within 3% or so on all of the switches in this class so it does not feel like performance should be the key buying criterion in this price range.
One item we were able to test was we hooked up the A Quick Look at the Asustor Flashstor 6 FS6706T NAS to this unit and run SMB3 multichannel from the NAS over these switches and to a 10GbE client using a SFP+ to 10Gbase-T adapter. It was awesome to see that this worked so easily and is a good type of use case for a switch like this.
Horaco 8-port 2.5GbE and 1-port 10GbE and Management Capabilities
Since we are going to be doing this as part of a series, we will note that this is an unmanaged switch. Also, we did not find PoE capabilities when testing this switch.
Horaco 8-port 2.5GbE and 1-port 10GbE Power Consumption
Here is a quick shot of the 12V 2A power adapter. This is not a huge adapter by any means. These switches have either the English or Chinese writing on them. This is the version that is in Chinese.
At idle, we saw 1.6W which is lower than many of the 3.8W-4.4W switches we have reviewed previously in the 5-8 port range. The power consumption was the same among all four similar switches we reviewed.
Plugging in a port at 2.5GbE speeds we saw an incremental 0.7W of power consumption. That is in a more normal range.
Plugging in a 10Gbase-T to SFP+ adapter, that immediately starts to suck power, we got the same paltry number.
This type o switch is the lowest power 2.5GbE option, and not just for 30Gbps of total networking switches, even down to the 12.5Gbps 5-port 2.5GbE options. There is, however, a new switch that we saw at Computex 2023 that should be available in 2024 that will have 8x 2.5GbE ports and 2x SFP+ ports at 6W maximum. It is still many months off from those switches being a reality.
Final Words
In general, we think these switches are great values. This one in particular is the lowest-cost option out there, at a full $30 less than the Amazon-listed units. This Horaco one from AliExpress saw a single instance where plugging in a SFP+ DAC reset the switch. We have not been able to reproduce it since, on this MokerLink or the other switches. Still, since they are the same architecture, we wanted to point it out. These are not perfect by any means, they are inexpensive and low power.
The Horaco from AliExpress took a long time to arrive (over 2.5 weeks) but was less expensive by $30. At some point one has to weigh the benefit of saving $30, which is a lot on a percentage basis, and the Chinese labeling, against the time it takes to get the switch. If you want it in 24-48 hours, then this Horaco unit is the wrong option and you should get one of the others in our series.
If you want to learn more about this versus the other rebrands, feel free to take a look at the video while the reviews go online over the next few weeks.
What is clear, however, is that this offers something different using less power and at a relatively reasonable price.
Where to Buy
We purchased our unit on AliExpress. Here is the affiliate link for this model.
Ultimate Fanless 2.5GbE Switch Roundup
You may have seen that we published the Ultimate Cheap Fanless 2.5GbE Switch Mega Round-Up. Here is the video for that one where this switch appeared.
We decided to do the round-up first and will be filling in with reviews that we had not published at that point, including this one. We are trying to keep everything in a single resource for folks there.
“There is, however, a new switch that we saw at Computex 2023 that should be available in 2024 that will have 8x 2.5GbE ports and 2x SFP+ ports at 6W maximum.”
Could you elaborate on that? Also, do you plan on doing reviews for managed versions of such switches? At least some basic VLAN support would be great to have.
I really hope we start to see multi-gig switches with at least two 10-gig ports become more affordable soon. All the time, I come across situations where it’d save me from having to drop another cable.
imagine：
1X10G for uplink
8X2.5G PoE for AP
The best solution that fit your villa，ohh
So，why not？
I see that it does not manage VLANs but does it at least pass along 802.1Q VLAN tags?
Funda, yes this switch does seem to pass my tagged vlan traffic! Thumbs up! (got mine from amazon that had a 10$ coupon btw) and im using the 10gb fs.com 10gb Ethernet to fiber sfp+ module on it.
STH: I wish VLAN tag passing on a unmanaged switch was listed on these reviews :) I bought the TRENDnet 8-Port Unmanaged 2.5G on your review for example – however it did not pass the tag and I returned and got the netgear 2.5gb that does.
Hello Patrick / Rohit,
Big fan of your content – It will be great if you can review the 4×2.5GbE + 2x10G SFP+ switches that I read about in your forum
https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/cheap-interesting-chinese-4×2-5g-2x10g-switch-but-also-problems-with-dacs.40767/
Qaruna – we have several of different versions of these and the testing/ video is already done on 2-3 of them. Stay tuned for a mini-round-up with 9 different options.
Hi !
I have noticed managed version of such switch available on market (alie…) at low price ~110 Eur , do you plan to review one?
I noticed another cheaper model on Aliexpress, Horeco HC-ST0910G, which is only USD $66,50, compared to USD $88,90 for the Horeco ZX-SWTG018AS (the one reviewed here). I couldn’t see any difference in specifications, so I wrote to Horeco customer support to understand what the difference is.
They replied: “They both use the same type of chipset (RTL8373 and RTL8224), but the Horeco HC-ST0910G has a newer version of the chipset.
…if that’s correct, it seems like a no-brainer to get the Horeco HC-ST0910G instead :)