Help us make the Firewalla Switch
We are getting closer to building our first Firewalla Switch! To get us moving faster, please fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/iuCZGmchSshjsTkb7
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The Spec is pending and needs your requirements
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Beyond 1Gbps, Google’s next fiber plan is 3Gbps. 2.5Gbe isn’t going to cut it. Multiple WiFi 7 APs, NAS, primary workstation, hypervisor hosts, etc. All that, and you still need your uplink port. Intel’s new E610 10Gbe NICs are going to be a low lower power and cooler. I’m sure they won’t be the only ones. 2.5Gbe is old news. Cheap unmanaged switches for your 1/2.5Gbe stuff.
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TMobile just launched fiber in my area symmetrical 500 mb, 1gig and 2 gig, for this year. Tech said they can do 5 gig if there is a "sku" for it. I run a gold pro, Aruba 1930 switch 10 gig from firewalla to switch and the 3 AP's are wired back haul 10 gig. Hope they can get some info on the next 90 days as I need to upgrade
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Right now I have 4 AP7s (ceiling) and a firewall gold plus. I have two WANs: 1 GB fiber (normally runs at 1.2 GB) and 450down/150up cable. All that is currently plugged into a 24 port POE+ in a 1U form factor. It's unmanaged and works pretty well. I think the POE works on all the ports but I assume it will fail if I draw power from them all at the same time. It's not managed. I'm using 14 ports for my APs, TV, etc. plus I have the house wired for Ethernet. So not all ports are being used but I can walk into a room and just plug in. The IP cameras are plugged directly into my NVR and it plugs into the switch.
I'm planning on building an ADU and I'm probably going to run some cables directly between a switch in the ADU and the current switch I have in the garage. I would probably end up getting two switches. One for the house and one for the ADU. I want to be able to separate the networks if I decided to rent out the ADU at some point.
What I would like: 24 ports if not all 10gb say at least 4 at 10gb and the others at 2.5gb. Support for POE++ available for all of the ports. I understand it may not be able to supply power to all the ports. I just don't want to have to remember which ports need to plug into what. I'm very lazy. I'd like for the software to monitor power draw and notify me if I'm getting close to say 80% of max. I'd like a 1U form factor. It would be nice if it was managed. I don't mind a fan because the current cabinet is kind of loud so I keep it in the garage.
I agree with DanM here about wired backhaul performance.
https://help.firewalla.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/28643907379091/comments/36852715442067I don't really understand the Thunderbolt discussion. I have a Thunderbolt docking station. The Ethernet port in my docking station plugs into the wall. The Ethernet port in the wall. Then my computer plugs into the dock with a Thunderbolt port. I only need Ethernet ports on my switch :)
Given all of that I think most people here forget more about this topic in a day than I know. I also believe that the folks at firewalla will come up with cool stuff that I'm probably not aware of. I'm fine with paying a premium. Since you mentioned that 1000 was too much I'll go with 990?
I second Ali's question about expected timelines. But given how the discussion is going I suspect it will be a while since firewalla will have to design the hardware, build and test for a while, go through revisions, create the software, test some more, etc. I don't work in this field but that seems like a year+ kind of thing.
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True. Small companies like ours focus on innovation, better service, to create an awesome experience for everyone. But given the tariff situation/drama and our small size, we have very little leverage in moving production to different/multiple countries on a very short notice. Some of our smaller suppliers are also hurting ... so the priority for us now is to do whatever we can to navigate the unknown, and hope for the best. (no different than all the small businesses impacted)
So, please be patient, and help us spread the word, we are still here to innovate and making kick ass products, just some new hardware may be a bit slow due the tariff drama;
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I think I'm going to go with patience and incremental improvement. For now thats firewalla APs because of their integration with their firewall product and a unifi switch. When firewalla puts out their switch I'll just sell the unifi switch and buy one from firewalla. The combination of quality, customer service, and willingness to work with the community is well worth the wait. At least it is to me.
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I replaced my existing Unifi APs with Firewalla AP7s (one on each floor), and they work just fine behind the unifi switches. I'm still looking forward to eventually getting Firewalla switches at some point, but the unifi switches and the cloud key for the management piece work just fine. Overall I've been happier with the AP7s over the Unifi APs - they seem to have better coverage, and they work significantly better behind the Firewalla Gold Plus than the Unifi APs did (the Unifi APs worked better back when I had a Unifi gateway -- but Unifi didn't have dual WAN support at the time I decided to get the Gold Plus, and I like the feature set and the interface on Firewalla better overall).
Really just wanted to point out that there's no reason to get Unifi WiFi7 just because Firewalla doesn't have a switch available yet - it's really more important for the APs to match the gateway rather than the switches.
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Just checking in to see if the switch is still on pause. Any update? Thinking about going with unifi and self hosting their network server to manage them, but firewalla switches would integrate so much better.
I just added one new AP7 desktop and one AP7 ceiling to my network. They are working flawlessly and now I'm in desperate need of new switches. I also bought a third AP7 ceiling and debating whether or not to return it. The range on the two I already set up seems to be enough to replace the 3 access points I previously had. Amazing job on the AP7!!!
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Top US electronic device manufacturers (EMS providers):
• Jabil Inc. (St. Petersburg, FL): Design, engineering, production for OEMs.
• Benchmark Electronics Inc.: EMS and OEM services.
• Flex Ltd.: End-to-end manufacturing solutions.
• Sanmina Corp.: PCB assembly, prototyping.
• Plexus Corp.: Product design, testing, supply chain.
• Celestica Inc.: Electronics assembly, logistics.
• Z-AXIS Inc. (Rochester, NY): Contract manufacturing, PCB assembly.
• Avalon Technologies: Outsourced engineering, production. -
Yeah it sucks this project had to be paused like this, but I get it. I'll probably end up buying the UniFi Pro XG 48 PoE whenever this thing is back in stock. This should replace everything I have now and combine everything I need into one switch. Hopefully this will be the last switch I'll ever need (I'll still probably end up buying a firewalla switch because I'm addicted. Ugh! 😩)
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As a non-tech person who is all-in with Firewalla and enthusiastically stumbling my way through the world of home networking, and mainly concerned with personal/family security and privacy, I fall into the camp of, "I'll pay any price to shorten the learning curve, increase ease of use, and have tight integration between my Firewalla Gold Plus and two AP7's". I don't know enough about switches to suggest any specs, but all the comments from "M" seem pretty spot on and balanced. I definitely like the idea of a smaller switch for the average home user and a larger prosumer version. I'm in-between average home user and prosumer. I bought two Mikrotik CSS610-8P-2S+IN managed switches. In attempt to wire everything I can, I've used all 8 ports on the switch in my home theater. I don't know if I'll need more ports for a single switch in the future or not, but I would like a prosumer switch from Firewalla–with some more ports and better specs–that can grow with me, should my networking needs become more complex or require better performance. When my AP7's were plugged directley into the Firewalla ports, everything was easy-peasy. But when I plugged them into the Mikrotik switch, it became quite a project and a lot of frustration to get everything working properly. My switches use Mikrotik's swOS and Firewalla only had a guide for routerOS. Although everything seems to be working now, I'm still not %100 sure it's as secure as it could be or that it couldn't be done better. Having a Firewalla switch to remove most of the guess work and give me seamless integration between my Gold Plus and AP7's would be priceless for me, and would give me great peace of mind. Sucks about the tariffs halt. Keep up the great work. I'll be the first to purchase "when" (lol!) you get these to market.
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Tyler are you locked into the ubiquiti ecosystem mostly? just curious. the reason I ask is because I was recently in that boat deciding on a 10gb switch and was going to go with an XG as well. But then I started comparing the capabilities between the XG 24 and the omada SX3832, and omada was clearly the winner in MOST aspects (at least for the 24/32 port segment). All ports fully capable of 10g on omada while the xg 24 has only 16 ports that run at full 10g and 8 that do 2.5. Then the omada also provides an additional 8 SFP+ ports while the xg only has 2 sfp28 ports. Now an argument could definitely be made if you need 48 ports compared to the 32 on the sx3832... but at the $1000-$1200 price point(non Poe model), im not sure why anyone would choose the pro xg 24 over the omada sx3832.... you get way more hardware capability for the same $$ as pro xg24. The software has been stable for awhile (at least for me). Omada app and webui both have been mostly stable and easy to configure. Just to be clear I'm not against ubiquiti by any means, as I use some of their lower end switches for access and Poe. Just putting the info out there for everyone to consider. Personally I could not justify spending $3000 or more for switch, so the xg48 would not even be in the running for me. For most home networks, a 24 port switch with 10gb capability for the core, coupled with a 1gb switch for Poe, would be cheaper and work for 99.999999% of people's needs. Or maybe I'm just jealous that some people can spend $3000 on a switch 😂😂😂. I probably would if I could as well 😭😭😭. Either way , i would have really liked to see the firewalla switch. The capabilities of that switch would have been fun to play with and integrate with the rest of my firewalla stack... I will continue to hope and dream for it!
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@cae That Omada sx3832 looks awesome! @firewalla the physical capabilities of this switch are exactly what I would love to see in a Firewalla switch. The sfp+ ports are plentiful for my home server stack and the 10Gb copper ports are perfect for AP’s and NAS devices. I see 10Gb copper becoming more and more a thing in my world. With 10Gb fiber internet just around the corner in my area, a piece of hardware like this would be awesome!!
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Cae I'm definitely not locked into unifi. The switches are actually the only unifi equipment that I have. Firewalla is my router and I'm using two AP7s for my wifi. I looked into other options for switches, but decided on unifi for a few reasons.
I had heard good things about their equipment and was interested in trying something new. I had an older tp-link switch just randomly stop working a few years ago, so I was hesitant to go back. It was probably just a fluke, but it still left me hesitant nonetheless.
I'm self hosting the unifi os server, so I don't need to buy a cloud key or anything like that. I'm self hosting a lot of things at home and this was just another opportunity to go down another rabbit hole. I like having the single pane of glass and easy management of all my switches through this software.
I have four unifi switches in total. I went with the pro xg 24 as my primary switch. Then I have the pro max 16 mounted right above it for all of my poe cameras. They are connected with a DAC cable. Then I also have one 8 port and one 5 port switch in different rooms for various devices. One of the best things that I liked about unifi is that I am able to power these switches via POE. No need to have more power adapters plugged in for these switches.
Everything was definitely expensive. But I'm getting tired of cycling through equipment and always outgrowing what I bought before. I kind of just wanted to get it over with and pay whatever I needed to get the equipment that will set me up for a long time. I don't see myself outgrowing these switches anytime soon since I'm left with plenty of unused ports even for the 10gb ports.
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Just my 2 cents...
Some suggestions here for your first switch are absurd for you market. lol
Firewalla seems popular/geared towards homes and soho and a maybe low percentage of small businesses.
So your first switch(s) should appeal to the common denominator and be cost effective. Which is not 48 port (even though that is what I'd want lol) or fast fiber connections and $1k-3k switches. That small market of your users already have them. And they all won't spend the $$$$ to just buy another because it's white and yellow. lol
So 2.5-10g lan ports are not necessary. Most don't have their whole house hardwired. Most don't have over 1gb fiber. Mainly few desktops/servers, IP POE Cams, and Smart Devices and then mainly a bunch of WiFi devices.So... I'd say a 8 port and a 24 port to start OR just a 16 port if doing one.
1gb LANS with half or all POE ++ and some 10gb for AP7s, WAN and additional switches. Maybe a couple SPF depending on the # of 10G ports.
Really you'd be looking at OEMs standard models and some minor tweaking to start. Has to be simialr in prices for competing models.
Incorporating it into your firewalla and management app would be the appeal to your users for a reasonable price.
Regardless. Firewall keep up the great work!!!! -
I think I would start with a 24 port 1/2.5gb with 2 port 10gb. Layer 3 for sure with the security stack. It would be great if the ports had colored lights you could set to indicate vlan assignment. Long term I would aim for every thing from 8 port to 48 port Poe that was switchable for 24/48 volt end points.
Features like stp and CDP and LLDP would be awesome. Also an interface like Ciscos small business dashboard for mapping and native and other Vlans and configuring Vlans. With your AI helper it would be sweet for set up assistance and troubleshooting. You asked. I could think of more, but I’ll stop there. -
We are getting closer to building our first Firewalla Switch! To get us moving faster, please fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/iuCZGmchSshjsTkb7
(By answering this survey, you will be automatically subscribed to Firewalla Newsletters)
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I would beg to differ in regards to those of us who have $1300 switches not spending more money on switches lmao.... I'll simply sell my SX3832 and buy a firewalla because as long as the hardware is sufficient for my needs, then obviously ide be upgrading by having the firewalla switch to complete my firewalla stack..... or maybe I'll just keep the sx3832....ni always find a use for things...
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