Technology marches on, and keeping up with the times always raises the same question: When is an upgrade worth the cost? I remember when I first moved to gigabit networking. Prices have dropped since then, but it still surprises me how many devices in 2025 are stuck on older, slower Fast Ethernet. For homelab hobbyists, choosing anything below gigabit today would be unusual. Above that, the choices are: 2.5G, 5G, and 10G Ethernet.

Future Proofing with the Right Cabling

As part of my recent renovations, I’ve been looking at ways to future-proof my infrastructure. The wiring I had installed is Cat 6, which has been the recommended standard for years and while there are newer options, Cat 6 supports higher data rates and distances, including 10G Ethernet up to 55 meters (180 feet)—more than enough for a residence.

But do you really need 10G? The cost-benefit question for home setups is still up for debate, though prices are slowly coming down.

The Internet vs. Local Speed

The first question is: what’s the speed of your internet connection? Even if it’s slower, there are still reasons to benefit from faster networking inside your home. For years, gigabit outpaced typical internet connections. But now, 1G and 2G internet plans are becoming more common—whether or not they actually deliver those speeds is another debate.

Why Faster Networking Still Matters

So why upgrade beyond gigabit? One reason is Network Attached Storage (NAS). I’ve written before about building a NAS. At the end of the day, a NAS is just a giant storage box—and when you’re pulling data from it, you want those files to arrive as fast as possible.

Serious homelab enthusiasts argue that now is the time to skip straight to *10G networking*. And there’s a solid case for that.

The Cost of 10G Hardware

A quick Amazon search shows this $33 PCI-E network card that uses a single SFP+ port. Dual SFP+ ports are only a few dollars more. I have an empty slot in my NAS, I could have this in there tomorrow. Switches with 10G ports used to be out of reach, but today I’m seeing options with 2.5G ports plus one or two SFP+ ports rated for 10G.

For those unfamiliar: SGP+ is a modular port that supports fiber optic or copper Ethernet modules, making it flexible for future upgrades.

A Hybrid Approach: 2.5G + 10G

My plan is to run a router with both SFP+ and 2.5G ports, with one of the 10G uplinks feeding a downstream 2.5G switch. That gives me:

• A noticeable speed increase now
• Flexibility to add faster devices later
• The option to interconnect switches at 10G speeds

It’s not the full leap to 10G everywhere, but it’s a balanced, future-ready upgrade path for my homelab.