MikroTik CRS312-4C+8XG-RM network switch 8 × 10G RJ45, 4 × 10G combo, L3, 1U

The eight RJ45 ports run at 100 Mbit/s, 1 Gbit/s and 10 Gbit/s, so the switch works with both older and newer equipment. 10-gigabit copper means a server, NAS or powerful workstation can join the network without optical modules, as long as it already has a 10GBASE-T port. Gigabit PCs and printers keep working on the same switch at their own speed, so the upgrade can happen one device at a time.

The four combo ports add flexibility: each one works either as a 10G RJ45 port or as an SFP+ slot for an optical module. That lets you run fibre to a switch on another floor while still using all eight regular 10G ports. Which combo ports are active can be chosen in software, and in RouterOS even by script. In total that gives up to twelve 10-gigabit connections from a single 1U box.

The switch boots into one of two MikroTik operating systems. SwOS is simpler and focuses on core switching, while RouterOS is the feature-rich system that unlocks Layer 3 capabilities, meaning routing directly on the switch. For setup there is an RJ-45 console port, a separate Fast Ethernet management port and a full-size USB 2.0 port. The management port keeps configuration traffic apart from production traffic, which makes remote administration safer.

MikroTik quotes 240 Gbit/s switching capacity, 120 Gbit/s non-blocking throughput and a forwarding rate of 178 million packets per second. Put simply, the switch can serve all ports at full speed at the same time: when several people copy large video files or datasets at once, one transfer does not slow down another. That matters in media production, scientific research, game development and big data analysis.

Two power supplies back each other up: if one fails or its cable is pulled, the switch keeps running. Input is 100–240 V AC and maximum consumption is 60 W, modest for a 10-gigabit device. The operating temperature range is −30 to 70 °C. The ports do not provide PoE, so cameras and access points need their own power source or an injector.

Video and photo studios moving heavy files between workstations; development and analytics teams working with servers and NAS storage; admins of a small server room who want a 10-gigabit backbone in a single 1U device; and MikroTik users who already know RouterOS and want routing and switching in one box.