A little unannounced prize... Just ordered a new Mac Mini M1 with 10G ethernet. Finally. 
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10G Ethernet Option Now Available
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Out of curiosity, I'm wondering which would offer higher throughput, lower latency, and less errors: built-in 10G ethernet over CAT6a cable (about 150 feet long for the run from basement to my office) or the SonnetTech SFP+ Thunderbolt 3 adapter using fiber optic cable for the same run? I'm currently using SFP+ on my MacBook Air M1 that I'm using as a desktop until my Mac Mini M1 arrives. My iMac has finally bitten the dust.
An onboard NIC is almost guaranteed to perform better and be more stable as far as network interfaces go. That said, with a competent TB card such as the Sonnet, the potential loss in the device points of failure or heat is rather minimal. For a 150 ft distance Cat6a copper is probably adequate unless something went wrong in your cabling. I have a feeling you won't see much differences between the two routes, probably will be dependent on how your receiving end is setup; you know how a 10G gear is sometimes not copper friendly, while on the other hand SFP+ has its own set of issues, so give and take.
Built-in 10G working great over ~130 feet of CAT6a. Connecting to my Synology RS1221+ with SFP+ adapters connected to a UniFi US-16-XG switch.
root@nas:~# iperf3 -c 10.0.1.20
Connecting to host 10.0.1.20, port 5201
[ 4] local 10.0.1.15 port 40178 connected to 10.0.1.20 port 5201
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth Retr Cwnd
[ 4] 0.00-1.00 sec 1.07 GBytes 9.22 Gbits/sec 60 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 1.00-2.00 sec 1.10 GBytes 9.42 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 2.00-3.00 sec 1.10 GBytes 9.42 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 3.00-4.00 sec 1.09 GBytes 9.41 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 4.00-5.00 sec 1.10 GBytes 9.42 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 5.00-6.00 sec 1.10 GBytes 9.42 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 6.00-7.00 sec 1.10 GBytes 9.42 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 7.00-8.00 sec 1.10 GBytes 9.42 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 8.00-9.00 sec 1.10 GBytes 9.41 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 9.00-10.00 sec 1.09 GBytes 9.41 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth Retr
[ 4] 0.00-10.00 sec 10.9 GBytes 9.39 Gbits/sec 60 sender
[ 4] 0.00-10.00 sec 10.9 GBytes 9.39 Gbits/sec receiver
iperf Done.
root@nas:~# iperf3 -c 10.0.1.20
Connecting to host 10.0.1.20, port 5201
[ 4] local 10.0.1.15 port 40178 connected to 10.0.1.20 port 5201
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth Retr Cwnd
[ 4] 0.00-1.00 sec 1.07 GBytes 9.22 Gbits/sec 60 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 1.00-2.00 sec 1.10 GBytes 9.42 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 2.00-3.00 sec 1.10 GBytes 9.42 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 3.00-4.00 sec 1.09 GBytes 9.41 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 4.00-5.00 sec 1.10 GBytes 9.42 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 5.00-6.00 sec 1.10 GBytes 9.42 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 6.00-7.00 sec 1.10 GBytes 9.42 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 7.00-8.00 sec 1.10 GBytes 9.42 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 8.00-9.00 sec 1.10 GBytes 9.41 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
[ 4] 9.00-10.00 sec 1.09 GBytes 9.41 Gbits/sec 0 1.21 MBytes
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth Retr
[ 4] 0.00-10.00 sec 10.9 GBytes 9.39 Gbits/sec 60 sender
[ 4] 0.00-10.00 sec 10.9 GBytes 9.39 Gbits/sec receiver
iperf Done.
do any of the well known apps show the temperature of the NIC? how hot is it running under load?
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Is your question regarding networking simply between the Mac mini and the MacBook Air? If so, and you want top speed, why not just use 150' fiber Thunderbolt 3 cable? It'll probably be 4x the cost but will also give you 4x the performance. (I've assumed $200 for the SFP adapter and $50 for the fiber cable. That 50 meter Thunderbolt cable is probably $1000.)
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Given that was never his question and that he is already running a 10GbE network, with a powerful switch, rack mount NAS etc one can presume that a dedicated point-to-point connection was never in contention.
because the previous generation (AQC107) tends to run very hot. this could lead to performance degradation (because of thermal throttling) and/or disconnects.
What is the NIC listed under? These are the temperatures I have:do any of the well known apps show the temperature of the NIC? how hot is it running under load?
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Thanks, trying it now and loving it, kinda remind me of AIDA64 Extreme for windows!
Back on topic! I'm curious, is the 10GB ethernet in the mini from apple, or a 3rd party device?
I don't have any recent minis, but on my 2012 the closest sensor readings are Thunderbolt proximity or Platform Controller Hub. So if even on an Intel mini there wasn't a NIC specific sensor then can we assume there isn't one for the M1 as well? (can anyone confirm the sensor items on a recent Intel mini)
The chipset probably isn't underneath the M1 SoC package / fan chamber, just lying around on the rest of the logic board where there is less airflow. It is a legitimate question to see if prolonged high usage of the NIC would build up heat enough to degrade performance.
The chipset probably isn't underneath the M1 SoC package / fan chamber, just lying around on the rest of the logic board where there is less airflow. It is a legitimate question to see if prolonged high usage of the NIC would build up heat enough to degrade performance.
it's a Marvell Aquantia AQC113. source ->
Apple Mac Mini M1 10GbE Gets 10Gbase-T
We take a look at the Apple Mac Mini M1 with 10GbE and see a new Marvell 10Gbase-T NIC that we think our users will gravitate to
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thank you! I was hoping that the NIC would be listed specifically. maybe the utilities have to be updated to recognize the temperature of the NIC, I don't know... what happens I you read the temperatures after several minutes of full load on the network interface? it's possible that one of the temps goes up, then we would know which sensor refers to the NIC.
I’m not touching a MacMini until it’s an M3 CPU.A little unannounced prize... Just ordered a new Mac Mini M1 with 10G ethernet. Finally.
Never seen the AQC107 in a Mac ever run so hot that it throttled. Even my oldest (a 2017 iMac Pro - AQC107-AFW) can run all day at full rate on a 29m run of Cat5e (including 4 patch leads). I don't have a longer run to test so perhaps only an issue at extreme lengths?
there have been reports of 2018 Mac minis with the 10Gb NIC running too hot. also countless reports of overheating and failed cards (Sonnettech and ASUS) all based on the AQC107. iMac Pro and MacPro7,1 both have heatsinks big enough and sufficient cooling for the old Aquantia chip.
I have a CalDigit 10G that is about twice as thick as the Sonnet, they are both passively cooled and uses the same AQC107. Mine almost never fails, the surface of the heatsink is constantly hot to touch (44 degree C according to my IR sensor). I have a feeling Caldigit decided to make it this thick has a lot to do with lack of heat dispersion efficiency in other makers' models.
Linus explores network and Thunderbolt bandwidth on the 10 GigE M1 Mac mini
He loves the 10 GigE M1 Mac mini!
Nice video , been a while since i had a good time watching a video at their channel , way too much promoted stuff and shallow videos , good to see that they can still do a technical oriented video with Linus on top of it as well.Linus explores network and Thunderbolt bandwidth on the 10 GigE M1 Mac mini
He loves the 10 GigE M1 Mac mini!
I've had no issues with my Sonnet T3/10GbE brick. Lives in a MacRack mini, alongside an M1 Mac mini (previously attached to an Intel Mac mini before that).
Maybe the MacRack mini acts as a thermal sink as it is mounted via a magnetic pad?
Either way, it can push 10GbE all day long. The only time I can get it trip up or throttle is to force-feed a diet of small packets rather than the usual mix of jumbo and regular frames.