Just to be clear, there are two places we could use Netonix switches with > 1 Gbps connections, either SFP or 2.5 Gbps copper Ethernet. Attached below is a drawing of the equipment we use to provide 500/500 Mbps service to an 18-story urban condominium today. My goal is to provide 1/1 Gbps services in future buildings and to upgrade buildings that have been wired for 500/500 Mbps.
As implemented today, >1Gbps radios are handled by bonding and, in this case, the three links to the router are adequate given one of the two AF24 radios is a backup for the Siklu. But as we deploy more 2 and 3 Gbps radios, we'll need more capacity from the PoE switch towards the radios and towards the router. In the short term, this can include more bonded 1 Gbps paths, but obviously we want >1 Gbps going forward.
The second place we need more than 1 Gbps is down-stream, i.e. towards the switches which serve customers. Today these are MikroTik CRS125 switches with 1 Gbps uplinks, powered as you can see via PoE from a Netonix switch. To provide 1/1 Gbps we will use MikroTik CRS326 switches instead of CRS125 switches. But now we need more than 1 Gbps to each customer switch. We typically run two Cat6 cables to each floor (in case one gets damaged) so I could use one to provide power and the other to provide 2.5 Gbps over Cat6 using 2.5 Gbps copper SFP+ modules like these:
https://mikrotik.com/product/s_rj10 and a non-PoE switch with multiple SFP+ modules. Perhaps the CRS317. Not great!
Alternately, if I had a Netonix switch that provided PoE over 2.5 Gbps copper Ethernet, I could run 2.5 Gbps over a single Cat6 cable and use an inverse PoE injector to pull out power at the CRS326 end to feed the DC power jack on the back of the CRS326. Longer term I would hope MikroTik or others offer a switch with PoE input on a >1 Gbps copper Ethernet interface.
I'd also welcome other suggested approaches, but I want to maintain at least 1 Gbps of head room above the peak of the actual traffic on any path so I can deliver true 1/1 Gbps at all times of day or night.
- Typical service for urban apartment building