MikroTik CRS518

Oct 12, 2023

Have you been waiting for a 25GbE/ 100GbE switch that is low-power and reasonably priced? If so, the MikroTik CRS518-16XS-2XQ-RM is going to feel extremely exciting. In our review, we are going to take a look at what happens when MikroTik makes its brand of low-cost and high-speed network switches. This is something we have been eagerly awaiting since we covered the MikroTik CRS518-16XS-2XQ-RM launch months ago, and now we can show you the unit.

We decided to do a video for this one that you can find here:

If you want to hear the switch or see the idle power consumption being measured, that is a good place to start. As always, we suggest opening this in its own browser, tab, or app for the best viewing experience.

Looking at the front of the system, we have a fairly standard 1U design. This design mirrors many of the systems we have seen previously from MikroTik.

On one side we have two QSFP28 ports. These are the 100GbE ports. Next to those are an array of 16x 25GbE SFP28 ports. 2 + 16 is how we get the “18” in the CRS518. 2XQ are for the QSFP28 ports while 16XS is for the SFP28 ports.

Next to all of the primary networking ports, we get a serial console port, a management LAN port, a USB port and a reset button.

Some of our readers will want to use this management port as a low-speed network port but that would be unwise given the block diagram and how this management port connects to the Qualcomm QCA9531L management processor, not the primary Marvell switch chip.

On the rear of the unit, we get a fairly simple design.

There are two redundant power supplies. Each is a 150W unit and has a cable retention clip.

The fans are MikroTik hot swap fans.

MikroTik is using a custom connector for the fans. That is an area where we were planning to do an easy Noctua fan swap, a common modification on MikroTik switches. We stopped that since it was not as easy as replacing a 4-pin PWM fan with a Noctua model. We have no doubt others will make the swap, but we wish MikroTik made it easier to just plug-and-play a new fan.

Next, let us get inside the system.