Looking for cheap 10G cards

[somesysadmin]

I'm running opnsense on a dedicated server and I'd like recommendations for a cheap NIC that can do 10G fiber and also copper 10G, 5G, and 2.5G. It's likely going to need to be a two SFP+ port card.

I found the BCM57711 from the latest FreeBSD Hardware Notes at https://www.freebsd.org/releases/13.0R/hardware/ but I'm not sure if that is the correct card - the one I found is showing as the Broadcom BCM57711 but the list says QLogic BCM57711. I know QLogic and Broadcom did a deal at some point so that could be why the company name changed.

I'm also not sure how to check SFP compatibility other than just randomly googling it and hoping to stumble across what I need. I'd like to know beforehand everything will work and then just boot up Opnsense with no issues and not have to deal with eBay returns

[rungekutta]

From the various performance discussions on these forums relating to 10Gb, it seems native netmap support is recommended for performance, and that currently limits your options more or less to Intel or Chelsio.

See https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=netmap&sektion=4

Are you buying new or used? Look for Chelsio T520 or Intel X520 or X710.

[rungekutta]

PS re SFP+ compatibility, I think it's more a question of driver/hardware than support in OpnSense. So you may want to look closer at the specs and recommendations for those cards mentioned. FWIW, I have used fs.com transceivers with great success. Alas have never attempted 2.5 or 5Gb - only 10Gb or 1Gb, and mostly with Chelsio cards. I understand Intel cards are a bit more picky.