Maybe you could find a device that runs OpenWRT with an integrated switch?

Could you go over some of your reasoning + need for the networking equipment you have?

I have a 10Gbps internet connection (only costs $40/month in my area) so I wanted a 10Gbps router. The TP-Link ER8411 is currently the cheapest 10Gbps router that can actually achieve 10Gbps NAT throughput.

However, that router only has 1Gbps RJ45 ports, not 10Gbps. I wanted to get 10Gbps over regular CAT6 cable, so I needed a 10Gbps switch too. The MikroTik is very good value for money - a lot of other brands only have 2.5Gbps switcheswith one or two 10Gbps ports for the same price as the one I've got (that has 12 x 10Gbps ports).

I needed a PoE (Power over Ethernet) switch for my security cameras. TP-Link TL-SG1218MPE is a good deal at only $200 for 16 PoE ports. I was looking at a cheaper one that's $110 for 8 PoE ports (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1090765-REG/tp_link_tl_sg2210p_8_port_gigabit_poe_smart.html/), but it's not rack mountable, and buying a rack mountable case for it from somewhere like Etsy brings the price very close to the price of the 16-port switch.

Hope that helps :)

no switch since I cannot find a switch that is affordable and runs FOSS software

If you get a "dumb" unmanaged switch, it's literally just a purpose-built switch chip connected to the Ethernet ports. There's not really any software running on it, and in fact there's way more proprietary code running on a PC in the CPU's microcode :)

the “router” will do the switching for me through bridged ports

The downside of this is that you may not get line speed through all ports simultaneously. There are some PCIe network cards that have 4 ports and a switch chip for line-rate switching between the ports, but I've never actually seen one in real life.

Normal switches don't need an OS right? I thought only managed switches did.

Sorry hahaha. The photo is appearing sideways for some people but not other people, and I'm very confused as to why.

At least here in germany we use Cat.7 in general since, it feels like forever, at least in the last 10 years I saw/used nothing else on a new install. I know stuff is different in especially the US, but well, US power system...I think we better stop here.

The big thing with fiber is not the cabling, but the termination. So if you can terminate yourself/get it extremely cheap, or use patch cables and coupler wall plates you could maybe get cheaper.

Fiber is much more fragile, and you need to use precut lengths (unless you know how to splice it yourself, which takes way more skill than CAT6). I think the total cost of running CAT6 will always be cheaper than fiber.

Fiber is more future-proof though, and there's no risk of electromagnetic interference. If you want your network to reach a separate building (like a detached garage), you should use fiber for that.

Fiber didn't really have an advantage in my case, since all my CAT6 runs can achieve 10Gbps, and I don't see myself needing more bandwidth than that any time soon.

I don't have the time to moderate a community.

Homelab was a good spot back in those days

It's a louvered door, which I think helps:

I have an Aqara temperature sensor stuck to the wall above the rack - you can see it in my initial photo. At the moment, it's usually around 23-25C (~73.5-77F) in there, and all the equipment is within its standard operating temperature.

I also live in an area with a fairly mild climate - it doesn't get too cold in winter or too hot in summer. Having said that, I've only been living in this house since the end of last year, and haven't experienced a full summer in it yet. If it ends up getting too hot in there, I'll try stick a fan to the door to exhaust the hot air and see if that's sufficient.

Yeah, the posts are tiled backwards a bit as a way to support the weight of its contents. It's the cheapest rack-like thing I could find (was around $50 when I bought it), and it was small enough to fit in the space. I didn't want to spend much more than $50, and the closet isn't deep enough for a regular server-depth rack.