NOTE: You can use Cat5E in a pinch, but only for short cable lengths. Then, connect a Cat6A cable – necessary for full 10G data transfer speeds – from the adapter to a 10G switch. To configure this adapter, connect it to any Mac with a Thunderbolt 3 connection. This may not be a problem for most users, but does restrict its use for me.ĭevice: Thunderbolt 3 10G Ethernet Adapter This means that to use this device, I either need to disconnect my storage, or my monitor. One drives an HDMI monitor and the other has a converter from Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 to connect to external storage. UPDATE: After using this on two computers for a few weeks, the only limitation is that there is no second Thunderbolt port. It’s worked invisibly with zero problems ever since. I connected this to my system two weeks ago and configured it in about five minutes. Wrapped in a rubber bumper to protect it when traveling, the fanless device is silent in operation. It supports data transfer speeds in excess of 900 MB/sec (read) with LEDs to indicate power and link status.

It supports Ethernet speeds of 100M, 1G, 2.5G, 5G and 10G, automatically. Bus-powered, it doesn’t need separate power. NOTE: Here’s an article that describes how I converted my entire network to 10G.Ībout the size of two decks of cards, stacked, and very solidly built, the OWC Thunderbolt 3 10G Ethernet Adapter is the perfect adapter. While I needed the faster network speed, my Mac’s couldn’t deliver. The problem is that all my Macs have only 1G Ethernet ports. 10G, which is short for 10 gigabit, is potentially ten times faster than the 1G network that is the default setting on most of our computers. I’ve spent the last two weeks upgrading my server, network and Mac to support 10G Ethernet.

Mac ethernet adapter thunderbolt