Time to choose my poe switch...

wetto

wetto

Young grasshopper
Jun 13, 2017
48
4
Forgive me for my ignorance.

So i am ready to proceed onto the next step of creating my home surveillance setup. Its time to choose the poe switch as ill be running all cameras with Poe. I am looking for a 8 port poe switch to power 8 cameras. Some will be dahua starlights and others may be cheaper cameras. I am well aware that lots of switches advertise 8 ports but only half are poe.

When looking up poe switches i see some with 8 ports (4poe) that are relatively cheap. If i can get a better deal, would it be better or worse running TWO -8 port (4poe) switches (total of 8poe and 8 instead of buying a single switch with 8 powered ports?

Do i need gigabit connection on the switch or how do i know if 10/100 will suffice? Two of the cameras im looking at both say 10/100 under network specs.

If i choose a poe switch that has extra ports that are non powered, what can i use them for?

I see the terms VLAN and SFP being thrown alot in threads when it being a deciding factor for managed vs unmanaged switches. I have never owned or setup a switch so my ignorance tells me to go with an unmanaged switch for ease of use. Should i just go with that since i have no idea why i would need a VLAN or what SFP is?

Additional info.
Home router: tplink ac1750 (gigabit connections)
Home PC dedicated: Dell optiplex 5050
Cameras- (4-8) will pull around 5 or 10w each from what im looking at specs(unpurchased)

Some of the ones ive been looking are the BV Tech because the 8 port switch actually has 8POE ports.The cheaper price is a little concerning but ive read threads of people using that brand here. Ive also been looking at TP LINK switches because ive been fairly happy with my tp link products. The only downside to the cheaper priced switches seems to be that they are unmanaged or have a 10/100 connection.
 
if you want to power 8 cams, you need a 9+ port switch or more, as you must have at least ONE port connected to the rest of your network.
ports for individual cam don't need to be gigabit (10/100 is fine), but it's nice to have gigabit uplink ports for the aggregated data to your NVR or BI or NAS...
Figure 8 cams at 1000kB/s (like a 4k/8mp cam) is 8 mega Bytes/s or ~80 meg BITS per second, which pretty much saturates a 100mb link,
so you can see the utility of a Gigbit uplink port...
 
I purchased a HP Procurve 2620 POE+ managed switch from Ebay for $34. The switch has 24 ports of which 12 are POE. It also has 2 Gigabit uplink ports.
 
I've also had good luck with used units off Ebay. Netgear or similar, some have all 24 ports powered, with several gigabit uplink ports.
these are relatively cheap, as IT departments upgrade to all gigabit. Most have a fan or three inside, which can be noisy and/or fail eventually,
but it's easy enough to replace the fans as needed. While you may not use the 'managed' aspects right away, it's nice to have for implementing VLANs
later if you want to...
 
pozzello said:
if you want to power 8 cams, you need a 9+ port switch or more, as you must have at least ONE port connected to the rest of your network.
ports for individual cam don't need to be gigabit (10/100 is fine), but it's nice to have gigabit uplink ports for the aggregated data to your NVR or BI or NAS...
Figure 8 cams at 1000kB/s (like a 4k/8mp cam) is 8 mega Bytes/s or ~80 meg BITS per second, which pretty much saturates a 100mb link,
so you can see the utility of a Gigbit uplink port...
Click to expand...

I found this 16 port gigabit switch (8poe) for only $120.https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Unma...dpPl=1&dpID=41XDYHc6bfL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1

It's gigabit so that's nice addition. The 8 port (8poe) gigabit seems to run a few dollars more dunno why. Can I use the non poe ports as my uplink to the router?
 
As an Amazon Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.
Yeah it doesn't need poe. I dont want an 8 port Poe switch unless it has the 8+1 (9port). Just wondering if there's a benefit to having a "dedicated" uplink port, rather than having it with the extra 8non Poe ports. I'm guessing it's going to be the same thing?
 
Depends on the gear. If it's a basic switch with all gigabit access ports then for most practical purposes the same.

However, with higher-end switches, dedicated uplink ports may have additional features/capabilities.

The switches I use for IP cams have 10/100 access ports but have gigabit-capable uplink ports. Some have built-in RJ45 for copper gigabit and also have SFP ports for any number of other uplink connection options.
 
Last edited:
I'm using THIS ONE. I've only been using it since January so we'll see how it goes over time out but so far so good. I got it for $47.42 delivered and I recall it arrived in two weeks from the order date. I like that the power supply is inside the cabinet yet it's still has a very small footprint.

JmQ7KMD.jpg
 
S̶o̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶l̶o̶o̶k̶s̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶i̶m̶ ̶a̶l̶m̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶d̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶u̶y̶,̶ ̶i̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶l̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶q̶u̶e̶s̶t̶i̶o̶n̶.̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶a̶m̶e̶r̶a̶s̶ ̶i̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶u̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶r̶e̶q̶u̶i̶r̶e̶ ̶[̶D̶C̶1̶2̶V̶,̶ ̶P̶o̶E̶ ̶(̶8̶0̶2̶.̶3̶a̶f̶)̶(̶C̶l̶a̶s̶s̶ ̶0̶)̶]̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶[̶D̶C̶1̶2̶V̶ ̶&̶ ̶P̶o̶E̶ ̶(̶I̶E̶E̶E̶ ̶8̶0̶2̶.̶3̶a̶f̶)̶]̶ ̶u̶n̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶s̶p̶e̶c̶s̶,̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶u̶s̶e̶s̶ ̶5̶w̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶u̶s̶e̶s̶ ̶1̶0̶w̶.̶ ̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶w̶i̶t̶c̶h̶ ̶i̶m̶ ̶l̶o̶o̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶s̶a̶y̶s̶ ̶I̶E̶E̶E̶ ̶8̶0̶2̶.̶3̶/̶3̶u̶/̶3̶x̶/̶3̶a̶b̶/̶3̶a̶z̶/̶3̶a̶f̶/̶3̶a̶t̶ ̶D̶o̶e̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶v̶o̶l̶t̶a̶g̶e̶ ̶m̶a̶t̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶n̶e̶c̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶p̶o̶e̶ ̶s̶w̶i̶t̶c̶h̶?̶ ̶O̶r̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶g̶u̶l̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶w̶i̶t̶c̶h̶ ̶i̶t̶s̶e̶l̶f̶?̶ ̶L̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶s̶a̶y̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶s̶o̶n̶ ̶i̶ ̶e̶n̶d̶ ̶u̶p̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶a̶ ̶c̶a̶m̶e̶r̶a̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶q̶u̶i̶r̶e̶s̶ ̶2̶4̶v̶,̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶i̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶s̶a̶i̶d̶ ̶c̶a̶m̶e̶r̶a̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶w̶i̶t̶c̶h̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶l̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶f̶/̶a̶t̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶p̶l̶i̶a̶n̶t̶?̶

Looks like the dc voltage is for powering externally, and the poe standards are the only thing i should be looking at. Disregard everyone!

looney2ns said:
Been a few reports posted here of BV-Tech POE switches failing prematurely.
This get decent reviews. IPCamPower IPCP-8P2G-AF2 8 Port POE Plus Switch W/ 2 10/100 Uplinks for IP Security Cameras - Nelly's Security
Click to expand...
I couldnt see the reviews on that website. I looked on amazon and web for "ipcampower" reviews (different models) and theyre fairly similar to the BVTECH ones as in theyre all fairly recent and have not been tried and tested.

Sybertiger said:
I'm using THIS ONE. I've only been using it since January so we'll see how it goes over time out but so far so good. I got it for $47.42 delivered and I recall it arrived in two weeks from the order date. I like that the power supply is inside the cabinet yet it's still has a very small footprint.
Click to expand...
Id like to think that is also going to be a hit and miss sort of thing. Too soon to know really if its only been running a month.

These are the two units im considering:
1.TPLINK-LSG1016PE https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Unma...UTF8&qid=1550529376&sr=8-3&keywords=tplink+16

2.Linksys-LGS116Phttps://www.amazon.com/Linksys-Busi...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=FFMNY5V1FFNDESBTB785

The Linksys seems to have better reviews across different sites.
The TPlink seems to have an extra 40watts of power.
TPlink seems to have "louder" reviews although they both seemingly use 40mm 8200rpm fans.(Maybe because it generates more heat/power fans are running louder?)
Theyre both gigabit switches and they both have 8poe and 8 non poe ports.
 
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.
My recommendation is aways to look on eBay for used enterprise pulls. They are workhorses and will still have plenty of life left in them, although you will probably want to replace the fans. They are managed, so you can do VLANs to keep your traffic separated, and have PoE available on all ports. I picked mine up as a lot of 4 for $100....

WGRWPXe.jpg
 
I have 48 port naged POE switch. Got it for 60 bucks on ebay. It's a CISCO Cisco Linksys SRW248G4P Business 48-Port 10/100 w/4x Gigabit PoE Switch .
It's been running nonstop for over a year. It has a lot of features but I just used it plug and play and it works great.
 
  • Like
Reactions: taz420nj
nbstl68 said:
I have 48 port naged POE switch. Got it for 60 bucks on ebay. It's a CISCO Cisco Linksys SRW248G4P Business 48-Port 10/100 w/4x Gigabit PoE Switch .
It's been running nonstop for over a year. It has a lot of features but I just used it plug and play and it works great.
Click to expand...

Mine has been in use for 3 years now, no problems. Before that I had a 3Com 24 port PoE managed switch in use for 6 years. I had also bought it used on eBay for about $30. Only changed because I needed more than the two gigabit ports. This Nortel is all gigabit.
 
Last edited:
I'll just toss this in: Get a switch with at least twice as many POE (camera) ports as you think you need. Believe me, it is extremely likely that you will find places to add more cameras in the future. And it is nice to be able to just add one here and there as you wish.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nbstl68, looney2ns and taz420nj
taz420nj said:
My recommendation is aways to look on eBay for used enterprise pulls. They are workhorses and will still have plenty of life left in them, although you will probably want to replace the fans. They are managed, so you can do VLANs to keep your traffic separated, and have PoE available on all ports. I picked mine up as a lot of 4 for $100....
Click to expand...

The Watchdog is your firewall/router, I presume?

The three red patch cables from it to the switch, VLANS, or?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom