What POE switch do you use?

Outlaw85

[H]ard|Gawd
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Feb 7, 2012
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I've been browsing for a little while now but wondering what you guys recommend.

Budget= <$200 in US, used is fine
Requirements= 802.3af/802.3at spec, VLAN support, Gigabit, rack mount

I am going to be installing 5-6 AXIS POE cameras and have 3x existing POE APs. The APs currently use power injectors that I would like to get away from when adding more POE devices. However, I don't want to be stuck using 10/100 that it seems a lot of POE switches appear to use. I currently use a WS-C3560G-48TS-S and an older 48 port cisco (2950 or 60 I think) that I haven't finished moving off of. I'm looking to run a single switch but not opposed to running 2 if they have smaller port counts (2x16 or 24) or are cheaper. I don't need all 48 ports but I do use quite a few for my home lab too. I was looking at the AXIS midspan but they are limited to 10/100 which is fine for the cameras but doesn't solve the POE injector problem for the APs.

AP's in use:
2x Unifi AC Pro
1x Unifi AP

A couple of spec sheets for two of the cameras:
AXIS 3105-LVE - https://www.axis.com/dam/public/6c/a8/37/datasheet-axis-m3105-lve-network-camera-en-US-278222.pdf
AXIS 3245-LVE - https://www.axis.com/dam/public/9d/9a/c1/datasheet-axis-p3245-lve-network-camera-en-US-352161.pdf

Locally, someone is selling a Cisco SG200-26P but say only 12 are POE, the tech sheet says 24 are POE some I'm not sure if something is wrong with the switch or spec is wrong. 12 POE would be fine though.
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/suppo...rt-gigabit-smart-switch/model.html#~tab-specs
 
You'll typically only need a gigabit uplink if your camera count exceeds 10 and are all 4k. Just like smart tvs, cameras still haven't broken the 100Mbs mark for what they need, so only the uplink matters, and that's only if you have all the cameras running to a switch and then to the nvr as opposed to direct.

I would confirm the model number of the switch that's local. A lot of times people don't know the specs, but they can usually get the model number so then you can confirm what you're getting. I've gotten steals like this before when the person doesn't know what they have.
 
You'll typically only need a gigabit uplink if your camera count exceeds 10 and are all 4k. Just like smart tvs, cameras still haven't broken the 100Mbs mark for what they need, so only the uplink matters, and that's only if you have all the cameras running to a switch and then to the nvr as opposed to direct.

I would confirm the model number of the switch that's local. A lot of times people don't know the specs, but they can usually get the model number so then you can confirm what you're getting. I've gotten steals like this before when the person doesn't know what they have.

These cameras can record to DVR I believe but that requires paid software. I'm going to be doing SD card for recording which will lower the bandwidth too only for viewing. The gigabit is because I want to plug in the APs and not be restricted to the 100mb link. Less restricts for future upgrades too. If I were to get a dedicated camera POE switch, it'd be fine but I really don't want to have a bunch of extra equipment connected. I will have to ask them why only 12 ports work for POE when the tech spec says 24 unless I'm reading it wrong. Honestly, if that's just the switch configuration and not something wrong, I would be OK getting 2 of those. It could provide redundancy as well as extra ports and I would get rid of my other 2 48port switches.

This is from the ad and they use stock photos.
Cisco SG200-26P 26-Port Gigabit (12port are PoE ) Smart Switch *V07 $75 ea
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/suppo...igabit-poe-smart-switch/model.html#~tab-specs
(Interfaces 26 x 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45 | 26 x 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45 - PoE | 2 x SFP (mini-GBIC))

This is the pic they used:
00P0P_ixnrMxQAQ1Oz_0ce03O_1200x900.jpg


The amazon image does show that POE is the first 12 ports in brackets.
71HV+kXc0GL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
 
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The problem with going full 48 port poe (gigabit or 100Mb) is that unless you're using all of these, the power supply will be sized for it and will generally be higher wattage and require active cooling even when the poe isn't maxed out. Hence why it is better to size a poe switch for the poe (which kind of defeats the purpose, I know), and just a regular switch for regular stuff.
 
That's a good point. These seem like they would be a good middle ground then. I could still run 2 of them but they would be lower total power being 2 smaller port counts, and not as large a PSU because only 12 ports are POE capable.

I started counting ports... I just realized I need to go back through and see what I actually need.I was over 20 ports. yikes for a small home lab.
 
Yep, I think you're spot on about the power, and because these are 'small business' series switches, they're not going to go overboard with the power supply and making sure it can overdeliver like the enterprise series, so they should be good for your use case for sure.

haha! Just check out the number of lines in your 'dhcp spreadsheet' for all your static assignments/reservations. :eek: I'm already past 130 lines on mine...:ROFLMAO: I picked up a used 96-port switch a while back as the 48 was already too small for the number of lines we have run. :D
 
Those are ONVIF cameras, so you can use them with Zoneminder (free NVR).

I use a Dell 5524p for part of my network (the non-10G stuff, mostly just things that get PoE'd at this point). I'm powering 3 APs ( TP-Link EAP225), 7 Amcrest 4k cameras, my modem, and my router off of it with zero problems. Should be like $125 or lower on eBay.
 
I'm switching over from a Unifi US-24 to a Netgear MS510TXPP. Wanted a 10gbe uplink as I moved to higher speed APs.
 
I retired a Cisco enterprise switch from my house because of the noise and moved to their small business line. A single SG300 I bought used off eBay works great for me. Gigabit and PoE+.
 
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