By: FS.COM

IP surveillance was once affordable only by large enterprises, but it is now everywhere in our daily life. This is because the prices of IP camera and PoE switch have dramatically fallen down. In this case, many people try to set up small-sized IP surveillance systems by themselves. 8-port PoE switch is one of the most popular PoE switches for simply IP camera system. This post will discuss how to use a 8-port PoE switch to build up IP surveillance camera system.

Why Use PoE Switch for IP Surveillance

There are two main reasons why PoE switch should be used in IP surveillance system:

Save Time and Costs

Since the PoE switch can power the POE-enabled IP cameras, people do not have to lay down electrical power cables any more. They can make the best use of their existing Cat5e or Cat6 cabling for both data and power transfer.

Flexible for Installation

With PoE switch, you do not have to place the IP cameras near power outlets. In fact, you can freely deploy the cameras up to 100m away from the PoE switch or any other equipment. In addition, if you find the IP cameras are not in the perfect place, they can be easily re-positioned.

8-Port PoE Switch Selection

There are many 8-port PoE switches in the market from various suppliers. When choosing the most suitable one for your IP surveillance, the most important considerations are the followings:

Power Consumption of Your IP Camera

There are two standards for the PoE switch: IEEE802.3af and IEEE802.3at. Thus 8-port PoE switches with different standards also provide different powers on each port for IP cameras. For example, a IEEE802.3af standard 8-port PoE switch only work with IP cameras that don’t exceed 15.4W. And a IEEE802.3at PoE switch can support up to 25W PoE devices.

Max. Power Consumption of the 8-Port PoE Switch

The greater the total wattage of the 8-port PoE switch, the more cameras and other POE devices can be connected. And the max. power consumption of the switch is often closely related with its price. However, if select carefully, you may find some cost-effective 8-port PoE switches with great max. power consumption.

Unmanaged or Managed 8-Port PoE Switch

Unmanaged PoE switch only provides basic connectivity between networked devices. While managed PoE switch allows users to monitor the network and take responsibility for any configurations that cause downtime. For long term, a managed 8-port PoE switch may be a better choice.

The following table lists three commonly used 8-port PoE switches and compares their features and prices:

How to Use 8-Port PoE Switch to Build up IP Surveillance

An IP surveillance system is often composed of PoE switch, IP camera, network video recorder (NVR), and Cat5e or Ca6 cabling. Among them, PoE switch can both transmit data and provide power for other devices. The following picture shows the general application of the 8-port PoE switch:

Conclusion

PoE switch makes surveillance installation simpler, safer and less expensive. If you decide to build an IP video surveillance system, make sure to select a proper PoE switch for a reliable IP video surveillance system. Generally, a 8-port PoE switch can nearly satisfy all that demands a small-sized IP surveillance requires.