By: Chloe

As the growing of business and the increasing awareness of security, IP cameras are widely deployed in areas like schools, public areas and even at home. All these arouse the increasing demand for PoE (power over Ethernet) switches which enabling big benefits for IP surveillance system. However, many users may ask a question: how to choose a PoE switch for my IP cameras? 8-port PoE switch or 24-port gigabit PoE switch? Cisco PoE switch or Netgear PoE switch? This post intends to explore the necessary considerations for buying PoE switch.

Understanding How PoE Switch Works for IP Cameras

As we know, power consumption of different IP cameras is different. The power consumption of PTZ (pan-tilt zoom) cameras is up to 20W, while other IP cameras like indoor/outdoor dome IP cameras may just consume as little as 3 or 4W. In addition, PoE switches transmit both data and power for PoE-enabled devices via a single network/Ethernet cables such as Cat5e, Cat6 and Cat6a. Usually, PoE switch comes with multiple ports to support more than two IP cameras. Take a 8-port PoE switch as an example, it can connect IP cameras, NVR, router, etc. Just like the below picture shows.

 

Essential Considerations When Buying a PoE Switch

There are various questions about buying a gigabit PoE switch in forums and communities. For example, one user ask in forum: “I have 5 IP cameras in a warehouse, two NVRs in the office, considering the distances, which switch should I choose, is 8-port PoE managed switch enough?” Then if you have the same question, what should you do? Here are some necessary factors to consider.

1.Port Count of PoE Switch

This is a basic factor that should be considered when buy a PoE switch. And it is easy to decide how many ports you need. According to the number of PoE-enabled devices, choosing the switch that has larger PoE ports than your device number, which is for your future-proofing upgrade.

2.PoE Switch Power Budget and IP Camera Power Consumption

The power budget of PoE switch matters a lot. Network designers need to know the power consumption for each switch port. It helps users to know how many IP cameras can be deployed. Keep in mind that not all PoE port can reach the max. power consumption at the same time. As has mentioned above, the power consumption of IP camera varies from types to types. Therefore, to ensure the normal work of IP cameras, the power budget of PoE switches is important.

3.Unmanaged or Managed PoE Switch

It’s known to all that PoE switches come with managed switch and unmanaged switch. People who have experience in network design will know clearly the benefits of managed PoE switches. They enable network administrators to check the quality of the network copper cables linked to each switch port. And administrators also can use advanced management functions to have a good command of the whole network.

4.What’s the Distance of PoE? How to Select Ethernet Cable for PoE Switch?

Usually the transmission of PoE switch is 100m, and the commonly used cable is Cat5 Ethernet cable. According to the IEEE802.3af PoE standard, the required PoE output power is 15.4W. And the PD can receive 12.95W power after 100m transmission. Make sure the Ethernet cable you buy is a standard network cable.