Recommendation for a PoE switch

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Recommendation for a PoE switch

nofam

1073 posts

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#215572 3-Jul-2017 14:37

Hey guys,

Am putting together the networking components for my new build, which is based around 2 x UniFi AP AC Pro's - I'm not doing a heap of ethernet around the house, so was thinking a 16-port switch like this should tick the box?

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/SWHLKS2556284/Linksys-LGS116P-16-Port-Unmanaged-Gigabit-PoE-Swit

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richms

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#1810971 3-Jul-2017 14:42

unifi is much cooler with their switches since that makes the topology view work.

Richard rich.ms

RunningMan

7039 posts

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#1810976 3-Jul-2017 14:44

If you've only got 2 PoE devices, it is probably more cost effective to use a normal switch, and a couple of PoE injectors. Not quite as tidy though...

itxtme

1884 posts

Uber Geek

#1810980 3-Jul-2017 14:49

RunningMan:

If you've only got 2 PoE devices, it is probably more cost effective to use a normal switch, and a couple of PoE injectors. Not quite as tidy though...

And the AP's come with the PoE injectors in the packets, so if no other need for PoE then RunningMans solution makes the most sense (with one of these). For what its worth the 16 port Unifi PoE switch is a nice piece of kit, but has the price point to match :S

The model you have listed would work though as the AP pros use 802.3af

jimbob79

665 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1810989 3-Jul-2017 14:59

TL;DR

I'm selling a 3COM PoE switch on TradeMe right now.

SATTV

1332 posts

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#1811004 3-Jul-2017 15:16

Unifi Pro uses 48V if I recall, make sure it can do 48V sorry I cant remember the standard.

John

I know enough to be dangerous

SATTV

1332 posts

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#1811005 3-Jul-2017 15:21

The other thing I forgot was that 8 port unifi switch is not rack mountable, it is desktop or wallmount.

John

I know enough to be dangerous

nofam

1073 posts

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#1811007 3-Jul-2017 15:27

richms:

unifi is much cooler with their switches since that makes the topology view work.

So do their Toughswitches offer this, or just their routers? And can I achieve the same functionality if I have a PC running the client software all the time (was planning on this so I can run a guest SSID)

darylblake

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#1811014 3-Jul-2017 15:43

So be careful here.

They have passive PoE 24/48v which is NOT 802.3af.

I have 2x Unifi AC Lites in a brand new house, and I am going to power them with a Edgerouter PoE which supports 24/48v passive poe. The Toughswitch I believe supports all of them. We have one for testing at work, we use it to power phones. And the the new white uni-fi PoE switches only support 802.3af.

So if you have Unifi AC Pro's you need a switch with 802.3af support. If you buy the Unifi AC LR or AC Lites you need passive poe. The tough switch will work in both situations.

nofam

1073 posts

Uber Geek

#1811015 3-Jul-2017 15:45

darylblake:

So be careful here.

They have passive PoE 24/48v which is NOT 802.3af.

I have 2x Unifi AC Lites in a brand new house, and I am going to power them with a Edgerouter PoE which supports 24/48v passive poe. The Toughswitch I believe supports all of them. We have one for testing at work, we use it to power phones. And the the new white uni-fi PoE switches only support 802.3af.

So if you have Unifi AC Pro's you need a switch with 802.3af support. If you buy the Unifi AC LR or AC Lites you need passive poe. The tough switch will work in both situations.

Thanks - yes, I'd actually specced this switch a while back, and opted for it due to the 802.3af support - active PoE seems a much safer bet to me, as a protocol-based injection greatly reduces the risk of magic smoke if you plug in the wrong thing to a PoE port!

ArdRigh

25 posts

Geek

#1811047 3-Jul-2017 16:13

Bookmark this link for the PoE reference: https://help.ubnt.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000263008--UniFi-Understanding-PoE-and-How-UniFi-Devices-are-Powered

lxsw20

2898 posts

Uber Geek

#1812287 3-Jul-2017 22:39

I can't remember how the UniFi Guest WiFi works, but will you not need a switch you can tag the ports as a trunk to run different VLANs to the APs?

One of our little networks at work we are running full stack unifi, with a cloudkey as the controller. Seems to work pretty well. I'd go US-16-150W, USG & CloudKey. There are cheaper options, but it gives you that nice single pane of glass control.

richms

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#1812295 3-Jul-2017 23:03

Most dumb switches will pass tagged vlans out to all ports. So tagging on the AP and the USG will work. Managed switch needed to allow only some vlans thru, or to remove the tagging etc.

Richard rich.ms

chevrolux

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#1812300 3-Jul-2017 23:40

darylblake:
So be careful here.

They have passive PoE 24/48v which is NOT 802.3af.

I have 2x Unifi AC Lites in a brand new house, and I am going to power them with a Edgerouter PoE which supports 24/48v passive poe. The Toughswitch I believe supports all of them. We have one for testing at work, we use it to power phones. And the the new white uni-fi PoE switches only support 802.3af.

So if you have Unifi AC Pro's you need a switch with 802.3af support. If you buy the Unifi AC LR or AC Lites you need passive poe. The tough switch will work in both situations.

For what it's worth... the new Unifi AC LR's have 802.3af. Stock coming out of snappernet for the last few months has been this. Not sure about go wireless.

And for the OP - if you just want basic PoE and basic VLAN support the unifi switches are pretty nice. And they look pretty too.
I find them annoying personally just because vlans are done kind of weirdly compared with "normal" switches.

sbiddle

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#1812306 4-Jul-2017 03:55

Juat to add to this thread for reference all UniFi AC AP's now support 802.3af - the AC Lite and AC LR were previously only 24V PoE but now support both 802.3af and 24V on the gen2 hardware which is currently in the marketplace. Last time I ordered stock from Go WiFi it was only the singles that were gen2 and the multipacks were old stock but that was a month ago so has probably changed by now.

darylblake

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#1812328 4-Jul-2017 08:07

sbiddle:

Juat to add to this thread for reference all UniFi AC AP's now support 802.3af - the AC Lite and AC LR were previously only 24V PoE but now support both 802.3af and 24V on the gen2 hardware which is currently in the marketplace. Last time I ordered stock from Go WiFi it was only the singles that were gen2 and the multipacks were old stock but that was a month ago so has probably changed by now.

Sweet, I didn't know that. Thanks for letting me know.

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