Should I use a POE Switch or not?

Chase · Feb 19, 2017

So I am in the process of a new installation at my house. I will be adding 6 cameras to one side of my house and all cat5e cables will run up into the attic. Right now I am at a stalemate until I get some good advice on what to do.

Do I run 6 separate cat5e cables up into my attic (about 100 ft runs each to the NVR) or do I run just one and connect all cameras using a poe switch?

I live in Ohio so (like all attics) they get very very hot in the summer months. Is it a bad idea to put a switch in the attic? Should I just run 5 more cables and call it that?

Your advice on what I should do is appreciated.

nayr · Feb 19, 2017

its always better to run them to a centralized termination point and use a single switch, less points of failure and no uplinks to be a bottleneck.

running a switch in the attic is a bad idea, a fanless one in a garage perhaps.. (often too dirty/dusty and a fan will just fill the inside of your device w/dirt)

Ive neen in attics in the summer that were over 150F, you wont find many electronics rated to temp extremes that high.. Solder will melt at ~350F, so if you start a thermal runaway situation the chips will eventually desolder them selves if the chips dont outright giveup in those temps... PoE Switches generate more heat than a Non-PoE switch, they need much larger power supplies which results in more heat.

Chase · Feb 19, 2017

That was my thinking too...

Are the POE ports on the Dahua or Hikvision NVR's reliable? The cameras would then be wired directly into the NVR for power and transmission.

Any recommendations on a basic 16 channel NVR? I am interested in the starlight turret cams and maybe 1 ptz cam.

nayr · Feb 19, 2017

I dont like using built in PoE, external PoE switch is far more flexible and less limiting than internal PoE..

I have a NVR5216-4KS2 arriving this week, I'll be reviewing it soon.

Chase · Feb 19, 2017

nayr said:
I dont like using built in PoE, external PoE switch is far more flexible and less limiting than internal PoE..

I have a NVR5216-4KS2 arriving this week, I'll be reviewing it soon.

Why are external switches more flexible and less limiting than internal poe switches?

Amazon.com: BV-TECH 8 Port 120W 10/100Mbps Power over Ethernet Switch - Designed for IP Camera Use(Gray): Computers & Accessories
Is this a good option for the 6 cams to connect to then the uplink port to the NVR?

nayr · Feb 19, 2017

with built in PoE:

You cant connect directly to the cameras to configure options the NVR does not expose
Getting 3rd Party cameras online is a huge PITA because NVR cant configure em directly.
you cant hide your NVR in a location other than where all your wires terminate, potentially allowing people to trace cables to find your recorder and steal it.
Cant run PoE powered WiFi, VoIP, Home Automation, or IR Illuminators

just for starters..

JFire · Feb 22, 2017

nayr said:
with built in PoE:

You cant connect directly to the cameras to configure options the NVR does not expose

Getting 3rd Party cameras online is a huge PITA because NVR cant configure em directly.

you cant hide your NVR in a location other than where all your wires terminate, potentially allowing people to trace cables to find your recorder and steal it.

Cant run PoE powered WiFi, VoIP, Home Automation, or IR Illuminators

just for starters..

I second point 1 and 2. Being in this hobby only a year now i wouldnt have bought a poe nvr again. Although at the time it was a money decision as i didnt want to purchase a seperate switch. My next nvr will not be poe.

Sent from my SM-G928T using Tapatalk

Arjun · Mar 9, 2017

I don't know if it was a mistake buying an NVR with POE built-in. Ryan has it said right, I'd rather much be better off getting a separate POE switch, but because of limited placement of wiring and NVR, gotta' stick to one option. The built in POE ports on the NVR might as well serve as backup.

JFire said:
I second point 1 and 2. Being in this hobby only a year now i wouldnt have bought a poe nvr again. Although at the time it was a money decision as i didnt want to purchase a seperate switch. My next nvr will not be poe.

Sent from my SM-G928T using Tapatalk

TheSuperServer · Mar 9, 2017

Can you make use of both as long as you don't exceed the physical number of PoE ports you have? Say 4 cams plugged into a switch and 4 cams direct into the PoE ports on the NVR?

Arjun · Mar 9, 2017

I can do that with my current NVR (not Dahua). I'm pretty sure you can do this on all PoE NVR's. For a 16-port NVR, 8 wireless connections (if you're wireless cameras), and 8 physical direct-lined to the POE ports connections work. Doesn't have to be exactly half. You can add up to 32 cameras per NVR in this series. Even with an 8-port, you can still add another 24 cameras provided you have a 24-PoE switch available, if I'm not mistaken.

TheSuperServer said:
Can you make use of both as long as you don't exceed the physical number of PoE ports you have? Say 4 cams plugged into a switch and 4 cams direct into the PoE ports on the NVR?

fenderman · Mar 9, 2017

Arjun said:
I can do that with my current NVR (not Dahua). I'm pretty sure you can do this on all PoE NVR's. For a 16-port NVR, 8 wireless connections (if you're wireless cameras), and 8 physical direct-lined to the POE ports connections work. Doesn't have to be exactly half. You can add up to 32 cameras per NVR in this series. Even with an 8-port, you can still add another 24 cameras provided you have a 24-PoE switch available, if I'm not mistaken.

You are mistaken...the NVR must support the number of channels you are trying to add...

Arjun · Mar 9, 2017

Thanks, its all in the model # then,

fenderman said:
You are mistaken...the NVR must support the number of channels you are trying to add...

fenderman · Mar 9, 2017

Arjun said:
Thanks, its all in the model # then,

The model specs will tell you exactly how many channels it will support.

Arjun · Mar 9, 2017

I still want to use a separate PoE switch to access the cameras individually through its web interface, I picked up this,
Amazon.com: ZyXEL 5-Port Gigabit Ethernet Web Managed PoE Switch with 60 Watt Budget [GS1200-5HP]: Computers & Accessories

From what I hear, its not possible utilize the camera's interface through the NVR, especially if you want to gain access to additional settings. I can always use an extra PoE injector / splitter if need be later on. Also, thank goodness for powerline adapters.

fenderman said:
The model specs will tell you exactly how many channels it will support.

fenderman · Mar 9, 2017

Arjun said:
I still want to use a separate PoE switch to access the cameras individually through its web interface, I picked up this,
Amazon.com: ZyXEL 5-Port Gigabit Ethernet Web Managed PoE Switch with 60 Watt Budget [GS1200-5HP]: Computers & Accessories

That is a good switch, though it was 50 dollars a few days ago...54 today on newegg..74 is too high..

Arjun · Mar 9, 2017

I just added (edited) to my original post--I got it for $49 earlier today. I'm looking forward to setting it up soon, in the same spot as the NVR. Somehow, I need to find a way to add 5 cameras to this switch

Now the NVR's PoE ports will just gather dust, lol

fenderman said:
That is a good switch, though it was 50 dollars a few days ago...54 today on newegg..74 is too high..

Mike · Mar 10, 2017

Arjun said:
I just added (edited) to my original post--I got it for $49 earlier today. I'm looking forward to setting it up soon, in the same spot as the NVR. Somehow, I need to find a way to add 5 cameras to this switch

Now the NVR's PoE ports will just gather dust, lol

There's a solution for that too, lol

Amazon.com: RJ45 JACK SNAP-IN DUST COVER, INSIDE JACK, 50 PACK: Computers & Accessories

fenderman · Mar 10, 2017

Arjun said:
I need to find a way to add 5 cameras to this switch

You understand that its not possible..there is an 99 dollar zyxel managed 8 port with 8 ports poe (7 usable) for 99...

Arjun · Mar 10, 2017

Or just use the cheap RJ-45 modular plugs (with nothing attached). I have a 100 pc bag on me right now, not going to use all of them anytime soon, lol

Mike said:
There's a solution for that too, lol Amazon.com: RJ45 JACK SNAP-IN DUST COVER, INSIDE JACK, 50 PACK: Computers & Accessories

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