Do I need a POE switch?

[David150]

So I am planning to buy IP cameras and NVR bundle, I am thinking of setting it up like this:

Connect IP camera to a switch with a CAT cable
Connect the switch to a NVR with a CAT cable
Connect the NVR to the router with a CAT cable

My question is, does that switch has to be a POE switch? When my security company technician came to my house I asked him and he said I need a POE switch to connect to the IP cameras, but I thought NVRs come with built-in POE switch so do I really need a POE switch?

 

[aristobrat]

Some NVR models have built-in PoE switches, others don’t.

Whatever the cameras plug into provides the power. In your example above, the switch the cameras plug into would be PoE, and your NVR would not need to be PoE. An advantage to this is that you can easily relocate the NVR around the house,,, if it was a PoE NVR, then all of your cameras would be directly connected to it which can make relocating it almost impossible.

Non-PoE NVRs usually only have one network jack. I’d connect the NVR into the PoE switch and then connect the PoE switch into the router.

 

[David150]

Some NVR models have built-in PoE switches, others don’t.

Whatever the cameras plug into provides the power. In your example above, the switch the cameras plug into would be PoE, and your NVR would not need to be PoE. An advantage to this is that you can easily relocate the NVR around the house,,, if it was a PoE NVR, then all of your cameras would be directly connected to it which can make relocating it almost impossible.

Non-PoE NVRs usually only have one network jack. I’d connect the NVR into the PoE switch and then connect the PoE switch into the router.

Thanks, the NVR that I plan to buy will most likely be a POE NVR. However, I cannot connect the cameras directly to the POE NVR because the wires for the cameras are located in a small box in the basement and NVR won't fit in there. So I need to have a switch connecting the cameras and run a cable connect that switch to a POE NVR.

So cameras -> switch -> POE NVR, in this scenario do I need to get a POE switch or a regular switch will do?

 

[aristobrat]

PoE switch. A regular switch will not pass power to the cameras, even if you connect it to a PoE NVR.

 

[David150]

PoE switch. A regular switch will not pass power to the cameras, even if you connect it to a PoE NVR.

I have 4 cameras, and since I need to connect the POE switch to the NVR as well, that means I need a POE switch with at least 5 POE ports right? Wow if that's the case, then it might be tricky, I am seeing a lot of 8 port POE switches only have 4 POE ports, so I have to get a 16 port POE switch (that comes with 8 POE ports) then?

 

[whatevah]

I have 4 cameras, and since I need to connect the POE switch to the NVR as well, that means I need a POE switch with at least 5 POE ports right? Wow if that's the case, then it might be tricky, I am seeing a lot of 8 port POE switches only have 4 POE ports, so I have to get a 16 port POE switch (that comes with 8 POE ports) then?

You haven't seen the right switches. This one has 8 PoE+ ports and non-PoE -> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0754P9KLN If you don't need gigabit speeds, here's a cheaper one with 8 PoE+ and 1 non-PoE -> https://www.amazon.com/BV-Tech-Port-Switch-Ports-Uplink/dp/B005GAATOG

 

[aristobrat]

Camera systems often grow in size, so getting a PoE switch with more ports than you initially need is a good idea.

If you’re never going to plug cameras directly into the NVR, there’s no technical reason that you need a NVR model that has PoE built into it. The PoE NVR models usually have extra fans inside.. you might be able to save a few bucks and get a more quiet unit if you get the non-PoE model.

 

[looney2ns]

So I am planning to buy IP cameras and NVR bundle, I am thinking of setting it up like this:

Connect IP camera to a switch with a CAT cable
Connect the switch to a NVR with a CAT cable
Connect the NVR to the router with a CAT cable

My question is, does that switch has to be a POE switch? When my security company technician came to my house I asked him and he said I need a POE switch to connect to the IP cameras, but I thought NVRs come with built-in POE switch so do I really need a POE switch?

In your example you would instead want it to be:
Connect IP camera to a POE switch with a CAT cable
Connect the switch to a NON POE NVR with a CAT cable
Connect the POE switch to the router with a CAT cable

POE Switch: https://www.amazon.com/IPCamPower-Network-Additional-Designed-Cameras/dp/B07BVVWYHN/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1543086685&sr=1-3&keywords=ipcampower

What equipment exactly is your Security Company wanting to install?