Question What switch do I really need?

[ingeborgdot]

I'm setting up a surveillance system. I have to use a P2P bridge between 2 buildings at 2 different sites. The bridges I'm using are a Ubiquiti bridge. When I was on another forum that dealt with cameras, many said that I should make my whole system Ubiquiti. Well, that may be great for some, but I already have a new $200 + router, and would like to keep it instead of switching to a Ubiquiti one. I am in the need of several switches though. I need ones that are PoE, and will be able to supply enough power to a couple of PTZ cameras. At one site there will be 4 cameras, but 1 or 2 may be PTZ. At the other site, there will be 8 cameras, and 1 or 2 may be PTZ. Do I really need a Ubiquiti switch at those sites. 1- 4 port, and 1- 8 port?
What are your thoughts on this?
What would be a good switch? I'm just looking for a recommendation.
Thanks.

 

[JackMDS]

So.. find out exactly how much POE power your Gizmos' configuration needs, should be in the hardware info pages.

Then log to Amazon or what ever other supplier you adore)

TP-Link has a selection of reasonable inexpensive POE Switches.

If your hardware needs much stronger POE output you would have to resort to a Pro (more expensive) hardware.




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[ingeborgdot]

Yes, I understand all that. I was just curious about the Ubiquiti hardware.
If I need more, I could also get a PoE injector for 1 or 2 of the cameras also.

 

[ch33zw1z]

1. You dont need to make the whole environment ubnt

2. Plan the network out, draw it on paper.

3. If you have 4 cameras, you'll need a 5port + switch, because you need the uplink to get the switch on the network. 8 cameras in one location, you'll need a couple 8's or a 16 ( or greater)

4. If you're already bridging with ubnt, them get ubnt switches for ease of use, generally more support than regular Soho gear, and flexible configuration.

Anything in the Unifi arena should work fine.

UniFi Switching - Ubiquiti

Switching evolved. High-performance switches designed to scale and optimize performance of any network with a magical management experience.

www.ui.com

There's a video about choosing a switch on that site, and a bunch of side by side comparison type info.

 

[ingeborgdot]

I have since decided against Ubiquiti. I found some nice switches, that seem to have a nice interface that I can work on remotely if needed. They may not be Ubiquiti, but they have a limited lifetime warranty(however good that is). They are a business grade switch since they will be in a little harsher than normal environment.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I have since decided against Ubiquiti. I found some nice switches, that seem to have a nice interface that I can work on remotely if needed. They may not be Ubiquiti, but they have a limited lifetime warranty(however good that is). They are a business grade switch since they will be in a little harsher than normal environment.

Sounds like a plan. Are you doing vlans? Or just everything on one untagged

 

[ingeborgdot]

At this point no vlan. Very basic to start. At this point it is an overkill, but for the price point the TP-Link has, and the power it supplies, it fits the bill perfectly.

 

[ingeborgdot]

I have opted for a TP-Link switch. Maybe it is not the best, but I went with an enterprise quality because of the semi harsh environment it is going in.

I am just about ready to buy one of the Jetstream switches TL-SG3428MP or TL-SG2428P. One has the console port, and more watts of PoE. How important is the console port to you if you have one of these switches? It may be overkill, but for the price, and the watts it gives, there was nothing that came close. Thanks for your help.

 

[aigomorla]

I sort of chuckle when someone mentions TP-Link and Enterprise quality....
Its like saying a KIA Luxury car.... sure the Stinger can be luxury... but its more like a camry then a lexus.

My philosophy when playing with enterprise gear... ubiquiti bearly makes the definition of "Enterprise" where a company like Juniper/ Aruba / Cisco / DELL / Arista belong.

As it is night and day when you compare a TP-Link to one of those.

So i would never recommend anyone in getting a expensive TP-Link switch even if it says Enterprise.
If you really want to spend that money, get a real enterprise named switch, or just go with whatever you think fits your budget the best and not because it has the word ENTERPRISE on it.

 

[ingeborgdot]

Well, you get what you pay for, and I understand that. I'm guessing that it is better quality than your standard stuff, and not as good as a Cisco, Aruba, etc. But when you are talking many hundreds of dollars more, even a thousands more, I don't need anything that good or pay that much. This one will work just fine, and when it goes bad, I'll replace it. If it even does go bad? I could replace it another 4 times and be money ahead compared to the closest one I found, with the features I needed, PoE+ total watts for the cameras, and number of ports etc. was over $1600 with tax. That was a Cisco.
I get what you are saying, don't take it personal.
As for expensive, I don't think it is too bad to pay under $300 for something. It has a lifetime warranty, who knows how good that is, but it is what it is.
Thanks for your response. I'm glad you took the time to care about me.

 

[mv2devnull]

Well, you get what you pay for, and I understand that. I'm guessing that it is better quality than your standard stuff, and not as good as ...

For many the "standard stuff" is the cheapest $10 junk that you can find. (Incidentally, those are usually "TP-Link" ...)

However, for some of us it is the Cisco / Juniper / etc that is the "standard stuff".

 

[ch33zw1z]

Re: console port - most people don't even care about that, or know how to use it. I wouldn't make that the specific reason to purchase a particular switch. It's used to setup and recovery, but almost all the time you would access the switch via IP

 

[aigomorla]

But when you are talking many hundreds of dollars more, even a thousands more, I don't need anything that good or pay that much.

you'd honestly be suprised how cheap 2nd hand real enterprise gear cost.

and i would honestly state its reliability higher then new consumer grade, even if its used.

Remember real enterprise gear sits in a climate controlled room where you NEED a sweater to go in as you will freeze yourself off in the alleyway.
And those tend to get retired right as warrenty runs out and then resold on ebay at a very HEAVY discount.

Here is an example.. a Cisco 24 port PoE for 70 dollars, OBO.... you can probably negotiate it down more as he takes offers.

ebay link

 

[ingeborgdot]

Thanks.

 

[aigomorla]

oh but make sure you shop around on ebay....
Don't just take the vendor i linked as the only source...
I just did a quick search and looked for whoever had decent feedback.

 

[Fallen Kell]

you'd honestly be suprised how cheap 2nd hand real enterprise gear cost.

and i would honestly state its reliability higher then new consumer grade, even if its used.

Remember real enterprise gear sits in a climate controlled room where you NEED a sweater to go in as you will freeze yourself off in the alleyway.
And those tend to get retired right as warrenty runs out and then resold on ebay at a very HEAVY discount.

Yeah, I have been doing this my last few network upgrades. I bought a cheap CISCO 24port gigabit back when home network switches were still 10/100. I only just 2 years ago replaced that with a cheap Brocade switch with 24x1gbe ports, 16x10gbe ports, and 2x40gbe ports. I didn't pay more than $200 for either of those switches (and now I am rocking 40gbe to my storage server, and 10gbe to most of my computers, with game consoles, audio prepros, etc., on 1gbe).

 

[fkoehler]

I have to, as always, second this.
Picked up a Cisco SOHO router of eBay for $29, just needed to make a PSU for it as they are apparently some cheap shit.
Total cost was $50-60 all in, for a managed, POE Cisco enterprise-ish switch.
If you can afford the space for a 19" switch, 24 port Gb w/PoE for $40.

Cisco ws-c3750g-24ps-s 24-port PoE 10/100/1000 gigabit switch fast shipping | eBay

SW PID Serial# Status Sys Pwr PoE Pwr Watts. Switch#sh env al. Switch#sh pos. SYSTEM TEMPERATURE is OK. System Temperature Value: 33 Degree Celsius. System Temperature State: GREEN. 1 Power cord.

www.ebay.com