3 ms·

Here's the thing though: this device is $139, from ali express, excluding import duties and fees. For comparison, a QSW-1108-8T-US is $169, from Amazon. Sure, t

Here's the thing though: this device is $139, from ali express, excluding import duties and fees. For comparison, a QSW-1108-8T-US is $169, from Amazon. Sure, that doesn't give you PoE, but realistically, you're going to be putting it pretty much near an outlet anyway so why did you think you needed PoE? At the end of the day, these things cost the same for the features you do want, but one is QNAP and the other is "...who?"

deleted 4y ago
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bathtub365 4y ago
PoE is to power the devices at the other end of the cables, not to power the switch.
- TheRealPomax 4y ago
  Practically speaking, your devices are almost certainly going to be near a power outlet, too.
  - ojhughes 4y ago
    Not in my situation. Just bought a 1950s house with just a single socket in every room. I am fixing that though.
  - tjoff 4y ago
    Not at all. Wireless access points are often high up on the wall or roof. Security cameras too. PoE is a huge advantage.
  - vladvasiliu 4y ago
    As others have said, that's not always the case. I live in a small, 30 m2 (333 sqft) studio and I specifically looked for a PoE access point because otherwise, the AP would have had to be in a closet behind a fridge and an oven. Sure, I could have bought an injector or have set a second cable, but that would've been too much of a hassle.
aix1 4y ago
> you're going to be putting it pretty much near an outlet anyway so why did you think you needed PoE? I think the idea is to use PoE to power devices plugged into the router. These may or may not be nearby (think a PoE camera).
- TheRealPomax 4y ago
  if I'm wiring up for surveillance, those cameras are going to have wires running into the walls anyway. Whether that's ethernet or ethernet + DC, practically speaking, makes no difference =/
  - archi42 4y ago
    And where do you put the PSU for the devices? Remember you might need to replace them, so "in the wall" is bad idea. Practically speaking you'll also need a larger duct for Ethernet+DC (if you need/use them; we have stone walls, and need them) and pull twice the number of lines. Even pulling Ethernet and DC at once adds some overhead. Now for a single device it's not a lot of difference (but then just use a single PoE injector instead of a PoE switch), but you'll easily add 4 to 8 cameras to a house and 3 or 4 APs. And with a big PoE switch, you can casually get the PoE variant of other devices, so even less PSUs (for us: VoIP-to-Dect gateway [the SO insisted on a "landline"], Modbus-to-TCP gateway [energy meter], video doorbell and a 5 port switch). Our switch also reports power usage and allows to use schedules (we're not using that, but might be interesting for larger installations).
    - TheRealPomax 4y ago
      In an electrical box in the electrical closet, with the breakers. Like any sane setup. Although if you live in North America and you're used to "wired get stapled onto studs and then we put drywall directly on that" the idea that you can have actual cable routes in the wall that you can just run multiple cables through so you can can take them out and put new ones back in as needed is a surprisingly unknown concept.
rblatz 4y ago
I want POE because my cameras and access points are POE and buying POE injectors is annoying, and also I don’t want to be constrained to placement of cameras or APs by where I have available outlets.
AdrianB1 4y ago
PoE is more than half of the BoM for such a switch, a non-Poe switch with this speed and number of ports is expected to cost less than $70, with the potential for $40 with better availability. A 1Gbps switch is $30 or less, tax included. Going to 2.5Gbps does not add much to the BoM.

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bathtub365 4y ago

PoE is to power the devices at the other end of the cables, not to power the switch.

TheRealPomax 4y ago
Practically speaking, your devices are almost certainly going to be near a power outlet, too.
- ojhughes 4y ago
  Not in my situation. Just bought a 1950s house with just a single socket in every room. I am fixing that though.
- tjoff 4y ago
  Not at all. Wireless access points are often high up on the wall or roof. Security cameras too. PoE is a huge advantage.
- vladvasiliu 4y ago
  As others have said, that's not always the case. I live in a small, 30 m2 (333 sqft) studio and I specifically looked for a PoE access point because otherwise, the AP would have had to be in a closet behind a fridge and an oven. Sure, I could have bought an injector or have set a second cable, but that would've been too much of a hassle.

aix1 4y ago

> you're going to be putting it pretty much near an outlet anyway so why did you think you needed PoE? I think the idea is to use PoE to power devices plugged into the router. These may or may not be nearby (think a PoE camera).

TheRealPomax 4y ago
if I'm wiring up for surveillance, those cameras are going to have wires running into the walls anyway. Whether that's ethernet or ethernet + DC, practically speaking, makes no difference =/
- archi42 4y ago
  And where do you put the PSU for the devices? Remember you might need to replace them, so "in the wall" is bad idea. Practically speaking you'll also need a larger duct for Ethernet+DC (if you need/use them; we have stone walls, and need them) and pull twice the number of lines. Even pulling Ethernet and DC at once adds some overhead. Now for a single device it's not a lot of difference (but then just use a single PoE injector instead of a PoE switch), but you'll easily add 4 to 8 cameras to a house and 3 or 4 APs. And with a big PoE switch, you can casually get the PoE variant of other devices, so even less PSUs (for us: VoIP-to-Dect gateway [the SO insisted on a "landline"], Modbus-to-TCP gateway [energy meter], video doorbell and a 5 port switch). Our switch also reports power usage and allows to use schedules (we're not using that, but might be interesting for larger installations).
  - TheRealPomax 4y ago
    In an electrical box in the electrical closet, with the breakers. Like any sane setup. Although if you live in North America and you're used to "wired get stapled onto studs and then we put drywall directly on that" the idea that you can have actual cable routes in the wall that you can just run multiple cables through so you can can take them out and put new ones back in as needed is a surprisingly unknown concept.

rblatz 4y ago

I want POE because my cameras and access points are POE and buying POE injectors is annoying, and also I don’t want to be constrained to placement of cameras or APs by where I have available outlets.

AdrianB1 4y ago

PoE is more than half of the BoM for such a switch, a non-Poe switch with this speed and number of ports is expected to cost less than $70, with the potential for $40 with better availability. A 1Gbps switch is $30 or less, tax included. Going to 2.5Gbps does not add much to the BoM.