8 Port Gigabit POE switch

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CPTBoy

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I'm looking at expanding my home network with cabling to all rooms.

Most of the bedrooms are upstairs and I want to put a Gigabit switch in the ceiling with cables going to each room.

Does anyone know of a 8 port Gigabit switch than can be powered by POE ( input ). I don't feel like getting an electrician to run a new power point into the ceiling.

Thanks.
 
You would want something similar to the Ubiquiti US-8 EU or a MikroTik Router to use as a switch, but both those options are rather expensive.

Alternatively it would make more sense buying any 8-port Gigabit switch with a separate power supply and add a PoE Split Kit (pictured below) to power the device. Keep in mind the cable powering the device will be limited to 10/100 Speed and not Gigabit, due to the fact that you are using four of the eight cables to carry power.

poe-kit_2.jpg
 
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That's pretty cool, didn't know you get something like that.

Thanks a lot!
 
It's probably going to be cheaper to just get the electrician.

Or just put the plug in yourself.

If you've ever replaced a plug on an appliance...you can fit a plug socket in the roof. Especially if there are already break out boxes in place to wire into.
 
CPTBoy said:
I'm looking at expanding my home network with cabling to all rooms.

Most of the bedrooms are upstairs and I want to put a Gigabit switch in the ceiling with cables going to each room.

Does anyone know of a 8 port Gigabit switch than can be powered by POE ( input ). I don't feel like getting an electrician to run a new power point into the ceiling.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I see people aren't reading correctly. Maybe because it's close to knock off time... :p

No, you do not get a switch, that can be powered by POE. You used to get passive hubs, but it's been a while since I have seen one.

Follow @SauRoNZA advise.
 
SharkBait said:
I see people aren't reading correctly. Maybe because it's close to knock off time... :p

No, you do not get a switch, that can be powered by POE. You used to get passive hubs, but it's been a while since I have seen one.

Follow @SauRoNZA advise.
Click to expand...

Yes, you do. According to the Ubiquiti Site, the US-8 EU (EU refers to the region) is powered via PoE.

See the screenshot below with the relevant part high-lighted, the switch is about R1900 and includes a usable management interface to manage your network.

PoE_Switch.jpg

As a side note: Hubs died out for a reason.

@CPTBoy
To see what the management interface entails you can visit the UBNT Demo Site, but keep in mind that you will not necessarily have access to all the features, which you have access to in the demo, in real life. For instance to have DPI stats, you will need the UBNT Security Gateway. Still it is fun to play with, before you decide to buy any of their stuff.

The 10/100 Split Kit on the other hand is around R50 at some retailers, thus the my suggestion to look into it as an option. That is of course if you can live with one Network Point not being a Gigabit port (your network printer's point for instance), alternatively you could pull in a second network cable for power only and simply not connect the Network ends of the split kit.

Hell, you can even make your own split kit for free with a soldering iron and some redneck ingenuity. If you are willing to void your warranty on the adapter, simply cut the adapter cord and extent it with the solid core Network Cable (use 4 cores for + and 4 cores for -). Voltage Drop, etc. should not be an issue as long as you solder the ends and not go overboard with the length of cable you are running.
 
SharkBait said:
I see people aren't reading correctly. Maybe because it's close to knock off time... :p

No, you do not get a switch, that can be powered by POE. You used to get passive hubs, but it's been a while since I have seen one.

Follow @SauRoNZA advise.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you were not reading correctly. While you can get a PoE powered gigabit switch, early comments were that these are unnecessarily expensive. It's simple enough to get a regular switch, and use a PoE injector to inject power at one end, and a PoE splitter to extract that power in the ceiling and feed it to the generic switch. Depending on the price of the splitter/injector pair, this might be a more economical solution (keeping in mind that you would need the injector one way or the other!)
 
SauRoNZA said:
It's probably going to be cheaper to just get the electrician.

Or just put the plug in yourself.

If you've ever replaced a plug on an appliance...you can fit a plug socket in the roof. Especially if there are already break out boxes in place to wire into.
Click to expand...

Except that more often that not, the cables in the roof are for lights, not plugs. Yes, you can be a rebel and put a plug on a light circuit, but you may struggle to get a compliance certificate when you sell your house later. Also, if you are renting, that's not a great idea at all.

Also, it's reasonably common to find that the cables in the roof do not have junction boxes, but are run directly to the plug points or light switches in the wall, or to the lights in the ceiling (but are switched before getting there!). And also the cables may be run in conduit, making it a mission to extract and tap into.

Yes, I've done this, but it was not a fun exercise! My conduits were even made out of steel, not plastic!
 
RoganDawes said:
Except that more often that not, the cables in the roof are for lights, not plugs. Yes, you can be a rebel and put a plug on a light circuit, but you may struggle to get a compliance certificate when you sell your house later. Also, if you are renting, that's not a great idea at all.

Also, it's reasonably common to find that the cables in the roof do not have junction boxes, but are run directly to the plug points or light switches in the wall, or to the lights in the ceiling (but are switched before getting there!). And also the cables may be run in conduit, making it a mission to extract and tap into.

Yes, I've done this, but it was not a fun exercise! My conduits were even made out of steel, not plastic!
Click to expand...

You are right that sometimes there aren’t junction boxes (which is why I mentioned it, but couldn’t get the word junction at the time) but I’ve never experienced it being for lights only in a house.

But either way it’s as simple as sticking your head in the roof and having a look and then deciding.

Electrician should charge R500 or so.

I mean you have to get in the roof to do the network cabling...may as well do the plug as well.

Alternatively I just installed all my kit in a high kitchen cupboard that wouldn’t be used otherwise and gives you easier access from the ground.

Troubleshooting a switch stuck in the roof regularly is a pain.
 
Then again I would probably forget all about Wired if I were to do any work to my house now and just install a Ubiquiti Amplifi kit.
 
Thanks all for the suggestions.

I'm looking for max throughput ( for now and future ), since my 200Mbps Fibre install is happening soon.

My current WIFI just isn't going to cut it.

I'm not scared to work with my hands, but I'm pretty sure there are no junction boxes in the roof ( from the last time I was in the roof ). I'll climb up tomorrow and double check again. Problem is the rooms are upstairs, thus pulling new point to db board ( in garage on ground floor ), is going to cost a pretty penny.
 
Aren't the temperature under your roof to high for electronic equipment?
 
CPTBoy said:
Thanks all for the suggestions.

I'm looking for max throughput ( for now and future ), since my 200Mbps Fibre install is happening soon.

My current WIFI just isn't going to cut it.

I'm not scared to work with my hands, but I'm pretty sure there are no junction boxes in the roof ( from the last time I was in the roof ). I'll climb up tomorrow and double check again. Problem is the rooms are upstairs, thus pulling new point to db board ( in garage on ground floor ), is going to cost a pretty penny.
Click to expand...

I wouldn’t go as far as running a new switch to DB board but just bridge a new socket from a junction for existing plugs, if there is one.

****

The Amplifi setup should sort out the limitation imposed by the current wireless setup, but it doesn’t come cheap.
 
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LaraC said:
Aren't the temperature under your roof to high for electronic equipment?
Click to expand...

It gets a lot hotter inside the electronics than it does inside the roof even under normal conditions.

But dust can be an issue and getting to it more so of a pain.
 
SharkBait said:
I see people aren't reading correctly. Maybe because it's close to knock off time... :p

No, you do not get a switch, that can be powered by POE. You used to get passive hubs, but it's been a while since I have seen one.

Follow @SauRoNZA advise.
Click to expand...
lol, of course you do.
Got a Cisco SG200-08 8-Port Gigabit Smart Switch and port 1 is used to power the switch over PoE, plenty of switches with that capability
 
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