POE switch (with x8 100 Mbit + x4 1000 Mbit ports) and router recommendations (for 600 Mbit)

cenerth · 24 Nov 2021 at 11:54

Hi,
I just switched to 600 mbit internet yesterday and I am looking to upgrade my home network.

I am looking for:

- POE SWITCH: I need x8 100 Mbit ports (802.3af) for IP cameras + x3 1000 Mbit ports (802.3af or passive 24V) for UNIFI UAP-AC-LR devices (at the moment I still use a single port injectors...) and one more 1000 Mbit port (802.3af) for 60 GHz PTP bridge (MikroTik wAP 60G). Switch needs to be managed.

I will also need x4 1000 Mbit ports for non poe devices (NAS, PC, etc).

- ROUTER: Needs to be enough fast and stable to work with 600 Mbit internet connection and operate for two houses (each house with about ~40 wireless / wired clients, second house is connected to router by 60 GHz PTP bridge). No W-Fi required as I have UNIFI devices.

My first idea was to buy something from MikroTik (from cheap RB750GR3 HEX to / RB4011IGS / RB5009UG etc) or Ubiqiuti (EdgeRouter X / EdgeRouter 4).

What would you recommend here? I was thinking to get all-in-one device (Mikrotik CCR or something similar) but now I see it's not really possible to cover everything what I need, I assume I need to buy a router and POE switch separately and it will be even cheaper, what do you think?

I found pretty decent Cisco switch (Catalyst 3560X WS-C3560X-24P-L) locally and it's also very cheap ($50). It comes with a x24 POE+ 1000 Mbit ports but it's not really efficient device (according to datasheet, it takes about 98 watts when network traffic is 0%...).

It would be great if device would be fast and stable, not very expansive (I am not afraid to buy used devices) but efficiency is also important for me.

Any comment would be much appreciated,

Thank you

WJA96 · 24 Nov 2021 at 12:16

MikroTik Routers and Wireless - Products: CRS328-24P-4S+RM

That's a CRS device, so it runs RouterOS (It's a router and a switch). Maybe it has too many PoE ports for what you need, but it's all-in-one box. Plenty of power, plenty of PoE budget and room for expansion.

Sin_Chase · 24 Nov 2021 at 23:34

Do you require anything more than basic firewalling and NAT? IE - Do you need DPI or other Intrusion Detection technologies?

If you wanted to stick in the Ubiquiti arena then a Edgerouter-X will do 600mbit fine without any DSI. Its going to get a little spendy nabbing an Ubiquiti PoE switch with that many PoE ports and a suitable overall power output however.

The UAP-AC-LRs can draw up to 7W each (14W) for both. I am unsure which PoE IP cameras you are using but if you take a Ubiquiti G4 Pro as a point of reference they can pull up to 12.5W each. That's 125Watts on IP cameras. You would need something like a US-24-250W (~£400)

Avalon · 25 Nov 2021 at 09:23

The issue is if you want an AIO device, it’s not going to be cheap. The bay used to be awash with cheap Ubiquiti 8 port Tough Switches (still supported, but now rebranded as Edge Switches), they were my go-to for cheap managed PoE as they were 150w/8 port. Seller has increased his price, but still accepts offers.

Router wise I usually advocate self build, my tolerance for compromised functionality and features in consumer/prosumer/commercial offerings is low to begin with, you already have AP’s, you already know you will need a managed PoE switch, take the obvious next step - we live in a world where cheap sub 15w desktops are £50-60 and a decent T2 Intel NIC is under a tenner used. What you buy now for ‘600mbit’ can scale to over 8Gbit with minimal expense on say OPNSense. I haven’t tested *WRT/Untangle in 10Gb environments, but up to 1Gb they’re great. When it comes time to step up to 2.5/10Gb you’re looking at £25-60 to drop a 2.5/10Gb NIC in.