Any advantage to *managed* external POE switch the Dahua NVR?

[RMatt]

I am planning my first IP camera system. Thanks to all the advice in response to my previous post.

I plan on using a Dahua NVR with an external 16 port POE switch. Is there any reason to get a managed switch, or for this purpose is an unmanaged switch sufficient (and perhaps easier)? Any critical specs I should look for?

Thanks.

 

[DavidDavid]

Non managed will work just fine.

Managed will also work, will be more expensive, but gives you more options. One of the more useful options (in my opinion, I don't have managed switches) would be to remotely reboot that port if a camera is frozen or something.

Also pay attention to fans (could be very loud, won't like it in your office if you spend any amount of time there) and power usage. Older switches can cheap cheap but you'll "pay" for that cheap purchase price in electricity costs.

 

[Mike A.]

The main advantage will be that, at least with most, you can create VLANs (virtual LANs) to better segregate/group various devices on your network for security and traffic mgmt purposes. Also as mentioned you'll have port-level control of various aspects to better manage/monitor things.

 

[bp2008]

I only use the management features to reboot the whole switch, because the POS netgear I got has such a slow web server it is too painful to identify the offending camera and reboot it individually.

 

[DavidDavid]

I only use the management features to reboot the whole switch, because the POS netgear I got has such a slow web server it is too painful to identify the offending camera and reboot it individually.

Ha. And the only time I've ever actually wanted to reboot a Dahua was when something chewed thru the cable but I was at work so I just thought it froze up.

 

[bp2008]

Once in a blue moon I do need to reboot a Dahua that froze up (or a Hikvision, its happened to both).

Inevitably it will happen while I'm on vacation and to one of the few cameras not able to be power cycled remotely.

 

[RMatt]

Thanks very much for the replies. It looks worth it to go with managed switches. ChooChooMan74 suggested the Zyxel 8 port switches, which are both managed and fanless. I think this 8 port switch is the right model. As best I can tell, all 8 ports are POE.

Am I correct that I can use two of these 8 port switches with the non-POE NVR5216-4KS2 to support up to 16 cameras (or maybe 15 if I have to chain the switches)?

Thanks for the help.

 

[fenderman]

Thanks very much for the replies. It looks worth it to go with managed switches. ChooChooMan74 suggested the Zyxel 8 port switches, which are both managed and fanless. I think this 8 port switch is the right model. As best I can tell, all 8 ports are POE.

Am I correct that I can use two of these 8 port switches with the non-POE NVR5216-4KS2 to support up to 16 cameras (or maybe 15 if I have to chain the switches)?

Thanks for the help.

you will lose a port for uplink, then one for daisy chaining...so 7 per switch...
note they are overpriced on amazon because amazon is out of stock
PROVANTAGE: ZyXEL GS1900-8HP 8-Port GbE Smart Managed PoE Switch L2 Web Managed Switch (70W)
Finally, when you get the switch, you will need to change the ip because the default is 192.168.1.1
Also, you must change the default poe mode from classification to consumption or it wont power more than 4 cams...

 

[RMatt]

you will lose a port for uplink, then one for daisy chaining...so 7 per switch...
note they are overpriced on amazon because amazon is out of stock
PROVANTAGE: ZyXEL GS1900-8HP 8-Port GbE Smart Managed PoE Switch L2 Web Managed Switch (70W)
Finally, when you get the switch, you will need to change the ip because the default is 192.168.1.1
Also, you must change the default poe mode from classification to consumption or it wont power more than 4 cams...

Thanks so much. Exactly what I needed to know.

 

[Mike A.]

Note that unless you're going to actually use the management features, then you're spending a lot more and at least somewhat complicating things. I don't know your abilities but VLANs and other lower-level switch mgmt is kind of a deep dive. Not that it's extraordinarily difficult but you will have some learning curve in order to get your money's worth out of those features. With an unmanaged switch you'll pay less and basically can just plug it in and forget it. Done. Probably never to be messed with again other than just plugging things in/out of it.

The managed switch also will (at least for the most part - see fenderman's post above as examples of some minor exceptions) run without having to mess with it and just leaving things set at defaults. You're just not getting much value out of it in that case. But you don't have to dig in right away and can leave most of that for later.

Also note that beyond the physical port numbers you're also limited by the overall power budget of the switch. It's 70 watts total for the switch however that ends up being divided among ports. Not likely an issue unless you're going to be running higher-powered cams/devices requiring 802.3at but never know so worth mentioning generally.