Category Archives: Ethernet switch

Discovering Powerful FS Enterprise Switches for Your Network

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Enterprise switches are specifically designed for networks with multiple switches and connections, often referred to as campus LAN switches. These switches are tailored to meet the needs of enterprise networks, which typically follow a three-tier hierarchical design comprising core, aggregation, and access layers. Each layer serves distinct functions within the network architecture. In this guide, we’ll delve into the intricacies of enterprise switches and discuss important factors to consider when buying them.

Data Centre, Enterprise, and Home Network Switches: Key Differences

Switch vendors provide network switches designed for different network environments. The following comparison will help you understand more about enterprise switches:

Data Centre Switches

These switches have high port density and bandwidth requirements, handling both north-south traffic (traffic between data centre external users and servers or between data centre servers and the Internet) and east-west traffic (traffic between servers within the data centre).

Enterprise Switches

They need to track and monitor users and endpoint devices to protect each connection point from security issues. Some have special features to meet specific network environments, such as PoE capabilities. With PoE technology, enterprise network switches can manage the power consumption of many endpoint devices connected to the switch.

Home Network Switches

Home network traffic is not high, meaning the requirements for switches are much lower. In most cases, switches only need to extend network connections and transfer data from one device to another without handling data congestion. Unmanaged plug-and-play switches are often used as the perfect solution for home networks because they are easy to manage, require no configuration, and are more cost-effective than managed switches.

For SOHO offices with fewer than 10 users, a single 16-port Ethernet switch is usually sufficient. However, for tech-savvy users who like to build fast, secure home networks, managed switches are often the preferred choice.

Selecting the Ideal Switch: Data Centre vs. Enterprise Networks

For large enterprise networks, redundancy in the uplink links such as aggregation and core layers should be much higher than in the access layer. This means that high availability should be the primary consideration when designing the network. To cope with high traffic volumes and minimize the risk of failures, it’s advisable to deploy two or more aggregation or core layer switches at each level. This ensures that the failure of one switch does not affect the other.

In complex networks with a large number of servers to manage, network virtualization is needed to optimise network speed and reliability. Data centre switches offer richer functionality compared to traditional LAN enterprise switches, making them crucial for the successful deployment of high-density virtual machine environments and handling the increasing east-west traffic associated with virtualization.

Key Considerations Before Selecting Enterprise Switches

Ethernet switches play a crucial role in enterprise networks, regardless of whether it’s a small or large-scale network. Before you decide to buy enterprise switches, there are several criteria you should consider:

Network Planning

Identify your specific needs, including network scale, purpose, devices to be connected, and future network plans. For small businesses with fewer than 200 users and no expansion plans, a two-tier architecture might suffice. Medium to large enterprises typically require a three-tier hierarchical network model, comprising access, distribution, and core layer switches.

Evaluate Enterprise Switches

Once you’ve established your network architecture, delve deeper into information to make an informed decision.

  • Port Speeds and Wiring Connections: Modern enterprise switches support various port speeds such as 1G Ethernet, 10GE, 40GE, and 100GE. Consider whether you need RJ45 ports for copper connections or SFP/SFP+ ports for fibre connections based on your wiring infrastructure.
  • Installation Environment: Factor in the switch’s dimensions, operating temperature, and humidity based on the installation environment. Ensure adequate rack space and consider switches that can operate in extreme conditions if needed.
  • Advanced Features: Look for advanced features like built-in troubleshooting tools, converged wired or wireless capabilities, and other specific functionalities to meet your network requirements.

Other Considerations

PoE (Power over Ethernet) switches simplify wiring for devices like security cameras and IP phones. Stackable switches offer scalability for future expansion, enhancing network availability. By considering these factors, you can make a well-informed decision when selecting enterprise switches for your network infrastructure.

How to Choose Your Enterprise Switch Supplier

Creating a functional network is often more complex than anticipated. With numerous suppliers offering similar specifications for switches, how do you make the right choice? Here are some tips for selecting a different switch supplier:

  • Once you have an idea of your ideal switch ports and speeds, opt for a supplier with a diverse range of switch types and models. This makes it easier to purchase the right enterprise switches in one go and avoids compatibility and interoperability issues.
  • Understanding hardware support services, costs, and the software offered by switch suppliers can save you from unnecessary complications. Warranty is a crucial factor when choosing a switch brand. Online and offline technical assistance and troubleshooting support are also important considerations.

If you’ve reviewed the above criteria but are still unsure about the feasibility of your plan, seek help from network technicians. Most switch suppliers offer technical support and can recommend products based on your specific needs.

Conclusion

In summary, enterprise switches are essential components of contemporary network infrastructures, meeting the varied requirements of various network environments. When choosing, it’s essential to factor in elements like network planning, port speeds, installation environment, advanced features, and supplier support services. By carefully assessing these criteria and seeking guidance as necessary, you can ensure optimal performance and reliability for the network infrastructure.

How FS Can Help

FS offers a variety of models of enterprise switches and provides high-performance, highly reliable, and premium service network solutions, helping your enterprise network achieve efficient operations. Furthermore, FS not only offers a 5-year warranty for most switches but also provides free software upgrades. Additionally, our 24/7 customer service and free technical support are available in all time zones.

Exploring FS Enterprise Switches: A Comprehensive Insight

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As a business owner, selecting the right switch for your enterprise network can be an ongoing challenge. You not only need to deal with dozens of suppliers offering various switch options but also consider the actual setup environment. In such situations, you may encounter a variety of questions, such as compatibility with existing equipment, required functionalities, and more.

FS enterprise switches perform exceptionally well in multiple scenarios, meeting the fundamental needs of modern enterprises by optimising networking, enhancing network reliability, and simplifying operations. In this article, we will introduce three series of enterprise switches from FS to help you make better choices.

FS S3910 Series Enterprise Switches

Considering users’ needs for security, availability, and ease of operation, the FS S3910 series gigabit Ethernet switches are equipped with a variety of features at both the software and hardware levels.

Software

The S3910 series enterprise switches support various security policies and protocols. Administrators can utilise the S3910 switch’s anti-DDoS attack, illegal ARP packet inspection, and various hardware ACL policies for protection, creating a clean network environment for end users. Additionally, it supports various IPv4 and IPv6 protocols, allowing users to build flexible networks according to their requirements. Lastly, it supports multiple standard management methods such as SNMP, CLI, RMON, SSH, Syslog, NTP/SNTP, FTP, TFTP, and Web GUI, catering to different user preferences.

Hardware

The key components of the S3910 series enterprise switches are reinforced with conformal coating, enhancing device protection and reliability in harsh environments. Additionally, the switch ports can withstand 8 kV lightning strikes. Furthermore, hot-swappable power supplies and redundant power can minimise downtime. Four fixed SFP or SFP+ ports can be used for physical stacking, providing greater flexibility in network topology design.

An important feature of the FS S3910 series gigabit switches is their green energy-saving capability. They incorporate a port auto-power-off function. If a port remains idle for a while, the system automatically switches the port to energy-saving mode. When there is data transmission or reception, the port is awakened by periodically sending monitoring frames, resuming service.

Application

The S3910 series gigabit enterprise switches can fully meet the requirements of various medium- to large-scale network aggregation layers and can serve as core switches in some small-scale networks. Common application areas include:

  • Gigabit access for LAN networks in large-scale park networks such as government buildings, universities, large enterprises, and manufacturing industries.
  • Gigabit access for commercial networks in sectors such as healthcare, libraries, conference centres, and exhibition halls.

FS S5800 Series Enterprise Switches

The FS S5800 series switches are layer 3 switches designed in a compact 1U form factor, suitable for most rack-mount scenarios requiring high density. They come with 1+1 hot-swappable DC power supplies and redundant fans, support MLAG, and offer higher reliability with the advantage of individual device upgrades.

There are seven types in the FS S5800 series, each with different port configurations, but all featuring multifunctional design, flexible operations, and enhanced security for validated performance, addressing common challenges in network solutions. Here are the notable advantages of the FS S5800 series switches:

  • Achieve higher capacity with up to 600 Gbps switching capacity at a lower cost, with optimal traffic control for microsecond-level latency.
  • Support ARP checks and IP Source Guard features to protect business networks from attacks.
  • Real-time configuration, monitoring, and troubleshooting of devices without CLI expertise. Visual interface for clear system status.
  • Build high-speed and future-ready networks for applications requiring higher bandwidth, such as 4K videos, HD video conferences, low-latency gaming, etc.

Different layers in the three-tiered model may have varying requirements for switches. Whether current or future demands, the FS S5800 series switches offer multiple options. For more FAQs about the FS S5800 series switches, you can visit the FS community.

FS S3900 Series Enterprise Switches

The FS S3900 series switches are gigabit Ethernet L2/L3 Lite managed switches, typically featuring 24 or 48 1G downlink ports and 4 10G uplink ports for stacking. The S3900 series switches also support various features such as advanced QoS, 1+1 redundant power supplies, and fans, making them an ideal choice for small and medium-sized enterprises, campuses, and branch networks. Here are the key features of the FS S3900 series switches:

Support Stacking

Simplified network management. The 10G high-speed uplink ports provide flexibility and scalability for enterprise access deployments.

Minimised Power Consumption

The S3900-24T4S switch adopts a fanless design for low-noise operation, addressing the issue of high noise levels in small switch deployments in office environments, thus enhancing overall system reliability.

Efficient Traffic Management

The QoS of the S3900 series switches enables better traffic control, reducing network latency and congestion, and providing improved service capabilities for designated network communications.

Enhanced Security

Leveraging the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol of the S3900 series switches, remote servers can be easily controlled and modified via the Internet. Furthermore, SSH uses key login functionality to encrypt and authenticate network data, limiting unauthorized access and effectively ensuring the normal operation of user network services.

Conclusion

Overall, FS provides three series of enterprise switches – S3900, S3910, and S5800 – designed to meet various network scales and requirements, delivering flexible, efficient, and secure network solutions.

While the S3900 series is a stackable switch supporting high-performance Ethernet stacking technology for easier network expansion and management, the S3910 series goes a step further as a high-performance enterprise-level switch with higher stacking bandwidth and more stack members, making it ideal for demanding network environments. On the other hand, the S5800 series stands out as a high-performance switch specifically designed for data centres and large enterprise networks, featuring high-density 10G and 40G port configurations, making it perfect for high-bandwidth scenarios.

If you’re still hesitating about choosing FS switches, why not take a look at what FS users have to say about our switches?

How FS Can Help

As a global cross-industry network solutions provider in the ICT sector, FS offers products and customised solutions to global data centres, telecommunications, and various enterprises. Register on the FS website now to enjoy comprehensive services immediately.

Comparison of FS.COM S3900 Series Gigabit Ethernet Switch

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Gigabit Ethernet switch is an essential part of communication systems. It is widely used as the access layer switch, which facilitates the connection of end node devices to the network. The Gigabit Ethernet switches on the market mainly differ in port and function. Then which to choose from so many options of Gigabit switches on the market? FS newly launched the S3900 series Gigabit Ethernet switch. It is designed with an advanced feature set that brings high availability, comprehensive security, robust multicast control, and advance QoS to the network edge, while maintaining simple management. Let’s know more about the S3900 series Gigabit Ethernet switch.

FS.COM S3900 Series Gigabit Ethernet Switch Introduction

FS.COM S3900 series Gigabit Ethernet switch is advanced layer 2 plus (layer 3 Lite) Gigabit managed stackable switch with 10G uplinks, which can satisfy the demand for the future network upgrade. The S3900 series switches are the ideal Gigabit access and aggregation switch for SMB, enterprise, and campus networks. The S3900 series of switches are equipped with 24/48 ports, copper/SFP ports. All of S3900 series switches are managed stackable switches. The most distinctive characters of the S3900 series switch are listed below.

Performance and Scalability

FS.COM S3900 series Gigabit Ethernet switch has the switching capacity up to 128Gbps/176Gbps. It delivers wire-speed switching performance on all Gigabit ports and takes full advantage of existing high-performance Gigabit CPEs, PCs, 11n/ac Wi-Fi applications, etc. Besides, it significantly improves the responsiveness of applications and shortens file transfer time. Moreover, the 4 built-in 10G SFP+ ports provide uplink flexibility, and create 10 Gbps high-speed uplinks to 10 GbE switch or device through the connection of 10G SFP+ transceivers or 10G SFP+ DACs, thus reduce bottlenecks and increase the performance of the access network. Except for the 10G uplinks, S3900 stackable switches also have the potentiality of adding extra available ports in the future. Besides, the stackable switches which are stacked together can be managed as an entity, thus save the time and energy when you manage the stackable switches.

Reliability and Energy Efficiency

The design of the S3900 series incorporates high energy efficiency which can greatly expand your network capacity with much less power. The fanless design of S3900-24T4S ensures noiseless operation without disturbing your family or your staff and increases the reliability of the system. The S3900 series switch is an eco-friendly solution for your family and business network.

Robust Multicast Control

The S3900 switch is equipped with IGMP snooping technique which prevents the flooding of multicast traffic. The multicast traffic is forwarded to only those ports associated with an IP multicast receiver. Thus the technique reduces unnecessary load on host devices.

Superior Management

With industry-standard command-line interface (CLI) program, which is accessed through the console port or telnet, the S3900 series Gigabit switch provides superior management user experience. Besides, user-friendly web interface helps users to quickly and simply configure switches.

Continuous Availability

FS.COM S3900 series switch contains STP protocols. IEEE 802.1w rapid spanning tree protocol provides a loop-free network and redundant links. IEEE 802.1s multiple spanning tree protocol runs STP per VLAN base, providing layer 2 load sharing on redundant links up to 64 instances. The STP protocols prevent bridge loops and the broadcast radiation and also allow a network design to include backup links to provide fault tolerance if an active link fails.

Comparison of FS.COM S3900 Series Gigabit Ethernet Switch

The following chart shows the details of the three types S3900 Gigabit Ethernet switch. You can choose from them according to your actual needs.

Switch Type
S3900-24T4S
S3900-24F4S
S3900-48T4S
Ports
24 10/100/1000BASE-T, 4 SFP+ uplinks
24 SFP with 4 combo SFP, 4 SFP+ uplinks
48 10/100/1000BASE-T, 4 SFP+ uplinks
Switch Class
Layer 2+ (Layer 3 Lite)
Layer 2+ (Layer 3 Lite)
Layer 2+ (Layer 3 Lite)
MAC Address Table
16K
16K
16K
Jumbo Frames
9KB
9KB
9KB
Flash Memory
64MB
64MB
64MB
Stacking
Yes
Yes
Yes
Switch Chip
BCM56150
BCM56151
BCM56150
Switching Capacity
128Gbps
128Gbps
176Gbps
Forwarding Rate
95Mpps
95Mpps
130Mpps
Input Power
100-240V AC, 50/60 Hz
100-240V AC, 50/60 Hz
100-240V AC, 50/60 Hz
Max Power Consumption
21W
43W
45W
With Fan or Fanless
Fanless
With Fan
With Fan
Price
US$ 280
US$ 400
US$ 410

Which to Choose Among S3900 Series Gigabit Ethernet Switch?

When it comes to choosing from FS.COM S3900 Gigabit Ethernet switch, you need to consider the number and type of ports you need and whether the switch is fanless or with fans.

What are the Port Type and Port Number You Need?

FS.COM S3900 series Gigabit Ethernet switches offer three different port combination options， which can be chosen according to your network demands.

If you need 24 port Gigabit switch, both S3900-24T4S switch with 24 10/100/1000BASE-T ports and S3900-24F4S switch with 24 SFP ports are within the scope of consideration. If cost, backward compatibility with legacy copper cabling networks, power consumption are important for you, S3900-24T4S switch is the better choice. If you prefer lower latency and switches with combo SFP ports then you could consider S3900-24F4S switch with 24 SFP ports which contain 4 combo ports. Besides, compared with S3900-24T4S switch with copper ports, S3900-24F4S switch which is connected with SFP fiber optic transceivers modules & fiber patch cables is more suitable for long-distance transmission of 550m to 150km.

If the network devices you are going to connect are of large amount, and you have a relatively big network, then you need to choose a switch with more than 24 ports. The S3900-48T4S switch with 48 10/100/1000BASE-T ports can satisfy your demand. It has the switching capacity of 176Gbps, which is the largest among the S3900 series switches.

Fanless Switch or Switch With Fan?

If you are planning to use the switch in quiet space, like offices, home, shops, libraries, hospitals or clinics where noise can be an issue, FS.COM S3900-24T4S fanless switch is recommended. Fanless switches are equipped with a passive cooling system, which has the advantage of energy efficiency and lower financial cost. The switches with fans are mostly deployed in data centers which have separate data center rooms. While fanless switches are more suitable for small businesses, people working at home, and places where silence is needed.

FS.COM S3900-24T4S fanless Gigabit Ethernet switch

Figure 1: FS.COM S3900-24T4S fanless Gigabit Ethernet switch

Summary

FS.COM S3900 Series Gigabit Ethernet switch has high availability, comprehensive security, robust multicast control, and advanced QoS. The article extensively discussed why you choose the S3900 series and how to choose the most suited switch for your network among the S3900 series. If you want to purchase FS.COM S3900 series Gigabit Ethernet switches or other network switch such as 10GbE switch, 40GbE switch and 100GbE switch, please contact us at sales@fs.com.

How to Configure Inter VLAN Routing on Layer 3 Switches?

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With the development of technology, no matter how far you are away from families, you can communicate with them at any time in any places. The same is true to the optic communication, regardless of the physical locations of two hosts or the different VLANs they belong to, they can exchange with each other by inter VLAN routing. Then what is inter VLAN routing and how to configure inter VLAN routing on layer 3 switches?

What Is Inter VLAN Routing?

In figure 1, three computers connected to a gigabit Ethernet switch form a LAN (local area network) within a limited area. However, they cannot communicate with hosts in another LAN, because there is no connection between these Ethernet switches. Then there comes the VLAN which provides us with logical separation or segmentation of our networks to facilitate communication among hosts in different LANs. However, each VLAN is a unique broadcast domain, so computers on separate VLANs are unable to communicate with each other by default. There is a way to solve the problem, and that’s what we are going to shed light on—inter VLAN routing.

LAN and VLAN in NetworkingFig. 1 LAN and VLAN in Networking

The process of forwarding network traffic from one VLAN to another VLAN using routing is known as inter-VLAN routing. One of the ways to carry out inter-VLAN routing is by connecting a router to the switch infrastructure. When using a router to facilitate inter-VLAN routing, the router interfaces can be connected to separate VLANs. Devices on those VLANs communicate with each other via the router. Apart from that, a more convenient way is introduced—configure inter VLAN routing on layer 3 switches. Layer 3 switching is more scalable than a router which only provides a limited number of available ports.

How to Configure Inter VLAN Routing on Layer 3 Switches?

To enable a layer 3 switch to perform routing functions, the switch must have IP routing enabled. 10gb Ethernet switch and 40gb Ethernet switch are recommended for working as layer 3 switch.

Inter VLAN Routing

Fig.2 Inter VLAN Routing on Layer 3 Switches

In figure 2, layer 3 switch is configured with IP address 10.0.0.1. VLAN10 and VLAN20, with IP address 10.10.10.10 and IP address 10.20.20.20 respectively are configured on layer 2 switches. These two IP addresses will be the default gateway addresses for hosts belonging to VLAN10 and VLAN20 on the layer 2 switches respectively. Also, all interfaces connecting the three switches must be configured as trunk ports to allow VLAN10 and VLAN20 tagged frames to pass between switches. Traffic between VLAN10 and VLAN20 will be routed by the layer 3 switch after configuring inter VLAN routing. These steps can be achieved by VLAN configuration command below.

Create VLANs 10 and 20 in the switch database

inter VLAN routing configuration 1
Assign port Fe0/1 in VLAN 10 and port Fe0/2 in VLAN 20

inter VLAN routing configuration 2

Create trunk port Fe0/24

inter VLAN routing configuration 3

Enable layer 3 routing and create VLANs 10 and 20 in the switch database

inter VLAN routing configuration 4

Create trunk ports Fe0/47 Fe0/46

inter VLAN routing configuration 5

Configure Switch VLAN Interfaces (SVI) to acts as a virtual layer 3 interface on the layer 3 switch

inter VLAN routing configuration 6

Conclusion

VLAN is created to enable the communication among hosts in different LANs. Inter VLAN routing is developed to realize the exchange among hosts in different VLANs. Inter VLAN routing on layer 3 switch without a router is also approachable with the development of technology. For more configuration about network switches, please refer to our website www.fs.com.

PoE Switch vs. Normal Switch — Find the Right Switch for You

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The telecommunication industry has always been developing with leaps and bounds and technology changes with each passing day. For people with little network knowledge, the evolving optional network devices like PoE switches can be a big puzzle. What is PoE? What is the difference between a PoE switch and a regular network switch? This article explains their differences and how to find the right switch for you.

What is PoE?

PoE, short for Power over Ethernet, is a technology that enables Ethernet cable to supply power. Thus power sourcing equipment (PSE) can transmit both data and power to powered devices (PD) simultaneously via one single cable. PoE has two standards available on network switches: IEEE 802.3af/at. The former original PoE standard, defined in 2003, provides a 15.4 W power budget to PDs (12.95 W available for accessing). The latter PoE+/PoE Plus standard defined in 2009 provides up to 30 W (25.5 W) power.

What is a PoE Switch?

PoE switch is one of the two types of PSE for PoE implementation: endspan switch and midspan PoE injector. To enhance network resiliency, gigabit PoE switches provided by FS.COM are highly compatible with IEEE 802.3af/at managed PoE+ switches.

Also cheque – Unlocking the Secrets of PoE Switches – A Complete Guide

For example, FS S3150-8T2FP, an 8-Port Managed PoE+ switch, is equipped with 8x 10/100/1000BASE-T ports, 2x 1Gb SFP uplinks, 8x RJ45 ports support both IEEE 802.3af PoE and IEEE 802.3at PoE+ (up to 30W per port) for powering attached IP phones, wireless access points, or other standards-compliant PoE and PoE+ end network devices. 2x SFP uplink ports are provided to support connections to higher-layer devices.

Also cheque -FS PoE Switches

PoE Switch vs. Normal Switch: What’s the Difference?

In a word, the major difference between a PoE switch and a normal switch is PoE accessibility. A regular Ethernet switch is not PoE-enabled to supply power for end users over Ethernet. Therefore the user needs one extra cable to connect power outlets.

Also cheque – PoE Switch vs PoE Injector: Why Choose PoE Switch to Build Wireless Networks?

However, a normal switch can also become PoE-ready by employing a midspan injector between the switch and PDs. The injector will add electrical power while receiving the data signal from the Ethernet switch end cable, and then deliver both data and power to PDs. But in this circumstance, the injector also needs a wire for power.

When using a Gigabit PoE switch, only one power cable is required. Then the PDs can be directly plugged into the PoE gigabit switch port for both data transmission and power supply. The illustration and table below list the differences between deploying a PoE switch and a normal switch while adding PoE to networks.

 PoE SwitchNormal Switch
Required AccessoriesEasy for management (power and transmission)Require separate two wires for powering on the normal switch and PoE injector
PoE Access MethodUpgrade to PoE network by replacing the normal Ethernet switch with PoE Ethernet switchInstall PoE injector between switch and PDs to add PoE capability to the existing non-PoE switch
Emergency ReactionPotential chance of the whole system’s outageOnly one device be affected

Advantages of PoE Switches

As mentioned above, the PoE switch supplies power to PDs in the meantime of data delivery. Though the normal switch system can also acquire PoE by installing an injector, PoE endspan has the superiority of direct Power over Ethernet ability. Thus, the Gigabit PoE switch owns edges over the normal switch.

First, it enables PDs like IP surveillance cameras to be placed almost anywhere: on the ceiling, concealed in a wall, or even underwater while only one cable is needed to run to them. Second, it saves extra expenses and time for power cabling and injector installation. Third, with simplified cabling of all PDs directly connected to gigabit PoE switch, the data centre is easy to manage and control.

Besides, the PoE gigabit switch itself is designed with advanced features like high-performance hardware with software, auto-sensing PoE compatibility, strong network security, and environmental adaptability.

Find the Right Switch For You

Gigabit PoE switches can supply power to PDs in the meantime of data transmission via one single Ethernet cable while normal switches can only send data to them. For PoE implementation, normal switches need a power-on auxiliary injector as a midspan between a switch and powered devices.

Thus, PoE switches have the advantage of direct PoE connection, easy and flexible placement, cost-efficiency, simplified management, etc. For any applications of IP surveillance cameras, IP phones, and wireless APs, a PoE switch can be the right choice you’re looking for.

How to Add PoE to Your Network?

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In data centres, there are a lot of electrical devices and each one requires a power supply cable and at least one connection wire for transmission. It’s a disaster to see all those wires scattering all over the floor and tangling together. To introduce Power over Ethernet technology, we can cut down the number of wire drops and simplify the management control. So what are the practical methods for adding PoE to your network? Read the following passage, to learn about the two solutions: adopting PoE switch or PoE media converter.

Overview of PoE Implement Method

PoE requires PoE-enabled networking devices for power supply on the Ethernet cable. To realise this technology, there are two types of power sourcing equipment (PSE) for adoption: endspan (IEEE 802.3af refers to it as “endpoint”) and midspan. Endspan is an Ethernet switch that has built-in PoE data transmission circuitry. A midspan is an intermediary device between a non-PoE switch and powered devices (PD). Thereinto PoE injector is a frequently used available external midspan device.

Adding PoE by PoE Switch (Endspan)

When you need to set up a new Ethernet network with power over Ethernet technology or you want to upgrade the system and replace older non-PoE switches, employing Endspan is a good choice. How to add PoE to your network by PoE switch? Just connect it to other network devices, and the switch itself will figure out whether they are PoE-supportable devices and control power automatically. There are various types of PoE switches available, ranging from “dumb” unmanaged ones, smart partly managed ones and fully managed ones with advanced management. It also varies from port quantity, such as 8, 16, 24 and 48 ports.

It is noted that the PoE+ switch is a PoE plus switch for providing up to 30W power consumption. For example, the FS S3150-8T2FP 8 port PoE switch is a managed PoE+ switch with 2 SFP ports, IEEE 802.3at complied and IEEE 802.3af backwards compatible. It has a maximum power supply of 130W and a switching capacity of 20Gbps. FS S3150-8T2FP supports various PoE devices and is the best fit for network equipment such as wireless APs, IP phones and IP cameras.

Adding PoE by PoE Media Converter (Midspan)

If you don’t want to discard your already used network switch and only PoE capability is needed to be added, you can simply adopt midspans. A PoE media converter is a device that can add electrical power while receiving a signal from one end of the cable, and then deliver both the data signal and the power via the other end of the cable. Instead of a PoE switch, a media converter can also be used as an economical and functional solution where only a few PoE ports are in demand. How to add PoE to your existing LAN by PoE media converter? First, power on the PoE media converter and non-PoE Ethernet switch respectively, and next, connect them via an Ethernet cable. Then connect PDs such as IP phones with a PoE media converter and finally, the system can run as a whole.

In the case of older end devices that are not PoE-ready, a splitter can help add PoE to your network. To apply a splitter onto the end of the Ethernet cable will enable signal and power to be split into two different lines.

PoE switch vs PoE injector installation

This figure shows the installation of the PoE switch vs the PoE media converter for adding PoE to the network.

PoE Switch or PoE Media Converter: Which to Employ?

After diving into each respectively, we made a comparison of the PoE switch vs the PoE media converter concerning adding PoE to the network.

PoE Switch PoE Media Converter
Price Higher Cost Economical
Management and Control Easy for management (power and transmission) Requiring separate two wires for powering on the switch and PoE media converter
Implement Method Upgrade to PoE network by replacing the old Ethernet switch with PoE switch install l PoE media converter to add PoE capability to the existing non-PoE switch
Emergency Reaction Potential chance of the whole system’s outrageously y one device be affected

For most concerns about cost-efficiency and PoE capability required, you can go for a PoE media converter. However, for upgrading the system and future-proofing superior functionality concerns, the PoE switch is a better choice.

Conclusion

Both the PoE switch and PoE media converter are power-sourcing equipment for adding PoE to a network. PoE switch is an endspan, naturally fitting for a new set-up or upgrade-needed network. PoE media converter is a midspan, better fitting for existing non-PoE networks without switch replacement requirement. For PoE switch purchases, FS is a reliable vendor providing a wide range of types for different demands. For any other information to know, just visit our official website and blog.

Attention: The products mentioned in this article may have unstable availability due to timing issues. For further information, please visit www.fs.com and consult our online customer service.