Welcome to today’s daily kōrero!

Anyone can make the thread, first in first served. If you are here on a day and there’s no daily thread, feel free to create it!

Anyway, it’s just a chance to talk about your day, what you have planned, what you have done, etc.

So, how’s it going?

  • TagMeInSkipIGotThis
    2·
    10 months ago

    PoE adds a bunch to the cost, on pretty much any type of switch at any level. On some Enterprise gear for a 48 port switch it can sometimes be another $1k. Sometimes it’ll come down to how many ports provide power, and what PoE standards they support. The newer, higher voltage standards typically will cost more. But especially in Enterprise, PoE gives huge flexibility, mostly for Wireless Access Points these days, but used to be that every desk would have a phone powered from the switch as well.

    Anywho, other than that; there really isn’t a massive difference between the two. Both will need something running the UniFi Network server for initial setup and management of them. It’d be an interesting experiment to see if they just worked without it though. Their management IP is usually a static in the 192.168.1.0/24 network and they default to using VLAN 1 for everything unless otherwise configured.

    Alternatively you could meet in the middle and go with the Edge series from Ubiquiti, eg: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/SWHUBI31306/Ubiquiti-EdgeSwitch-XP-ES-5XP-5-Port-Gigabit-Manag

    These don’t require UniFi Network, you just log onto a web GUI to configure them which can be limited to only the MGMT port, and this particular model also does PoE, though probably only the older standard, not PoE+. I have one of them (the older version called ToughSwitch) and its been great. I’m pretty tempted to swap it for one of those Flex Mini’s though - as that way I can manage it from my UniFi setup rather than having to do it manually.

    Actually just an edit to clarify the adapter/splitter… Back in the day you could buy a Hub, that’s closer to what I would call an adapter/splitter. The way they work is it effectively just turns one port into x ports, they’re a very dumb usually completely unconfigured device. But on a hub, all ports share the same collision domain so overall performance is weakened especially if you have a lot of devices connected to hubs.

    In a switch each port is its own separate connection, and it’ll hold its own MAC address table to know how to get to things at layer 2. The difference is a hub is a bit like a party line (back in the analog days) where you could end up having one device talking over another. Whereas with a switch, every device has their own private line back to the cabinet.

    • TagMeInSkipIGotThis
      2·
      10 months ago

      Replying to myself now…

      Eg this thing - i’d be very surprised if it isn’t actually a Hub, rather than a switch: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/SWHMES11050/Mercusys-MS105G-5-Port-Gigabit-Desktop-Switch

      And PBTech have a variety of others: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/category/networking/switches

      I’ve seen some people run the Netgear / TPLink stuff - but they’re not things i’d be confident in recommending. Cheap though - just steer clear of anything that’s described as an “Unmanaged switch”, its probably not much of a switch - ie it’ll be single VLAN only, no trunking etc. Like basically a hub, but maybe with separate collision domain & its own MAC table.

      • DaveOPMA
        1·
        10 months ago

        just steer clear of anything that’s described as an “Unmanaged switch”, its probably not much of a switch - ie it’ll be single VLAN only, no trunking etc. Like basically a hub, but maybe with separate collision domain & its own MAC table.

        Haha ok, the one I linked is a no then. I have no idea what half those words mean so it’s a bit intimidating thinking about having to set it up!

        • TagMeInSkipIGotThis
          2·
          10 months ago

          If you’re confident enough to setup stuff like Frigate then working through the basic management stuff on something like the EdgeSwitch wouldn’t be a stretch. The GUI is very friendly, it even puts cables in for the ports that have something plugged in:

    • DaveOPMA
      1·
      10 months ago

      I’m thinking I might go without PoE and just meet my current need, then add a PoE switch to support cameras if or when I get them.

      I’ve been reading a bit on managed vs unmanaged switches, and it sounds like unmanaged switches are like managed switches but you just plug in your stuff and it works. There are no settings, but also there is no need to set it up. If I’m just out to allow more devices to join the network via ethernet, would something like this be suitable? I’m specifically doing it to improve the speed vs wifi so I don’t want to make it worse 😆

      • Panq
        2·
        10 months ago

        I’m thinking I might go without PoE and just meet my current need, then add a PoE switch to support cameras if or when I get them.

        That’s more or less what I did when the dirt cheap AliExpress cameras died - just got a PoE switch from PB Tech and a small pile of Reolink cameras (RLC810A). Definitely the best value-for-money, and works well with Home Assistant. Way better than those stupid splitters or having a pile of individual POE injectors.

        • DaveOPMA
          1·
          10 months ago

          Ah didn’t catch it’s only 100M. I saw a review on the one you linked earlier that said they just plugged it in and it works, but it also has config options. However, everyone is powering it via PoE. Can I assume that means it needs another switch first to provide that power? I don’t think the ISP router or the mesh APs provide PoE.

          I’m thinking back in the direction of managed switch because I’m sure I’ll be able to work it out, and it provides a learning opportunity. But I think that $70ish price point is what I’m aiming for rather than hundreds of dollars.

          Edit: Maybe this one? It’s netgear, seems it can configure itself but may also allow you to configure it? https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/SWHNGR0025/NETGEAR-8-Port-Gigabit-Ethernet-Plus-Switch-GS108E

          • TagMeInSkipIGotThis
            2·
            10 months ago

            Yeah I think its a good option, especially if you can just plug it in & have it work too. Has 2 options for power:

            Power Method

            USB Type C, 5V 802.3af/at PoE (44 - 57VDC, 0.05 - 0.04A)

            • DaveOPMA
              1·
              10 months ago

              Ok I’ve ordered it, thanks for the help!

                • DaveOPMA
                  1·
                  9 months ago

                  Haha I thought for sure you’d have much nicer stuff than this!

                  • TagMeInSkipIGotThis
                    2·
                    9 months ago

                    I do, but it’d be nice to have a small box behind the TV to replace the ToughSwitch that’s there now; which I can then deploy elsewhere for some other projects I have on the go.