To Switch or Not - would I benefit from having a switch for connecting the cameras?

[mysterymbps]

I currently have the following NVR

Hikvision DS-7608NI-I2-8P 8 Channel​

I am trying to understand whether I would benefit from having a switch for connecting the cameras, or just plug them straight into the NVR. I will be using an 8 camera set up.


What is the purpose of a switch in this instance? Are there any advantages/disadvantages?

Thanks

 

[Dan]

Hi @mysterymbps

The main advantage of a separate PoE switch for a small system like yours would be to reduce the number & length of cable runs. Usually, you would connect a PoE switch to your local network at a point that is close to the camera positions (e.g. straight into a free port on the router or other network ports you have around the property).

So for example, if you had 2 of your 8 cameras positioned much further away from the NVR than the other 6, you could install a 4-port PoE switch near those 2 cameras and then add those 2 cameras to the NVR over the local network whilst still connecting the other 6 directly to the PoE ports on the NVR. Depending on where you are installing your cameras you can have them all connected to separate PoE switch(es), all connected to the PoE ports on the NVR, or a mix of both.

There is no real downside to using a separate PoE switch on a system of this size.

 

[codlord]

I would add my thoughts in addition to Dans reply just to think about - if you want/need an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to ensure the system continues running during any power outages then of course a single NVR connected to the UPS is easy. If you add a PoE switch then that would also need to be connected to the UPS or require another UPS if it's in a remote location.

And it seems when cameras are connected directly to an NVR you cannot use some advanced functions of some cameras - e.g. I have ANPR cameras and set them up to FTP images to a server. It seems cameras connected to an NVR cannot access your network/internet so the only way to get that working is to have those cameras on a PoE switch or PoE injector on the network. But most camera functions don't require network/internet access and will just work through your NVR.

 

[johnfitzy]

I had a DS-7608-NI-I2 like yours and switches/PoE/networking was not the problem.

Incoming bandwidth/noise and today's news is much more troublesome.