How to choose a PoE switch comes down to six questions: how many devices you will connect, how many watts they draw together, which PoE standard they need, what port speed, whether you need management, and how the switch connects to your recorder or router. A wrong switch rarely fails on install day; it fails weeks later when a camera starts rebooting at night. This guide answers all six with numbers and suggests a Uniview, Grandstream or Huawei switch for each case.

Quick pick: which PoE switch for which site?

Step 1: Count the ports

Count every device that will draw power from the switch: cameras, access points, IP phones and intercom units. Then add 20% spare ports for the camera or AP you will add later. A villa with 6 cameras and 2 access points needs 8 ports, and is better served by a switch with 8 PoE ports plus two extra uplinks than one with 8 ports in total.

Remember that uplink ports don't power anything. The NSW2010-10GT-POE-IN, for example, has 10 ports: 8 PoE plus 2 for the recorder and router.

Step 2: Work out the PoE power budget

The PoE budget is the total wattage the switch can share across all ports at once. Add up each device's maximum draw from its spec sheet, then add 25% headroom. Here are examples from devices Misbar stocks:

Villa example: 8 IPC3618LE cameras × 5.2 W = 41.6 W, plus one 21 W PTZ. That is 62.6 W, or 78 W with headroom. The 120 W NSW2010-10GT-POE-IN covers it, with a spare PoE port left over.

Office example: 12 cameras × 5.2 W = 62.4 W, plus 4 GWN7660E access points × 12.95 W = 51.8 W. That is 114.2 W, or 143 W with headroom, across 16 devices. Here you need the GWN7802P with 16 PoE ports and a 240 W budget.

Read the spec sheet closely: some switches can't give every port full power at once. The Huawei S210-8P2J, with a 128 W budget, runs all 8 ports at 15.4 W but only 4 ports at 30 W simultaneously.

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Step 3: Match the PoE standard

• 802.3af (PoE): up to 15.4 W per port. Enough for most fixed cameras, small Wi-Fi 6 access points and IP phones.
• 802.3at (PoE+): up to 30 W per port. For PTZ cameras, high-density APs and Wi-Fi 7 units such as the GWN7670E.
• 802.3bt (PoE++): up to 60 W per port on the GWN7802P Pro. For the most power-hungry devices and room for future upgrades.

Every PoE+ switch also powers af devices, but not the other way round. If even one device needs at, buy a PoE+ switch.

Step 4: Port speed: 100 Mbps or gigabit?

A single camera stream is far below 100 Mbps, so a 10/100 port is enough for it. That is how the Uniview NSW2020 and NSW3000 switches are built, such as the NSW3000-24T1GT1GC-POE-IN with 24 PoE ports at 10/100 and two gigabit uplinks. All the camera traffic then travels over the gigabit port to the recorder.

Access points are different. They need at least gigabit ports, since Wi-Fi 6 speeds go well beyond 100 Mbps, and a Wi-Fi 7 AP with a 2.5G port only reaches full speed on a 2.5G switch port. So don't buy a 100 Mbps switch for a network with access points.

Step 5: Managed or unmanaged?

• Unmanaged: plug in and go. Enough for homes, villas and shops. The Uniview NSW2010 switches add a VLAN mode that isolates camera ports so they only talk to the uplinks, and an EXTEND mode that reaches up to 250 m for a distant camera.
• Cloud-managed: such as the NSW3000, which shows PoE draw per port, lets you turn a camera port off and on remotely, and discovers video devices to map the network.
• Managed L2+: such as the GWN7802P and GWN7803P. For companies that separate cameras, phones and guest Wi-Fi into VLANs and need Voice VLAN, QoS and IGMP snooping.

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Step 6: Uplinks and SFP ports

Copper Ethernet reaches 100 m in normal mode. If the switch sits in one building and the router or recorder in another, use SFP ports with fibre. The GWN7802P has 4 × 1G SFP ports, the GWN7802P Pro 2 × 10G SFP+, and the Huawei S220-24P4X 4 × 10GE SFP+.

10G uplinks matter when a switch aggregates dozens of access points or links floors together, so the uplink doesn't become the bottleneck.

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Suggested PoE switches by size

• 4 cameras: the NSW2010-5GT-POE-IN-UK, with 4 gigabit PoE ports, a 60 W budget and no fan.
• 8 cameras: the NSW2010-10GT-POE-IN, with a 120 W budget plus VLAN and EXTEND modes. If budget matters more than speed, the NSW2020-10T-POE-IN with 100 Mbps ports and 88 W.
• 8 devices including access points: the GWN7701PA with 8 PoE+ ports and 145 W, or the managed GWN7801P with two SFP ports.
• 16 cameras: the NSW3000-16T1GT1GC-POE-IN with a 250 W budget and cloud management.
• 24 cameras: the NSW3000-24T1GT1GC-POE-IN, or the gigabit NSW2010-26GT2GC-POE-IN, both with 370 W.
• Office with 24 devices: the GWN7803P with 370 W and 4 SFP ports, or the Huawei S220-24P4X with 400 W and 4 × 10G.

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4 common mistakes when buying a PoE switch

1. A budget with no margin: a 60 W switch for devices drawing 58 W runs fine by day and drops a camera at night when the IR turns on. Leave 25%.
2. An af switch for a PTZ camera: a camera that needs 21 W won't run on a port capped at 15.4 W.
3. 100 Mbps ports for access points: they choke your Wi-Fi however good the AP is.
4. Runs over 100 m without EXTEND or fibre: the distant camera keeps dropping. Use EXTEND mode or an SFP port.

Buy PoE switches from Misbar Alhasibat

Misbar stocks network switches from Uniview, Grandstream and Huawei: unmanaged, cloud-managed and managed L2+, from 4 to 48 ports. Read our CCTV buying guide and best access point guide alongside this one to choose the devices the switch will power.

Prices on the store are final and include VAT, and you can split the payment with Tabby. Send us your camera and access point count and models on WhatsApp, and we will work out the PoE budget with you and suggest a switch.

Browse all network switches at Misbar →

FAQ

How do I choose a PoE switch?

Count your devices and add 20% spare ports, add up their wattage plus 25%, choose PoE+ if any device needs 802.3at, gigabit ports if you have access points, and a managed switch if you need VLANs.

How many watts do 8 security cameras need?

Most fixed cameras draw 5 to 6 W, so 8 cameras need about 50 W, or 60 to 65 W with headroom. Add 21 W for a PTZ camera if you have one.

Will a PoE switch damage my PC or TV?

No. IEEE-standard PoE switches detect the device first and only send power to devices that request it, so a PC just gets a network connection.

What is the difference between PoE and PoE+?

PoE (802.3af) delivers up to 15.4 W per port, and PoE+ (802.3at) up to 30 W for PTZ cameras and larger access points.

What if a camera is more than 100 m away?

Turn on EXTEND mode on a Uniview switch such as the NSW2010-10GT-POE-IN to reach up to 250 m, or place a second switch near the camera and link it over fibre through an SFP port.

Which PoE switch should you choose?

• Home or shop: the NSW2010-5GT-POE-IN-UK.
• Villa with cameras: the NSW2010-10GT-POE-IN.
• Villa or office with access points: the GWN7701PA.
• Warehouse or compound with many cameras: the NSW3000-24T1GT1GC-POE-IN.
• Office with a managed network: the GWN7802P or GWN7803P.
• Huawei network or 10G uplinks: the S220-24P4X.