Question Replacing dead POE switch today - Options (Ubiquiti/Unifi)

[Barty1884]

Hi all,

Just looking to get opinions before I run out and buy something today.

My US-24-250W died overnight. Completely, no signs of life whatsoever.

I have 13 feeds out through the house/garage + CloudKey. 5 of which require POE.

Managed to get my non-POE devices connected with two USW-Flex-Mini's I had laying around and my two AC-Pro's using POE injectors, but my 2x G3-Flex Cameras & my Cloudkey Gen2+ are both offline as I've no other injectors.

I'd really rather not spend >$500 CAD on a direct 24port replacement. Funds are a little tight AND I'm a little concerned a connected device may have caused/contributed to (no reason to suspect, just being cautious). Don't really want to fork out the money for the same thing to reoccur - however slim that might be.

Considering some options:

1. Basically a direct replacement. either US-16-150W ($430) or US-24-250W ($600). Would really rather not go this route from a cost standpoint unless absolutely necessary.
2. The absolute bare minimum - pick up a couple of POE injectors to get the G3s and Cloudkey back online. $75-$100 estimated.
3. The realistic bare minimum - Likely a US-8-60W for $180 or $140 with a pricematch vs Amazon (and pair with my Flex Minis). Would still need to use at least one injector
4. Step up - A US-8-150W for $290. Would meet all POE needs in one, and use my Flex Minis for the rest.
5. Wildcard. Two US-8-60W for $280 total. Less POE budget (vs #4), but sufficient for the devices I have - And gives me more non-POE ports vs #4.

I bought the original switch secondhand.... It was brand new in a sealed box, but secondhand none-the-less, so no warranty. I will send Ubiquiti an email and see if they're prepared to do anything.... but I'm assuming it's a no.

Just looking for opinions.... What would you do, in my shoes.

 

[Rogue Leader]

My suggestion, change brands to EnGenius, thats what I use. I've heard of this problem more than once with Ubiquiti.

Doesn't look like that store carries them.

 

[Barty1884]

My suggestion, change brands to EnGenius, thats what I use. I've heard of this problem more than once with Ubiquiti.

Doesn't look like that store carries them.

Yeah, I'll take a look at EnGenius some more.... Couldn't find much availability in Canada for anything remotely 'new' when you mentioned it before.

This might've soured me on Ubiquiti, but we shall see.

Opted for #3 as a quick and (relatively) cheap solution. Forgot my second G3 Flex isn't actually installed anywhere lol, just a run to the exterior and I need to take it around the house, so it can wait.

 

[bill001g]

I think it is mostly what you want to do most. Technically it will make little difference since cameras are fairly low bandwidth compare to gigabit ethernet ports. The issue with mulitple switches is you would be limited to the port speed between the switches where if they are in the same switch they use the backplane and generally you have more total bandwidth. Still it is no likely you are going to exceed the ports.

The big thing to be careful of lots of companies call things PoE. The 802.3at/af is the industry standard. There are many devices that use proprietary passive forms of PoE and you have to be very careful to match it all up so it works. That is why there are standards and it would be nice if some companies did not confuse things for people.

 

[Barty1884]

They're all at or af devices, no passive or proprietary implementations involved.
That's why I stuck with Ubiquiti throughout, just to avoid those types of potential issues.

I opted for the cheaper option of the bunch, US-8-60W... for now.
Bit of a mess (see pic above) with three switches, but it'll do.

Send an email to Ubiquiti, I'll see what they say. Doubtful they'll do anything, but worth asking.

 

[bill001g]

I used to say all switches only support 802.3af/at. That was until I did some reading on ubiquiti stuff. They actually make a switch that supports their form of passive PoE. They even make switches that run both passive and 802.3af/at.

I never liked passive stuff since the power is always there and I always worry about burning something up.

You post reminded me I need to keep a spare PoE switch around. I can live with a dead camera for a couple days while I try to replace it but if I lose the switch they are all gone.