• This topic has 17 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 5 years ago by toby.
Viewing 18 posts - 1 through 18 (of 18 total)
  • PoE and CCTV
  • Haze
    Full Member

    Stick with me, new to this…

    We’re looking to put a couple of IP camera’s front and rear of our house, will be mounted up high so I need cabling to run from downstairs router/switch. System will be managed through DS Surveillance on my Synology NAS (also located downstairs).

    If I’m running the cameras using PoE could I just have one injector to run both cameras, taking power from an upstairs socket and data from a separate homeplug?

    toby
    Full Member

    No, not unless there’s some magic dual injector as part of the set-up. Every PoE injector I’ve seen has been single cable for a single device.

    If it’s 802.3 standard PoE, you could get a PoE hub and that would connect to the Homeplug, but if it’s some propitiatory “Passive PoE”, it will probably be tied to using the injectors that come with the kit and it will need to be one per camera. You’ll then need a non-PoE hub to connect the two camera’s data connections to the Homeplug (unless there’s a Homeplug with two data connections available).

    Cougar
    Full Member

    You could have one injector if the injector had two pairs of Ethernet connections and was designed to do that.  Otherwise, no.

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    Cougar
    Full Member

    Every PoE injector I’ve seen has been single cable for a single device.

    One cable, one device yes as it’s an Ethernet connection.  You can get injectors with multiple inputs / outputs though – I’ve got one in a rack here with 24 pairs of connections, data goes in the bottom and data + power comes out the top.

    Or you could just use a PoE switch, of course.

    toby
    Full Member

    I’ve got one in a rack here with 24 pairs of connections, data goes in the bottom and data + power comes out the top.

    Fair point, but that’s not the sort of thing that comes in the box with domestic CCTV cameras, I expect.

    Or you could just use a PoE switch, of course.

    Unless it’s something like TP-Link’s “Passive PoE” set up which doesn’t negotiate with the expensive switch that you bought to run your external Access Point and nothing works (mutter grumble).

    hedley
    Free Member

    Can’t help with the injector question but I just use a TP Link POE switch for mine. Sits next to my router (I’m also using DS Surveillance on a Synology NAS).

    Cougar
    Full Member

    Unless it’s something like TP-Link’s “Passive PoE” set up

    Ah, I’ve not come across that.  What’s the thinking behind that then, cost-cutting?  There’s a reason we have standards.

    footflaps
    Full Member

    What’s the thinking behind that then, cost-cutting? There’s a reason we have standards.

    All the bargain basement consumer grade stuff is driven solely by cost as people just buy whatever is cheapest on Amazon – standards don’t really matter at that level.

    I had a project looking at consumer grade Wifi units and they were all utter shite, completely incompatible with each other (one in AP and one in CPE mode). All of it ended up in a skip in the end as that was all it was good for.

    Haze
    Full Member

    Or you could just use a PoE switch, of course.

    So, a PoE switch plugged into the router with the cameras running off it?

    Cougar
    Full Member

    Indeed.  Or into the powerline as you said earlier.  With the caveat that Toby mentioned (as I said, I don’t know anything about that).

    All the bargain basement consumer grade stuff is driven solely by cost as people just buy whatever is cheapest on Amazon – standards don’t really matter at that level.

    Fair point.  I’ve less experience with that stuff, the PoE kit I have access to is corporate Cisco and Avaya kit mostly.

    footflaps
    Full Member

    the PoE kit I have access to is corporate Cisco and Avaya kit mostly.

    proper kit!

    Although Cisco are a bit like Microsoft and have their own take on each standard….

    The Meraki Wifi kit was the most impressive I’ve seen, but very expensive licensing.

    hedley
    Free Member

    The TP-Link TL-SG1008P which I have is an 8 port (4 ports are POE) switch.

    Plugs into the router and then powers my cameras (Hikvision) and VOIP phone. Very simple, works out the box and not hideously expensive (around £57).

    For me that’s the simplest way to do it.

    kevin1911
    Full Member

    PoE switch off eBay – either Netgear GS108PE (I think!) or TP-Link SG1008P – is probably the easiest way to go.

    I’ve recently done similar, using Reolink RL420 cameras, the TP-Link switch and a QNAP NAS. It’s been a real faff getting remote notification set up on the NAS, but I’ve learned quite a bit from it!

    toby
    Full Member

    Unless it’s something like TP-Link’s “Passive PoE” set up

    Ah, I’ve not come across that.  What’s the thinking behind that then, cost-cutting?  There’s a reason we have standards.

    I presume it’s cost cutting, but I’ll admit that it rather took me by surprise as I’d thought that (at least at mid range TP-Link stuff, i.e. not the best, but a cut above the cheapest on Amazon) that if it was sold as PoE, it was 802.3af standards compliant.

    The Wikipedia page on PoE lists a number of non standards compliant implementations including the “Passive” connection I ran into. It does however say that it’s only common with radio equipment, so perhaps CCTV cameras don’t go for it?

    Haze, can you link us to the cameras you have or at least check the wording on the box? Does it say 802.3af where it mentions PoE?

    Haze
    Full Member

    Cheers, I’ve already learnt a bit more 👍

    Cougar
    Full Member

    Presumably then with this “passive” PoE, equipment would come supplied with its own injector?  I’d guess that a power supply that’s just blindly pumping out power without negotiating anything might get a bit… explody if used with other devices?

    toby
    Full Member

    Presumably then with this “passive” PoE, equipment would come supplied with its own injector?

    Yes it did.

    I’d guess that a power supply that’s just blindly pumping out power without negotiating anything might get a bit… explody if used with other devices?

    Well I’ll certainly not be plugging my laptop into the cable to test it. I can’t say I like the sound of it at all, TBH. However having been caught out when the CPC catalogue just said “PoE External Access Point” or similar, I thought I’d better warm others of the need to check the details of the spec.

    FYI, the TP Link page on the device is here. Without hindsight I’m still not sure I’d twig that it wouldn’t work with a standard PoE hub if I saw that for the first time.

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