Overall, the Enterprise 8 PoE proved to be a fast 2.5Gbps Mulit-Gig switch. Its performance was on par, if not better, than others of similar specs I’ve tried. Runs hot and requires long boot times The BASE-T wiring is more popular thanks to its simple design and flexibility in speed support. Some routers and switches have an RJ45/SFP+ combo which includes two physical ports of each type, but you can use one at a time. Have lower fan noise — the non-pro models are fanless. The pros have fans, but are quieter than the 1st generation models. A common complaint with the first generation models are their loud fans. It is possible to replace them with quieter Noctua fans, or you can throw it in a network closet and forget about it. If you just need basic L2 switching and PoE, the first generation models are still worth considering, especially if budget and availability are more important than future software support. Deciding between UniFi, EdgeMAX, UISP, or some other brand depends on your needs. The right solution varies with what kind of network you are trying to build, and what features you need to accomplish that. If you are comfortable with command line configuration and have complex needs, another vendor is probably a better option. This guide focuses on UniFi switches, but it’s worth noting some EdgeSwitch models are the same hardware as the first generation UniFi switches, with an EdgeOS CLI and UISP instead of the UniFi controller. The newer UISP switches are not as mature, but are worth considering if you want your switch to tie into the UISP NMS and UCRM software.

One limitation of the regular second generation switches is their limited PoE budget. PoE budget refers to the total amount of power available for all PoE devices. Since the non-pro 2nd generation models are fanless, they also have smaller power supplies, and a smaller PoE budget. The screen includes four sections that show various settings and conditions of the switch accessible via vertical and horizontal swiping. It also has animations for the boot process, firmware upgrades, screensavers, etc. The US-XG-6-PoE has four 1/2.5/5/10 Gbps RJ45 Ethernet ports with PoE++. It also has two 10 Gbps SFP+ interfaces. In the end, I had to use two TP-Link TL-SM5310-T adapters for the testing, and it was impossible to know if they caused them to perform slower than a true 10Gbps connection, as shown on the charts. Considering the uplink role, though, the SFP+ ports’ sustained rate, in my case, was still more than fast enough.Do not have a serial console port. All management has to be done over Ethernet in-band. (EdgeSwitches still have console ports!)

There’s a lot to cover when it comes to PoE, so I’ll try to keep it as simple as possible. There are 4 main types of PoE to know about: Flex and Lite switches are designed to be more stylish than traditional switches so you can easily place them anywhere without disrupting your décor. These switches offer a wide range of bandwidth, uplink speed, and Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) capability. Plus, they look great mounted to a wall or sitting on your desk!Note: Other vendors may refer to PoE, PoE+, and PoE++ as 802.3af, 802.3at, and 802.3bt, respectively.