With booming network video surveillance industry, a number of technical issues are faced by the people as well as by companies when offering technical support. Many a time there comes some confusion about the PoE camera system. So here is your chance to get a better idea about the same.
What is PoE?
PoE means Power over Ethernet. Here power and data are transmitted through network devices without bringing any change in the network structure. So with PoE, you can easily let the power flow through the same cable that allows transmit of data. So you need less cost for the camera installation as well as maintain it from time to time.
A PoE comes in two parts – PD and PSE
PD – Powered devices are the devices on the network
PSE – Supports the function of PoE.
Is it reliable?
With a number of PoE camera systems available in the market, going for the cheaper options can turn down the quality of the cameras. This can eventually increase the maintenance charges. So if you want quality and reliable system better invest on costly ones.
What are the benefits of PoE?
- Less cables, less installation costs: All the devices on the network are supplied power through a single cable. The data is also transmitted through the same cable. Using a single cable reduces the installation costs very much.
- Convenient and secure: The power source only supplies power on the devices enabled with PoE. So any chance of leakage is avoided. Again, you can connect non-PoE devices along with the PoE devicesand they can easily co-exist together.
- Easy to maintain: You can easily manage the system of PoE cameras using SNMP. This will control and manage the network.
What issues you may face?
Having insufficient power supply especially for the devices that consume more power is one of the major issues. The power can be sufficient enough for the IP cameras.
Another issue you may face is the failure of the central system. Here different IP cameras are connected through a single PoE switch and so if PoE faces any issues all the IP cameras on the network will stop working.
Compared to other camera network systems, the charge to maintain the PoE cameras are more. So you have to spend more to maintain a stable PoE system.
What to look for when Selecting a PoE Switch?
You will find different PoE switch in the market and so you have to choose them based on the power output capability. If there are fewer devices on the system then you can go for the one that has less output power while if the IP cameras are more in number or consume more power, then go for the switch that has more output power.
The number of ports to which the PoE switch can supply power also matters. There is a limitation to the amount of power that can be supplied to the different ports.
What should be the PoE Transmission Range?
The normal transmission range of PoE cameras are 100 meters. It is recommended to go for the Cat5 ethernet cable for better performance. There are a number of cables available in the market that does not fulfil the requirement and so you should be careful while choosing one. Such cables come from materials of copper clad steel, copper coated iron, copper clad aluminium, etc. instead of using oxygen free copper.
Taking your time to go through these points will help you find the right camera system of PoE. Everybody wants to get the best surveillance results for the money they are spending and these tips will help you a lot.