A PoE switch for cameras comes down to four numbers: how many PoE ports, how many total watts, how far each cable run is, and how much uplink bandwidth the recorder needs.
A typical fixed IP camera draws 4–12W; PTZ cameras and heated housings can pull up to 30W on a single port. So an 8-camera site usually needs 96–120W of total PoE budget, and a 16-camera site around 200W. Every switch in our Atlas PoE range publishes both the per-port maximum (30W, IEEE 802.3af/at) and the total budget, so you can do this arithmetic before you order.
The second decision is Fast Ethernet versus Gigabit access ports. Here is the rule most spec sheets bury: 250m PoE extend mode exists only on Fast Ethernet models (the port drops to 10Mbps — still enough for one camera stream). Full-gigabit PoE switches do not offer 250m extend. If you have long cable runs, pick an FE model or plan SFP fibre; if you have high-bitrate 4K cameras aggregating to one NVR, pick gigabit access with SFP uplinks.
Run these five checks in order and the model picks itself.
One more feature worth paying for on remote sites: a PoE watchdog. Our 120W high-power versions auto-restart a frozen camera by cycling its PoE power — which saves a two-hour drive to reboot one camera.
Most camera projects need plug-and-play. A minority genuinely need VLANs, DIN-rail mounting or self-healing fibre rings.
For shops, warehouses, compounds and most building CCTV, an unmanaged PoE switch is the right call: no configuration, automatic powered-device detection that will not damage non-PoE gear, and store-and-forward switching that just works. This is what the Atlas S-series is built for.
Reach for managed industrial switches when the job says so: factory floors and roadside cabinets needing -40°C tolerance and DIN-rail mounting, fibre rings with ERPS G.8032 self-healing, or networks where cameras must sit in their own VLAN. Our ZJIES industrial line covers those cases — and our engineers will tell you honestly when you do not need it.
We see these four on real job sites every month.
MISTAKEEight cameras on an 8-port switch, but three PTZs pull 25W each — cameras randomly reboot at night when IR lamps kick in.
DO THISSum worst-case wattage first, then pick the budget tier (96W vs 120W vs 200W). Night-time IR is the real load, not the daytime demo.
MISTAKEThe quote says full gigabit, the site plan says 180m cable runs — the link never comes up and the installer blames the cable.
DO THIS250m extend mode is an FE-model feature. For long runs choose an FE PoE switch with extend mode, or design fibre from the start.
MISTAKEThree 8-port switches chained camera-port to camera-port — every hop shares one 100Mbps link and the NVR shows dropped frames on half the site.
DO THISAlways cascade through the dedicated gigabit uplinks (RJ45 or SFP), star-topology back to the NVR switch wherever the site allows.
MISTAKEThe switch lives in a reception desk or small office; six months later the fan is the loudest thing in the room and full of dust.
DO THISUp to 24 ports, fanless metal designs with built-in PSUs handle CCTV loads silently and shrug off dust — specify fanless for any occupied space.
Short answers you can quote to your own customers.
Plan 6–8W for a fixed camera with IR, 12–15W for varifocal or heated models, and reserve a full 30W port for each PTZ. Then check the switch's total budget covers the sum with 20% headroom.
802.3af delivers up to 15.4W per port; 802.3at (PoE+) raises that to 30W. Our switches support both and negotiate automatically, so af cameras and at PTZs can share the same switch safely.
Yes. Smart powered-device detection only sends power after a valid PoE handshake, so non-PoE equipment on the same port just gets data — nothing gets burned.
The Atlas PoE range runs -10°C to +70°C fanless and takes AC 176–264V on a built-in supply, with 50,000-hour MTBF. For genuinely harsh sites — dust, -40°C, roadside cabinets — step up to the industrial ZJIES line.
Yes — port mixes, PoE budget tiers, logo and packaging are all open to OEM discussion, and small batches are welcome. Send your BOM or a rough camera count on WhatsApp and we will spec it with you.
Send your camera count and cable distances — an engineer replies within 24 hours with a sized recommendation.