Are cheap 2.5Gb managed PoE switches not a thing?

[romeozor]

I see a lot of options for 2.5Gb switches which are either PoE or managed. I bought 3 already based on the STH reviews. Can't seem to find any that are both. Are those things mutually exclusive on the cheap end? All PoE switches seem to be unmanaged.

Browsed through the buyers guide on the site but there was only one Hasivo S600WP-5GT-2S+_SE with some caveats, only AliExpress, and it's a lot more expensive now.

 

[gaidin123]

I don't know why that particular combination is so rare. I ended up going to Alibaba (product link) and actually purchasing a Sirivision S25G2109FP which is an 8x 2.5Gb web managed PoE switch with 1 SFP+ slot since no Amazon or Aliexpress resellers seem to have picked up on this gap yet. It was around $90 ($60+30 or so shipping to the US). There are only a few hits on Google for this thing including one thread here. I configured some vlans and am currently using it to power one AP, a couple IP cameras, and a Xikestor 8x10Gb SFP+ switch via a PoE splitter which it's also uplinked to. There's very little actual 2.5Gb things hanging off it currently so it's not being pushed at all, but the PoE's been fine.

The web UI is just like all the other cheap switches. I almost pinged Patrick asking if they wanted to review it since this combination of features is almost non-existent yet seems like a no brainer if one wants to do cheap PoE wifi. I don't have any confidence that it'll ever get firmware updates but it was similarly priced to the non-PoE versions that are all over so I figured I'd take a chance and so far it's been fine with all ports in use.

 

[romeozor]

I don't know why that particular combination is so rare. I ended up going to Alibaba (product link) and actually purchasing a Sirivision S25G2109FP which is an 8x 2.5Gb web managed PoE switch with 1 SFP+ slot since no Amazon or Aliexpress resellers seem to have picked up on this gap yet. It was around $90 ($60+30 or so shipping to the US). There are only a few hits on Google for this thing including one thread here. I configured some vlans and am currently using it to power one AP, a couple IP cameras, and a Xikestor 8x10Gb SFP+ switch via a PoE splitter which it's also uplinked to. There's very little actual 2.5Gb things hanging off it currently so it's not being pushed at all, but the PoE's been fine.

The web UI is just like all the other cheap switches. I almost pinged Patrick asking if they wanted to review it since this combination of features is almost non-existent yet seems like a no brainer if one wants to do cheap PoE wifi. I don't have any confidence that it'll ever get firmware updates but it was similarly priced to the non-PoE versions that are all over so I figured I'd take a chance and so far it's been fine with all ports in use.

Interesting. Never ordered from Alibaba. Looks like the minimum order is 2 units, if they agree to send to an individual.

Will look into it. Thank you!

 

[gaidin123]

It was a little odd but you kind of message with someone and if you ask for a sample they probably will let you order just one.

 

[ms264556]

Hasivo do managed other cheap managed PoE switches on AliExpress e.g. 4x2.5Gb + 2x10Gb RJ45 ($135), 8x2.5Gb + 1x10Gb RJ45 ($145) or 4x2.5Gb + 1x10Gb RJ45 + 1xSFP+ ($119). I got my S600WP-4GT-2XGT-SE for $112 after discounts.

If AliExpress don't ship these to your country then you can buy 2 on Alibaba.

 

[Sorandict]

I see a lot of options for 2.5Gb switches which are either PoE or managed. I bought 3 already based on the STH reviews. Can't seem to find any that are both. Are those things mutually exclusive on the cheap end? All PoE switches seem to be unmanaged.

Browsed through the buyers guide on the site but there was only one Hasivo S600WP-5GT-2S+_SE with some caveats, only AliExpress, and it's a lot more expensive now.

www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP8XJ4XH
I've also found that it's rare to see a switch that has both managed and POE. This is a Layer 2 managed POE from XikeStor, but it seems to only be shipping from China at the moment

 

[blunden]

As you've noticed, there are several on AliExpress. You can also often find the same switches under a different brand on Amazon for a markup.

The more well known brands seem to have decided that PoE and management are both premium features that motivate a high price tag, despite not necessarily costing that much more in practice.

 

[SimplyComplicated]

My guess is the good brands will not just do POE but go POE+ (802.3at) / POE++ (802.3bt) for their 2.5Gbe switches because WiFi 7 APs will likely all require POE+ at a minimum. This might explain why it is taking longer as POE+ and POE++ are not that common.

 

[zipityzi]

I believe it is more of an import issue than a production issue. For example, Hasivo has loads of 2.5G / 10G uplink POE managed switches; many are on their Aliexpress Store, far more than the resellers on Amazon US storefront.

From what I understand, Hasivo's setup is port 1 is POE++ and the remaining ports are POE+. Now, on the smaller switches, you're limited to ~50W anyways as the adapter isn't powerful enough. But if an AP is ultra-power-hungry (50W makes me think my hair will stand up, lol), perhaps a name-brand switch may be better and those won't be in this price range anymore.

Hasivo POE Web managed: 21 switches (these are the cheap ones)
Hasivo POE L2 managed: 15 switches
Hasivo POE L3 managed: 7 switches

If you click a switch (and turn on Google Translate), you'll see the firmware files for each switch.

//

We recently purchased two POE++ / POE+ managed switches from Hasivo's store on Aliexpress (S600WP-4GT-2XGT-SE and S1100WP-8GT-1XGT-SE). Free shipping within ~2 weeks, Hasivo appears to be an OEM vs a reseller, they actually have firmware updates & change logs on their site for each switch (last update was Jan 2024), and it appears at least $30 to $40 cheaper than Mokerlink's equivalent (which Mokerlink shared via a support request is at least 1+ month from arriving at their US Amazon storefront).

This is where we made our purchase (no affiliate link, no connection, etc.): https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1101429856 (click Products → 2.5G)

A bit of a gamble with returns & warranty, but hopefully it works out. A shame Hasivo doesn't sell first-party switches in the US, but I guess that's the role of the resellers and STH seems to have had no problems with Hasivo's hardware sans the cloned MAC address problem which is apparently fixed by now.

 

[ms264556]

A bit of a gamble with returns & warranty, but hopefully it works out.

Immediate returns are pretty good - AliExpress has always found in my favour and refunded without me needing to actually return the faulty item.

Warranty may be a problem, although I've had a good-ish experience with Hasivo on fixing bugs. I'm relying on the bathtub failure curve, so that I can either return the dead switch via AliExpress buyer protection, or the switch will last until it's obsolete.

Many poeplus branded L2 PoE switches are Hasivo hardware (identical inside, including Hasivo silkscreened on the board), and are usually cheaper than their Hasivo branded twins.

 

[Matt84]

I have a Hasivo S600WP-4GT-2SX-SE in transit from AliExpress. I will be running 3x Nano HDs using PoE but they are only max 10 watt each so we will see how that goes. It is much cheaper than the S600WP-5GT-2S+_SE at about half the price in AUD.

 

[SimplyComplicated]

From what I understand, Hasivo's setup is port 1 is POE++ and the remaining ports are POE+. Now, on the smaller switches, you're limited to ~50W anyways as the adapter isn't powerful enough. But if an AP is ultra-power-hungry (50W makes me think my hair will stand up, lol), perhaps a name-brand switch may be better and those won't be in this price range anymore.

Unifi U7 Pro is PoE+ at 21W (so you can run two and your power budget is basically gone if you only have 50W

Tp-link Omada EAP773 PoE+ at 23.4 W (802.3at decrease 6GHz Power) to 25.94 W (802.3bt, full functionality) ; You can run one of these.

50W power budget is almost useless for PoE+ or PoE++ really

Presumably if you are going to run APs you will probably want to run 2 or 3 not just one.

Name brand switches with PoE+ seem to start at about 120W PoE+ to 310W PoE++ starting capacities.

Design wise it is likely more than just the power supply, with high W you have higher heat to dissipate and all your internal connections need to support it as well.

 

[zipityzi]

Unifi U7 Pro is PoE+ at 21W (so you can run two and your power budget is basically gone if you only have 50W

Tp-link Omada EAP773 PoE+ at 23.4 W (802.3at decrease 6GHz Power) to 25.94 W (802.3bt, full functionality) ; You can run one of these.

50W power budget is almost useless for PoE+ or PoE++ really

Presumably if you are going to run APs you will probably want to run 2 or 3 not just one.

Name brand switches with PoE+ seem to start at about 120W PoE+ to 310W PoE++ starting capacities.

Design wise it is likely more than just the power supply, with high W you have higher heat to dissipate and all your internal connections need to support it as well.

Ah, we have a different layout: one AP per POE switch and 1-2 small devices (VOIP at 3W; IP cam at 15W). For us, POE+ means we can still use virtually any AP (30W+) without power constraints, but we likely won't need more than 25W as you note.

Now, POE++ is a bit excessive in our one-AP-per-switch layout re: which AP alone would use 50W? ~50W POE+/++ on the 6-port and ~100W POE+/++ on the 9-port leaves us with plenty to spare.

That is, these switches are just right for some home users like us.

//

Definitely a higher cost, that's a good point, if they went much larger on the budgets.

But heat isn't a constraint with higher POE++ inside these switches. 52V piped straight in (e.g., virtually all POE switches) from an external PSU (not all POE switches) means Hasivo's internal POE PDU can be ultra efficient as it has very little to do.

802.3bt / POE++ 90W-per-port switches can run bare, no-heatsink, 100% passive POE PDUs:

And that switch is capable of 360W combined total output across 24V, POE, POE+, and POE++.

 

[SimplyComplicated]

Now, POE++ is a bit excessive in our one-AP-per-switch layout re: which AP alone would use 50W? ~50W POE+/++ on the 6-port and ~100W POE+/++ on the 9-port leaves us with plenty to spare.

how do you have one AP per switch that seems inefficient or are you saying you only have one switch and one ap? Otherwise injectors would make more sense than purchasing PoE switches for one device.

at home or work all of my AP drops come to common wiring closets.

as for PoE++ that is more of a remote workgroup switch issue where PoE is both powering the switch and the switch is providing PoE

the UniFi Inwall Enterpise is a good example of this plus also being an AP. It will run on just 21 W PoE+ but needs PoE++ if you want it to deliver 15W per its own ports.

 

[zipityzi]

how do you have one AP per switch that seems inefficient or are you saying you only have one switch and one ap? Otherwise injectors would make more sense than purchasing PoE switches for one device.

at home or work all of my AP drops come to common wiring closets.

as for PoE++ that is more of a remote workgroup switch issue where PoE is both powering the switch and the switch is providing PoE

the UniFi Inwall Enterpise is a good example of this plus also being an AP. It will run on just 21 W PoE+ but needs PoE++ if you want it to deliver 15W per its own ports.

?

Ah, we have a different layout: one AP per POE switch and 1-2 small devices (VOIP at 3W; IP cam at 15W).

Three injectors would be a fair bit of waste. Our current switch is 1Gbe POE (no POE+) → the Hasivo POE+/++ is the ideal upgrade for a long time. Our sq. ft. isn't large enough to justify more APs, neither for perf nor $.

Yep, again, definitely a different layout: one POE switch per floor, each powering one POE AP and a few smaller POE devices. It makes sense why we'd pick this switch, but it's not the right product for your use.

//

Ah, that makes sense: POE passthrough, never even considered that. That makes a lot more sense.

Most APs (w/o POE passthrough), judging how small the POE++ installed base is, keep to 30W max (POE+) — here, all POE output, not POE available.