far Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Hi ALL Our main router at work where all ethernet cables plug into that go to the desks is now full and I need to put in some more desks. We have added a switch to one of the ports which then gives me more ports to send more ethernet cables to the desks, however even though this is working the cables are loosing power, our set up puts the ethernet cable into a VOIP phone and the ethernet cable also puts the actual power into the phones and then a pass through to the laptops/desktops to get the internet/data So in theory the above is working but anything coming out of the switch box has no ac power to power the phones (phones cant just be plugged in) Any workaround? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juvett Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Hey far, Few questions that may help you: Is the switch POE? Can it supply POE to all ports (had switches that couldn't handle all ports at once) - try and use the switch with just one/less cable/s and see if it helps. Other small/stupid mistakes - cable type -anything less than cat5 (if you can still find any), cable length - switch to phone over 100m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
far Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 cheers dude, understood. The switch we have is a netgear gs108t http://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/datasheet/en/GS108Tv2.pdf "In addition, the GS108T supports IEEE 802.3af standard for Power over Ethernet (PoE). It can obtain its power from either a PoE source or from an external AC power adapter. This gives an SMB flexible" Our IT support company is suggesting we replace the entire 'main switch' but I get the impression there could be a cheaper and easier fix! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
far Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 .......oh and we are defo using cat 6 - some cables are over 25m though but not 100m! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaveriK Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 As Juvett has said, sounds like the switch isnt POE. No dramas as you can buy injectors to do the job if you dont want to power the phones at the desk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
far Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 As Juvett has said, sounds like the switch isnt POE. No dramas as you can buy injectors to do the job if you dont want to power the phones at the desk I think the switch is POE dude, looking at the spec. Phones dont have a power supply apart from what they get from the ethernet cable, which sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
far Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 ....what are injectors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobUK Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 ....what are injectors? Just an inline plug in for Poe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobUK Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 That switch isn't POE, it can be powered by POE but it doesn't actually provide POE to connected devices... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobUK Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Either change the switch or get something like DC 48V 0.5A PoE Injector Power Supply Over Ethernet Adapter UK Plug With Green LED Power Indicator For 12V 24V 48V POE Device https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00S5Z6RAY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_fL9SwbMVRRXE9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
far Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 got it! so this would go from ethernet from switch to this plug and then into the phone? Right? Changing switch - we have a POE switch, shall I try a different POE switch? cheers F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobUK Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 A Poe switch is by far (no pun) the best solution... Injectors are good for one off devices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobUK Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 We use Cisco Meraki stuff as its web managed and pretty cool... It's expensive but you pay for what you get... Something like this would suit... I have a spare if you wanted to test first but not back in the uk until the 15th... http://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/151962637210 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
far Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 cheers dude - thats very kind, ill prob buy one as the new guys are starting soon. So do you think the netgear one we have is not up to the job? Spec seems to suggest it has POE, does power output vary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobUK Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 The spec sheet you linked to says it can be powered by Poe.... Not that it will power other devices.... Subtle but crucial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobUK Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 [ATTACH]208826[/ATTACH] This shows it connecting port 1 to a POE switch to get power for itself... That's all it will do... It won't power your phone or anything else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobUK Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 The GS108-P has POE but the GS-108T doesn't.... Maybe that's the confusion? You need this, but beware only 4 of the 8 ports are Poe, so don't plug a Poe port into the router.. NETGEAR GS108PE-300EUS ProSAFE 8-Port Gigabit Web Managed Plus Switch with 4-Port PoE https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LMXBOG8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_kt-SwbXREFRF9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 If you don't want to pay Cisco prices check out TP-Link, TRENDnet, DLink etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juvett Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 When it comes to POE I think Cisco is your best bet - you can find decently prices POE switches. Look for a 48 port one that has 24 POE ports. Should future proof the business for you and will also give you enough power for all ports. Cheaper switches might not have enough power when you use all ports. Check the 200 series as they are good value. Also I would not recommend injectors. Whilst they might sort out your current switch it is more of a botch job than a solution. If your business relies on it you really don't want to tweak with it too often. Also mate if your IT team recommended or installed that switch might be best to outsource this to a company that know what they're doing. I by no means an expert on the subject and am not trying to sell anything here but how the hell did they miss something like this. Cheers, J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
far Posted February 5, 2016 Author Share Posted February 5, 2016 When it comes to POE I think Cisco is your best bet - you can find decently prices POE switches. Look for a 48 port one that has 24 POE ports. Should future proof the business for you and will also give you enough power for all ports. Cheaper switches might not have enough power when you use all ports. Check the 200 series as they are good value. Also I would not recommend injectors. Whilst they might sort out your current switch it is more of a botch job than a solution. If your business relies on it you really don't want to tweak with it too often. Also mate if your IT team recommended or installed that switch might be best to outsource this to a company that know what they're doing. I by no means an expert on the subject and am not trying to sell anything here but how the hell did they miss something like this. Cheers, J cheers dude, good advice there. It was actually BT local business who supplied and installed the main switch, we have run out of space on it and need to install more desks and I've run out of space on the router. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juvett Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 cheers dude, good advice there. It was actually BT local business who supplied and installed the main switch, we have run out of space on it and need to install more desks and I've run out of space on the router. No worries mate, glad to have helped. If you're going to be in that office for a while and want to get the job done find a company to do this end to end. There are plenty of companies out there that will come by, quote you on the job and then sort everything out - from parts to laying cabling neatly and making sure everything works as it should. More expensive but at least you won't need to worry about it. Also, not sure what router you have but if it is whatever the ISP provided you might want to look into a business router. Last tip - check on your VoIP security - am aware of case where someone ramped up around £4k worth of calls in about an hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Gets good reviews and won some awards, also cheap http://www.ebuyer.com/501491-tp-link-tl-sg1008pe-8-port-gigabit-poe-switch-with-8-port-poe-tl-sg1008pe http://uk.tp-link.com/products/details/cat-42_TL-SG1008PE.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaveriK Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Each phone will have a figure of how much power it needs, the higher the feature set of the phone the higher the charge. Add up this total and adjust for growth, the switch will state how much POE it can support. I am in the Cisco camp as well, you get what you pay for at times. If/when there is a nuclear war all that will survive is cockroaches and 2924m's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianhid Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 If money is tight, I'd be looking at HP, Cisco Small Business or Netgear switches. They're dull, reliable (or cheap to replace when they break - Netgear) and a hell of a lot cheaper than the premium stuff. No point paying for features it doesn't sound like you're using. We spec Cisco Catalyst to clients for ease of administration (automated deployment tools work with them better) but there really isn't always a technical reason for it. Beware the maximum wattage per port when connecting lots of phones. At full draw a PoE phone will use 15W, a PoE+ phone can use up to 30W. I haven't listed switches that can do PoE+, it's usually overkill. I'd say a typical value per phone is closer to 8~10W though depending on exact phone model and screen brightness(!). I'd honestly say the most important consideration is which switch vendor is your support team is most familiar with. If anything goes wrong you want them to be able to fix it quickly, not sit there reading the manual (Google) for half a day... Rough prices from a look online. Your milage may vary, could be you have a supplier who can do really good deals on something they're over stocked on. I've just picked 24 port switches, the price is typically 1.5-2x this for a 48 port switch. Meraki MS220-24P - £2k, 370W of POE, really nice web UI. Cisco Catalyst 2960X-24PD-L - £2k, 370W of POE (complete ball ache to configure if you're not used to Cisco land, software on these is buggy as hell until v15.2(2)E3) Cisco Small Business SG200-26FP - £460, 180W of PoE (Not used one of these in this generation, simple enough and usually works) HP J9854A - £1k, 195W of PoE (also reasonably tricky to configure, similar to Cisco Catalyst) Netgear GS728TP - £280 192W of PoE. Cheap and nasty but it is cheap. http://www.comms-express.com/categories/switches/ - Decent rule of thumb prices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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