TRENDnet has recently introduced a new network switch that is specifically geared for the video surveillance market. The new TPE-3018L has 16 dedicated PoE+ ports for cameras and two separate uplink ports for network and NVR connectivity.
Users are able to connect all 16 IP-cameras to the switch, while still providing two uplink ports for dedicated connections to your network, NVR, and / or NAS devices.
This is a Layer-2, unmanaged, switch with a 36-Gigabit backplane. This backplane allows for each port to provide full bandwidth without dropping packets and reducing performance.
In our opinion, the single most important specification for a network data switch is the backplane —aka switch fabric— that will provide the overall performance and network bandwidth that is generated through each port. The TPE-3018L provides the full backplane —switch fabric— at 36-gigabits to support full bandwidth on each ports.
The other important specification needed in a video surveillance network switch is the Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) capabilities to power each IP-camera connected. This switch features a 220-watts total power budget, providing enough power for even the most demanding surveillance applications.
The TPE-3018L uses a convenient front-panel LED display to view total power, available power, and power-per-port. Within most cases, connected cameras will use a fraction of the total power a port can support. Typical surveillance scenarios will include a mix of low-power and high-power cameras; with the 220W budget, the switch should be able to provide ample power.
Another important feature of this switch focusing on the video surveillance environment is how one of the dedicated uplink port can be utilized to connect directly to an NVR. The second dedicated uplink port can be used to daisy chain another switch (for a 32-channel solution) or to connect to another device.
This switch uses a rack mountable hardware design and can easily integrate into your existing NVR and IP surveillance infrastructure.
If you are looking for a focused video surveillance network switch, the TRENDnet TPE-3018L should be high on your list for consideration.
Here are some of the highlights of the TRENDnet TPE-3018L network switch:
- 16 x Gigabit PoE+ ports
- 2 x Shared Gigabit Uplink Ports (RJ-45 / SFP)
- 220-watts PoE power budget
- 36-Gbps switching capacity
- 1U rack mountable (brackets included)
- Convenient front-panel 4-digit LED display
- Broadcast storm control
- Auto-learning network configurations
- Data RAM Buffer: 512KB
- Switch Fabric: 36-Gbps
- MAC Address Table: 8,000 entries
- Forwarding rate: 26.7Mpps (64-byte packet size)
- Jumbo Frame: 10KB
MSRP is $434.99 and available from VARs / Resellers / and online merchants.
TRENDnet TPE-3018L
Pros
- Switch Backplane
- PoE Power Budget
Cons
- Uplink Ports would best be 10-gigabit speed