Understanding different Ports of Gigabit PoE Switch

Since the introduction of Power Over Ethernet (PoE) technology, PoE  switch has become popular among wide users. However, newbies are usually confused with the multiple port configuration on gigabit PoE switch. Since there are already regular PoE Ethernet ports for powered devices (PDs),what are the function of other ports like console port, SFP/SFP+ port and combo port on gigabit PoE switch? This article will take 8 port PoE switch and 24 port PoE switch as example to illustrate multiple port for your reference.

Console Port on Gigabit PoE Switch    

Like regular Ethernet switch, gigabit PoE switch often has one built-in serial console port. lt is the port for controlling and managing switch since there are no display device for a switch. Usually console port on gigabit PoE switch is an RJ45 receptacle. To connect a computer directly to the 8 port PoE switch, one should use dedicated rollover cable rather than Ethernet cable for connection.To use console port, you need physical access to the appliance.Therefore for terminals without serial console port, one should attach a corresponding adapter to the devices before cabling.

RJ45 Port vs SFP Port on Gigabit PoE Switch

RJ45 port on gigabit PoE switch is the regular PoE port to achieve data and DC power transmission for PDs. It is an auto-sensing 10/100/1000Mb copper port supporting only Ethernet cable (Cat5e/6/6a/7) for connection.Thus RJ45 port connection is limited to 1G speed and 100m (330ft)short distance transmission.Then how about longer distance transmission scenario?

Different from RJ45 port, SFP port on gigabit PoE switch has the opt of both short and long reach.Why? The mini GBlC port has inherited the compatibility of either copper or optical SFP connection.Provided you employ the corresponding SFP module and cable on power over Ethernet switch. For long distance transmission, you should use fiber SFP modules with fiber patch cable for optical link.For short distance, you can opt to use RJ45 SFP module with copper network cable on gigabit PoERJ45 switch for electrical link. Gigabit PoE switch often provides 2 SFP port for optical connection or uplink aggregation requirement, which enhances network adaption resiliency of PoE powered switch. For instance,IES2000-8P-2FM 8 port Industrial PoE switch has 2 SFP ports reserved, which caters for fiber uplink to upper layer switch.

SFP+ Port on Gigabit PoE Switch

To illustrate SFP+ port on PoE Ethernet switch, we'll take IES2500-8PM-4GF-2SFP+ PoE switch as example. This 8 port PoE gigabit switch comes with 1 console port, 8 PoE+ RJ45 ports, 2*10G SFP port and 4*2.5G SFP port .The 8 RJ45 ports are PoE ready to power on dozens of VolP phones, IP cameras and wireless APs.The 2 SFP+ ports on gigabit PoE switch serves as uplink to connect 10G SFP switch for uplink aggregation.

Combo Port on Gigabit PoE Switch

Though manufactures often clearly label combo ports on gigabit PoE switch for identification, many people don't know its function. Take TS8200-24P-4GCM 24 port PoE switch as example, 4 combo ports are reserved on this 24 port PoE managed switch.The combo port compounds RJ45 and SFP front ends in one single interface, thus it supports either copper or optical SFP link.However, you can’t use these two physical accesses on PoE network switch simultaneously.That is, once you activate combo SFP port on gigabit PoE switch, you also disable the opposite copper port.

Conclusion

To sum up, multiple ports on gigabit PoE switch owns different functionality, which enhances switching resiliency for different network cabling.RJ45 port on PoE powered switch is an normal one for copper link to PDs.SFP port of gigabit PoE switch provides options of fiber cabling or copper cabling due to fiber SFP module and RJ45 SFP module compatibility.10G SFP+ port on PoE switch serves as uplink port for link aggregation in network layer. Combo port compounds RJ45 andSFP interface in one single fabric on gigabit PoE switch.So it helps to extend flexibility of physical access through the network.For 8/24/48 port cheap PoE switch buying, you can find decent offer here with optimal port configuration.